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Old March 25, 2014, 11:03 AM   #9
Frank Ettin
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Join Date: November 23, 2005
Location: California - San Francisco
Posts: 9,471
Counterpoint

I'm definitely not a fan of three dot sights. I find them fussy and slow.

I'm also not necessarily a fan of night sights. I find that when it's dark enough for them to actually be highly visible, it's probably too dark to identify the target.

My favorite set up now is a plain black rear sight with a wide notch paired with a front sight with a gold dot. If there's enough ambient light to recognize a target the gold dot is bright and quick to pick up.

Here's the first of my guns I set up that way:





It worked very well for me at a class (350 -- Intermediate Handgun) at Gunsite a few years ago. The front sight was quick to pick up even during our night shooting exercises.

An option if one really wants a night sight would be a tritium insert in the front sight with a while circle around it. That will give one a bright front sight in light conditions not dark enough to make the tritium more visible.

A few years ago I wrote this article on the subject.

And here's how Greg Morrison described the flash sight picture (Morrison, Gregory, The Modern Technique of the Pistol, Gunsite Press, 1991, pp 87 - 88, emphasis added):
Quote:
...The flash sight-picture involves a glimpse of the sight-picture sufficient to confirm alignment....The target shooter’s gaze at the front sight has proven inappropriate for the bulk of pistolfighting. However, the practical shooter must start at this level and work up to the flash, which becomes reflexive as motor skills are refined. With practice, a consistent firing platform and firing stroke align the sights effortlessly. This index to the target eventually becomes an instantaneous confirmation of the sight-picture.

...Using the flash sight-picture programs the reflex of aligning the weapon’s sights with the target instantly....There is good reason for sights: one needs them to align the barrel with the target reliably....
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