{"id":2500,"date":"2014-11-12T17:15:34","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T22:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/?p=2500"},"modified":"2015-01-21T03:13:43","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T08:13:43","slug":"no-three-dot-pistol-sights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luckygunner.com\/lounge\/no-three-dot-pistol-sights\/","title":{"rendered":"Three-Dot Pistol Sights: Just Say No"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost every new handgun comes with some form of white painted\u00a0three-dot sights. And\u00a0I think they’re terrible. So terrible\u00a0that I want everyone to join in my anti-three dot campaign so\u00a0together we can force all the handgun makers to quit putting them on their pistols.<\/p>

I\u2019ve spoken in passing of my disdain for plain white 3-dot sights in just about every handgun review I\u2019ve written, but have refrained from going into much depth. A\u00a0few people\u00a0have asked me\u00a0to elaborate, so in honor of that request I\u2019m going to let you, the readers, guide this conversation\u00a0with another make-believe<\/del><\/a> 100% authentic Q&A session.<\/p>

Q: You think we should get rid of all three-dot pistol sights? Even night sights<\/a>?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

A: No, I should clarify. I don\u2019t have a problem with all 3<\/i>-dot pistol sight configurations — just the miserable little non-illuminated white-on-black 3-dot sights that come stock with almost every new handgun.<\/p>

Q: So what\u2019s actually wrong with three-dot sights and what’s the alternative?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

A: The main issue that I have with white three-dot sights is a lack of contrast. All three dots are the same color, and they\u2019re usually about the same size, too. There’s too much competing for my attention.<\/p>

This isn\u2019t good for quick\u00a0sight acquisition or sight tracking during rapid fire. I want some visual aid to help my eyes distinguish that front sight from the rear. Ideally, that means a front sight with some kind of bright, contrasting color to help it stand out.<\/p>

Q: The front sight is the one in the middle, dummy.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

A: Thanks for the tip. When I\u2019m pulling the trigger five times per second on a rapid fire string, my eyes need as much help as they can get to see what’s going on. Following the front sight because \u201cit\u2019s in the middle\u201d is a whole lot easier when it doesn\u2019t look identical to the rear sights. In fact, plain black sights would even be preferable to the dots. If they all look the same, they’re more of a distraction than anything.<\/p>

“When I am shooting, I want to see sights and not a geometry problem.”
– Wiley Clapp<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>

Personally, I prefer a two-dot setup with a bright fluorescent front sight and a small dot in the middle of the rear sight notch. There are a couple of companies that make this style, like the\u00a0Pro i-dot\u00a0from Ameriglo<\/a>. The front sight is a tritium insert with a bright orange ring around it that really stands out in almost any lighting condition.<\/p>

\"Ameriglo<\/a>
Ameriglo Pro i-dot sights<\/figcaption><\/figure>

But really, I\u2019m not all that picky about\u00a0sights<\/a>. Three dot sights are just fine as long as there is contrast and something that will stand out in low light. Something like the Trijicon HD Night Sights<\/a> are excellent, but even a fiber optic front sight with a plain black rear is a huge improvement over the white three-dot style.<\/p>

Q: Well I like the white three-dot sights that came with my gun. It\u2019s just a personal preference. This is America and you can\u2019t tell me what to do!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

A: Sure, you can have whatever sights you want, but I have to ask; are you sure<\/i> you really like those white three-dot sights? What have you compared them to?<\/p>

The thing that really chaps my caboose about white three-dot sights is that\u00a0their prevalence as the industry standard has led so many gun owners to accept them without question.<\/p>

<\/p>

\"fiber<\/a>
Green fiber optic sight on a S&W revolver<\/figcaption><\/figure>

I think a lot of people claim they \u201clike\u201d three-dot sights because they\u2019re such an obvious upgrade over the old-school tiny post and notch sights. Or maybe they haven\u2019t even shot an old gun and every<\/i> pistol they\u2019ve used has had three-dot sights\u00a0so they\u00a0don\u2019t have any frame of reference.<\/p>

If you practice regularly, track your performance with different sight setups and then<\/i> tell me that you shoot better with white three dot sights than any other style, then I\u2019ll believe you.<\/p>

Q: Three-dot sights are a cost-saving measure. Gun manufacturers use them because not\u00a0everyone can agree on a better option that wouldn’t increase\u00a0the cost to make the gun. What do you expect?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

A: There are a couple of viable options that I’ve seen manufacturers try as an improvement over white three-dots.<\/p>

First is fiber optic rods on the front sight. They aren’t as cheap as the white painted sight, but would add far less to the production cost than tritium night sights. Springfield Armory has done this with some of their XDm and XDs pistols, and I’ve also seen it on some inexpensive .22LR pistols.<\/p>

The other way to go is to\u00a0follow Glock’s lead and use the absolute cheapest excuse for sights<\/a> they can come up with\u00a0as the standard factory option. That lowers the manufacturer’s\u00a0cost and\u00a0the savings is passed to the customer who pays less for the pistol so they can afford to upgrade the sights on their own.<\/p>

\"Glock<\/a>
Glock’s plastic factory sights… not as durable as the pistols.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Q: I don\u2019t like cheap factory sights either, but I can\u2019t afford a fancy pair of night sights to upgrade my pistol.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

A: I\u2019ve been there. Fortunately, there are plenty of cheap ways to improve your factory sights. Fluorescent model paint on the front sight works well, especially if you start\u00a0with a coat of\u00a0white primer. I\u2019ve also heard good things about reflective tape like 3M Scotchlite<\/a>. A black sharpie can help tone down the bright white paint on the rear sights, or use a paint marker if you want to black them out entirely. I’ve modified several pistols like this, including the mil-surp CZ-83 pistol<\/a> I wrote about a few months back.<\/p>

Thanks for joining me for another reader Q&A. I hope you all found it as productive as I did. Feel free to keep those questions coming and I’ll keep making up my own<\/del> answering them!<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost every new handgun comes with some form of white painted\u00a0three-dot sights. And\u00a0I think they’re terrible. So terrible\u00a0that I want … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[22,21,190,17,189],"class_list":["post-2500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-toolbox","tag-gear","tag-handguns","tag-qa","tag-self-defense","tag-sights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree Dot Pistol Sights - Just Say No!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are a number of reasons to steer clear of the three dot pistol sights many guns come from the factory with. 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