Front Sight Width

[GyMac]

I shoot one-handed at 25 yards with my 2 Ruger pistols, a 5 1/2 inch Bull Barrel with the .125 inch front sight and a 4 3/4 inch Standard with the .10 inch sight. I find that I can shoot the Standard better than the Target and I think I've traced the difference to the width of the front sight. I'm thinking about having the front sight on my Target milled to .10 inch; I've already got a rear sight leaf in that width. Has anyone else had this experience with being able to shoot better with a narrower front sight?

[MrBorland]

Your experience isn't uncommon - many find they shoot more accurately with a wider rear notch or narrower front sight.

Often, a stock sight/notch setup leaves little daylight on each side of the sight, so more daylight makes it easier to tell if they're equal.

Also, as the widths of daylight get greater, they get closer to the width of the front sight, and it's easier to to align 3 equal-width objects than it is to line up 2 that surround an oddball 3rd.

[WESHOOT2]

Some suggest optimum as .100" front; rear notch of .140--.160".

[RickB]

Some people focus on (pun) the ratio of the front sight width to rear notch width, but I think the actual measurements are important, as well. Some people prefer a 1-1-1 sight picture, with the light bars on either side appearing to be the same width as the front. My preference is something closer to 1-2-1, with the bars about half as wide as the front sight.
I have a hard time hitting a point, when you can line up ten of those points side-by-side on top of the front sight; the sight has to be not much wider than the target, or aiming point on the target.
For "action shooting", .10", and even .09" front sights are common, with a .125" rear, but I like those combinations for precision shooting, too. It's easier for me to gauge the width of the "light bars" on either side of the front sight, than to try to align the edges of of a front sight and the edges of the rear notch, which is a common set-up - the front sight almost filling the rear notch - on stock pistols.
Ultra-wide notches, combined with wide front sights, appear to be a response to failing eyesight, rather than an actual aid to aiming.
I prefer a .10" front and .125" notch (and the notch deep enough to see the entire front sight in the sight picture), for just about all handgun shooting with a "service pistol" sized gun, if it's my call to make. A very long sight radius would indicate a wider front, and short sight radius, a narrower front.

[paw080]

Hi GyMac, you said: "I shoot one-handed at 25 yards with my 2 Ruger pistols, a 5 1/2 inch Bull Barrel with the .125 inch front sight and a 4 3/4 inch Standard with the .10 inch sight. I find that I can shoot the Standard better than the Target and I think I've traced the difference to the width of the front sight. I'm thinking about having the front sight on my Target milled to .10 inch; I've already got a rear sight leaf in that width. Has anyone else had this experience with being able to shoot better with a narrower front sight? "



Instead of giving you suggested dimensions, I'd like to give you a concept.

For some time now(many decades) international and NRA bullseye competitors

have favored a front blade width that visually matches the width of the bull as

seen when aligning the sights. The rear notch should be wide enough to give

ample width light bars for the lighting(shooting range) conditions.

A feature that is sorely missing from domestic target pistol rear sights is the

adjustable width notch found on international ISSF class pistols. Examples are

the Pardini SP, FWB mod 93, Morini CM22 series and Benelli target pistol series;

to name a few. Anyway, I hope this info helps you with your sights choice.

Tony

[JohnKSa]

Has anyone else had this experience with being able to shoot better with a narrower front sight?

Yes, one of my common complaints with off-the-shelf pistols is that the front sight is too big for the rear notch, or vice versa.

[fileophile]

Tony's advice is right on. For a match gun get the front sight to match the black part of the bull, and then ensure the rear sight notch has enough width so you can see daylight on both sides of the front post. (adjusted for windage zero of course)