XS big dot sights. difficulty with sight alignment

[headednorth]

I installed a set of XS big dot night sights on my SR9c yesterday and took it to the range today. Results were less than stellar. I was shooting at around 40 ft or so, more than self defense range, but I can usually keep it pretty tight at this range. Today I was all over the place.

Up to this point, the rear sights Im used to using have a your typical notch. The XS has more of a "V". The dot is supposed to sit centered in the V with the bottom of the dot sitting just on the V. At ranges of 25 ft or less, they recommend that the dot be covering the target. Further away, they recommend more of a six o'clock hold. I tried both and it was hard to tell any difference.

When I was done shooting, the target looked like a victim of spray-and-pray. Very frustrating to say the least. The front and rear sights were centered in the dovetails and hadnt moved after I was done shooting. If it were a case of a majority of the shots being low, or right of center, I would assume they just needed adjusting. There wasnt any pattern that I could see, just kind of all over the place. Im assuming the issue is just that its a new sight picture for me and it just needs getting used to.

Anyone else using these sights have similar issues at first?

 

[M1911]

I had one on one guy. Took it off. They suck.

 

[Royal]

Had them on an M&P and hated them. They are 7-10 yard max sights.

 

[Cloverleaf Firearms Group]

I installed a set of XS big dot night sights on my SR9c yesterday and took it to the range today. Results were less than stellar. I was shooting at around 40 ft or so, more than self defense range, but I can usually keep it pretty tight at this range. Today I was all over the place.

Up to this point, the rear sights Im used to using have a your typical notch. The XS has more of a "V". The dot is supposed to sit centered in the V with the bottom of the dot sitting just on the V. At ranges of 25 ft or less, they recommend that the dot be covering the target. Further away, they recommend more of a six o'clock hold. I tried both and it was hard to tell any difference.

When I was done shooting, the target looked like a victim of spray-and-pray. Very frustrating to say the least. The front and rear sights were centered in the dovetails and hadnt moved after I was done shooting. If it were a case of a majority of the shots being low, or right of center, I would assume they just needed adjusting. There wasnt any pattern that I could see, just kind of all over the place. Im assuming the issue is just that its a new sight picture for me and it just needs getting used to.

Anyone else using these sights have similar issues at first?

I'm kind of in the minority on these. I actually liked them as fighting sights, as I felt I could really see more of what was going on downrange. Your shots shouldn't be all over the place if you find a consistent sight alignment and stick with it. They may be in the wrong place, but there should still be a group imo. I could shoot these really fast, and I was much more likely to see vertical stringing than horizontal, as it was very easy to stack them. I was more likely to get on the trigger before they fully settled, but they were still aligned. I made 100 yard shots without issue, and I think I went 3/10 at 200 yards with them once I got my holdover.

I wouldn't be opposed to running them again someday, but my Dawsons are just so fresh and so clean.

 

[M1911]

Back when I took LFI-1, Ayoob told the class that he conducted a test of them. He had two identical guns, one with XS sights, one with post notch sights. He took a group of shooters of various experience and had them shoot a qualification test. He found no speed difference and less accuracy. YMMV.

My suggestion is that if you want fast sights, get a rear sight with a wide notch and a narrow front sight.

 

[NorthShore]

Interesting - I installed them on a SR40c in June and haven't tried any distance further than 30 ft. At that distance i had decent groups but I really purchased the bigdot sights because I keep the ruger at my camp and I wanted night sights for the boogieman. I plan on shooting tomorrow and will bring it along. I will let you know the results of my groups from 40+ ft.

 

[Cloverleaf Firearms Group]

Back when I took LFI-1, Ayoob told the class that he conducted a test of them. He had two identical guns, one with XS sights, one with post notch sights. He took a group of shooters of various experience and had them shoot a qualification test. He found no speed difference and less accuracy. YMMV.

My suggestion is that if you want fast sights, get a rear sight with a wide notch and a narrow front sight.

I would agree. I didn't shoot them any faster than I can shoot notch and post. I just liked how much I could see, and still maintain a good cadence and put bullets where I wanted. Like I said, I'm running Dawsons on my competition and carry gun, and the level of precision I can get out of them when I need it would definitely surpass XS. I'm just saying I wouldn't thrown them out of bed based on my experience.

edit: and a wide rear narrow front is exactly what I'm running on those setups.

 

[headednorth]

Bummed theyre not working out so far, but its only one range trip. Im going to spend some more time with them to see if things improve before I bail on them.

Also want to shoot at more reasonable self defense distances to see how that goes. I put them on my carry gun to ward off any night time visits by the boogieman as someone else already mentioned. With the notch type rear sight, I could also shoot for fun with the same gun, pretty good groups at 50ft +. I'd hate to not be able to shoot with it beyond 20 ft.

 

[M1911]

For my carry guns, I go with a 10-8 Performance night site up front, and a plain, black 10-8 Performance rear site. I get the rear site with a wide notch.