Sights that I can see.

[Scott Tschirhart]

One of the things Cooper used to preach is that you really didn’t need much in the way of modifications in the 1911 but sights that you can see were definitely on the menu.

I was having a really hard time seeing the front sight on my lightweight Commander size 1911 from Wilson Combat, but it seemed like it really wanted to shoot well.

The rear sight was fine so I called up and ordered something better.

[Scott Tschirhart]

The dovetail was extremely tight and it took me quite a bit of time with a file and a punch to get it centered. But I promise, it is not going anywhere. It might as well be welded on.

First shots: most went through the hole so I figured it was pretty close.

[Scott Tschirhart]

So this morning. Maximum effort offhand at 25 yards with Winchester 230 gr ball ammo.

[Grizz]

that's good shooting Scott. i like my 1911 a lot. it's all i brought to Texas this trip. but i have to get close to keep the bullets close.

[Scott Tschirhart]

Fortunately, this kind of accuracy is probably never necessary.

When I am down on the border though, and it seems like I am down there a lot lately, I definitely carry a good 1911.....and a .30-30.

[AJMD429]

.
A lot of people have very nice guns that are very accurate but insist on "traditional looking" sites that when combined with aging vision mean they can't hit worth a darn.

I like fiber-optics, tritium, ghost rings, red dots, and holographic sights. I'd like a thermal one if I could afford it...!

The only 'old fashioned' sight I really like is the Marbles Bullseye; if they would put that on a detent-adjustable base like the Williams FP, it would be the best site imaginable. As is it is awesome.

[CowboyTutt]

Scott, Trueglo tritium fiber optic sights? I think I have the same on my Kimber 1911 from a few months ago. Seemed the best ones available. -Tutt

[ollogger]

Yes seeing the sights again is a blast! a month ago i got a Kel Tec pmr 30, it has the tru glow
or what ever it is on it, any way its fun to shoot & makes me a marks man again
the last 20 years has been trying at best to see the sights on a hand gun, have to look for new
sights for the 454 Alaskan now


Brad

[Scott Tschirhart]

Scott, Trueglo tritium fiber optic sights? I think I have the same on my Kimber 1911 from a few months ago. Seemed the best ones available. -Tutt

I don’t think there’s any fiber optic in these. But Wilson Combat might be getting these from Trueglow

[Rusty]

When I went through the police academy back in the middle 70's someone showed me then to use "Testor's" model paint on my front sight. I use TRAFFIC YELLOW since it stands out against everything. Two coats usually takes care of it.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I used to do fine with just about any sights. These days I need a bit more space in the rear notch

[Drawdown]

I love the ones that came on my Kimber. The night sights that glow in dark.

20220806_203832.jpg

[Griff]

I used to do fine with just about any sights. These days I need a bit more space in the rear notch

Happened to me when I reached 50. When I had my Combat Commander refinished, I had new sights installed... I think they're Novak's... but the printing is so small that I can't read it!

[Drawdown]

Emptied 3 Mags standing off hand as fast as I could aim and shoot at 7 yards

20220806_204047.jpg

[samsi]

When I went through the police academy back in the middle 70's someone showed me then to use "Testor's" model paint on my front sight. I use TRAFFIC YELLOW since it stands out against everything. Two coats usually takes care of it.

The Testors Yellow didn't work for me, it washed out in bright light and I couldn't see it at all. Fluorescent slime green seems to work pretty good though. I did break down and put Fire Sights on the Redhawk, like 'em pretty well so far.

[AJMD429]

.
I know I've posted several different things on aperture sights and ghost ring sights, including on handguns, so I won't reiterate all that, but I will say I'm expanding my experimentation with handgun apertures and handgun ghost rings and I think there is great potential there. As many have mentioned, the focal plane issues with aperture sights used on rifles means that the same ones that work on rifles don't necessarily work well on handguns. However, I have found larger aperture sights, basically bordering on or including ghost ring sights, can really do a good job on handguns, particularly considering that most of the time we are emphasizing reasonable accuracy with high speed versus high accuracy with reasonable speed.

At some point I'm going to figure out how to temporarily mount a Marble's 'Bullseye' sight on a handgun solidly enough to do some test shooting. It would be significantly more compact than any Red Dot sight, and add essentially no weight to the gun, Plus requires no batteries, no sunlight, and is incredibly durable.

On a rifle or carbine, the premise is that you get the rapid acquisition of a ghost ring, which rivals any Red Dot sight I've ever seen, but you have the inner fine aperture you will intuitively use if you have a half second extra and are not in a hurry. The other unique thing about marbles bullseye versus almost every other aperture site is that it does not obscure anything to the left or right or below, which would include things closer to you.

[2ndovc]

That's pretty impressive shooting ! Slick pistol too.

jb

[Scott Tschirhart]

That's pretty impressive shooting ! Slick pistol too.

jb

Notice that I was smart enough to stop shooting before the group got bigger!

[2ndovc]

That's pretty impressive shooting ! Slick pistol too.

jb

Notice that I was smart enough to stop shooting before the group got bigger!

Ha!
I'm going to have to remember that one!

jb

[Scott Tschirhart]

That's pretty impressive shooting ! Slick pistol too.

jb

Notice that I was smart enough to stop shooting before the group got bigger!

Ha!
I'm going to have to remember that one!

jb

Thats about as good as I have ever been able to do at 25 yards offhand. Its about how I shoot a .22 pistol at that range. I know that the gun is far more capable than that, but I am not.

[Walt]

Nice shooting and nice gun, Scott. I am a revolver afficionado so very few have dovetailed front sights. I haven't experimented with various paint colors yet but it's becoming increasingly obvious that I need to do that. I have widened the rear sight notch on several guns, though and it seems to help. I am a purely recreational shooter so I don't care about speed nor tactical, combat this and that. I just like to shoot accurately at my own pace.

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’m afraid I’m too old to be “tactical “ anymore.

But precision is important.

[AJMD429]

That's pretty impressive shooting ! Slick pistol too.

jb

Notice that I was smart enough to stop shooting before the group got bigger!

That's why I get so many one-hole groups........I just don't shoot a second or third or fourth or fifth shot...!

[piller]

I have put fiberoptic sights on a couple of my guns. If you can't see the sights, it is not really easy to hit what you are trying to aim at. Nothing wrong with good sights which are easy to see.

[CowboyTutt]

I read a comment on the Truglo tritium/fiber optic combo sights. They seemed to think they worked better in no light, or bright light, but dim light wasn't so good for either. I have not had a chance to use them yet, so can't really comment. I don't remember the factory tritium sights being so good in bright light. -Tutt

[Griff]

In the late 1980's I replaced my nickeled mdl 19 duty gun with a mdl 65, (thinking I might have been assigned to the marine unit)... and my qualification scores fell off sharply. After some experimenting going back to the 19, I shot my old scores again. The department's armorer took my 65, cut a slot on the back of the front sight and inserted a bit of hi-vis orange plastic, and my scores returned again matched my scores with the mdl 19. The only other changes were a mdl 19 target hammer & serrated trigger from a mdl 19 (CCH instead of the stainless factory parts). I suspect the more familiar trigger had as much to do with my scores as the sights.

img_1129.jpg

[4t5]

XS BIG DOT is what I should be using.

[Scott Tschirhart]

That little plastic insert works really well.