While you can always hear someone preaching about using the sights; I'd like to take some time to direct your focus to some notes and a specific brand that I have been using for quite some time. From the birth of the semi-automatic pistol, there have been sights on top of the slide. Using the sights is one part of the equation to getting effective hits on target. Sights are there to give the shooter a visual feedback on the alignment of the firearm. When utilized properly, the shooter has the ability to effectively call their shots and put bullets where needed.
Since the turn of the 20th century, pistol sights have been a traditional post and notch design. Simply put, there is a vertical bar up front, with a U-shaped notch in the back. To line them up, the shooter puts the front bar in the U notch with even amounts of light on both sides of the front sight and levels the tops of both front and rear. For most pistols this will give a hit out to 25-50 yards. Military handguns are specified a point of aim (POA) to equal point of impact (POI) at 50 yards, but others may be setup for POA=POI at 25 yards. To review ballistics for most pistol calibers, a bullet is not going to drop drastically until about 100 yards. At this point most pistol bullets have fallen about 10-14 inches from a 25 yard zero. What is the importance of this information? Your pistol is going to be able to hit what you are aiming at if you do your part. The sights give you the necessary feedback to process the shot without looking at the target. It is not unreasonable to hit a man-sized target at distances of 100+ yards if you know where YOUR pistol, ammo, and sight configuration is going to hit. For example, the 9mm is flat shooting round; and a sight alignment at upper chest level is going to hit middle chest area at 100 yards.
With this information in mind, I would like to tell you a little about what I consider to be the best "practical/combat" type sight available, the Warren Tactical Sights. These sights were designed by a man named Scott Warren. For those who have never heard of the man, he has won numerous IDPA National titles, countless regional and state match titles, and is the former lead firearms trainer for the elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Needless to say, Scott Warren knows a little bit about competitive and tactical shooting. The sights are a .125" or .115â wide front sight and a rear sight that has a .150" U-notch opening with a very unique wave/scalloped design. The front sight is black, serrated and is ramped forward; while the rear sight is gray, sloped back and has no serrations. Conceptually, this un-serrated and gray rear sight will not have anything for the eye to be attracted to and reduces light glare. The shape of the rear is also designed to reduce the eyes natural attraction to right angles. Only the inside top edge of the rear sight is a 90° degree angle for alignment. With the rear sight is not the main object of focus; the eye can concentrate much quicker and easier on the tall, darker front sight. In addition to the plain black front and rear sight setup, the front sight is available with a tritium lamp or a fiber-optic rod. The rear sight can also come with either one or two tritium lamps for the figure-8 or 3-dot configuration.
For the early parts of my shooting career, I used three-dot night sights or fixed black sights on my guns. While at a shooting class a few years back, I won a set of the Warren Sights for a Glock in a shoot off. Since the OEM plastic sights on a Glock are really just sight channel fillers, I was anxious to swap them for the new Warrens on my Glock 34. When compared to the factory Glock sights, you will notice how tall the front sight is and how much wider the rear sight notch is. Due to the 34 having a longer sight radius, the rear sight seems even wider than on something with a shorter slide like a G17/19 or M&P. This wider notch allows more light around the front sight, which can speed up acquisition times on the target.
Another thing that I noticed is how much more of the target you can see with the scalloped out rear sight. Starting off with dry-fire, the Warren sights were noticeably quicker than either the OEM Glock sights or Trijicon night sights. Moving on to the range, the sight setup is even smoother for engaging targets with live fire. Being able to get your sights into focus and aligned faster is always a good thing. I am not going to make claims of instantly a being better shooter, but the sights definitely make sight alignment smoother and easier.
While the sights are definitely not traditional Bullseye style sights; making precision shots and shooting precision groups is easy to accomplish. Shooting at torso sized steel out to 100 yards is a simple task, especially with the extra light around the front sight allowing better reference to the target. The sights are also much nicer than factory or night sights when shooting dot drills or other small targets. Another benefit I have found is that the taller and almost vertical angle of the front part of the rear sight allows for much easier single-handed slide cycling.
I have used these sights in almost every type of shooting that I can think of. A Warren Tactical Sight equipped pistol has been with me to every shooting match, class and everyday outing for the last several years. These sights have given me additional confidence in my abilities to make fast and accurate hits on target as long as I do my part. The only negative about the Warren Tactical Sights is that you can't get them for every gun made. Currently, they are available for Glocks, Smith & Wesson M&Ps, Sigs, 1911s with Novak sight cuts, and some of the 3rd Generation Smith & Wesson semi-autos.
To summarize, I will again state that the Warren Sights are some of the best sights made. I have a set on every pistol I own that has a model available, including the one that rides with me every day. If you find yourself lacking in the sights department, check out the Warrens.
NOTE: There are two front sight heights for use preference in POA and POI. While each gun is different, generally speaking the shorter front sight was designed for a 6 oâclock hold on a target while the taller front sight was for a center hold on target.
Pics up later.. just got a new camera!
Since the turn of the 20th century, pistol sights have been a traditional post and notch design. Simply put, there is a vertical bar up front, with a U-shaped notch in the back. To line them up, the shooter puts the front bar in the U notch with even amounts of light on both sides of the front sight and levels the tops of both front and rear. For most pistols this will give a hit out to 25-50 yards. Military handguns are specified a point of aim (POA) to equal point of impact (POI) at 50 yards, but others may be setup for POA=POI at 25 yards. To review ballistics for most pistol calibers, a bullet is not going to drop drastically until about 100 yards. At this point most pistol bullets have fallen about 10-14 inches from a 25 yard zero. What is the importance of this information? Your pistol is going to be able to hit what you are aiming at if you do your part. The sights give you the necessary feedback to process the shot without looking at the target. It is not unreasonable to hit a man-sized target at distances of 100+ yards if you know where YOUR pistol, ammo, and sight configuration is going to hit. For example, the 9mm is flat shooting round; and a sight alignment at upper chest level is going to hit middle chest area at 100 yards.
With this information in mind, I would like to tell you a little about what I consider to be the best "practical/combat" type sight available, the Warren Tactical Sights. These sights were designed by a man named Scott Warren. For those who have never heard of the man, he has won numerous IDPA National titles, countless regional and state match titles, and is the former lead firearms trainer for the elite FBI Hostage Rescue Team. Needless to say, Scott Warren knows a little bit about competitive and tactical shooting. The sights are a .125" or .115â wide front sight and a rear sight that has a .150" U-notch opening with a very unique wave/scalloped design. The front sight is black, serrated and is ramped forward; while the rear sight is gray, sloped back and has no serrations. Conceptually, this un-serrated and gray rear sight will not have anything for the eye to be attracted to and reduces light glare. The shape of the rear is also designed to reduce the eyes natural attraction to right angles. Only the inside top edge of the rear sight is a 90° degree angle for alignment. With the rear sight is not the main object of focus; the eye can concentrate much quicker and easier on the tall, darker front sight. In addition to the plain black front and rear sight setup, the front sight is available with a tritium lamp or a fiber-optic rod. The rear sight can also come with either one or two tritium lamps for the figure-8 or 3-dot configuration.
For the early parts of my shooting career, I used three-dot night sights or fixed black sights on my guns. While at a shooting class a few years back, I won a set of the Warren Sights for a Glock in a shoot off. Since the OEM plastic sights on a Glock are really just sight channel fillers, I was anxious to swap them for the new Warrens on my Glock 34. When compared to the factory Glock sights, you will notice how tall the front sight is and how much wider the rear sight notch is. Due to the 34 having a longer sight radius, the rear sight seems even wider than on something with a shorter slide like a G17/19 or M&P. This wider notch allows more light around the front sight, which can speed up acquisition times on the target.
Another thing that I noticed is how much more of the target you can see with the scalloped out rear sight. Starting off with dry-fire, the Warren sights were noticeably quicker than either the OEM Glock sights or Trijicon night sights. Moving on to the range, the sight setup is even smoother for engaging targets with live fire. Being able to get your sights into focus and aligned faster is always a good thing. I am not going to make claims of instantly a being better shooter, but the sights definitely make sight alignment smoother and easier.
While the sights are definitely not traditional Bullseye style sights; making precision shots and shooting precision groups is easy to accomplish. Shooting at torso sized steel out to 100 yards is a simple task, especially with the extra light around the front sight allowing better reference to the target. The sights are also much nicer than factory or night sights when shooting dot drills or other small targets. Another benefit I have found is that the taller and almost vertical angle of the front part of the rear sight allows for much easier single-handed slide cycling.
I have used these sights in almost every type of shooting that I can think of. A Warren Tactical Sight equipped pistol has been with me to every shooting match, class and everyday outing for the last several years. These sights have given me additional confidence in my abilities to make fast and accurate hits on target as long as I do my part. The only negative about the Warren Tactical Sights is that you can't get them for every gun made. Currently, they are available for Glocks, Smith & Wesson M&Ps, Sigs, 1911s with Novak sight cuts, and some of the 3rd Generation Smith & Wesson semi-autos.
To summarize, I will again state that the Warren Sights are some of the best sights made. I have a set on every pistol I own that has a model available, including the one that rides with me every day. If you find yourself lacking in the sights department, check out the Warrens.
NOTE: There are two front sight heights for use preference in POA and POI. While each gun is different, generally speaking the shorter front sight was designed for a 6 oâclock hold on a target while the taller front sight was for a center hold on target.
Pics up later.. just got a new camera!
