djthemac Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Howdy all! I have been shooting my S&W 1911pd in IDPA/IPSC competitions for a few months now, and I want to upgrade the stock sights. It currently has the Novak LO-mounts that come stock from the factory. I would like to go with narrower front or a wider rear notch, but I am not sure how wide is too wide. I have been looking at some options from heinie, but I would appreciate some advice from you guys on a good size and manufacturer to go with. http://www.heinie.com/product_info.php?cPath=9_25&products_id=43 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Vigilante Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 My recommendation is Dawson Precision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockCanMan Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 I recommend Dawson Precision red fiber optic front sights. They make a good thin front sight. For the rear sight people are split on fully adjustable rear sights or fixed rear sights. Dawson also makes a good fixed rear sight, but if you have the Novak rear sight cut I would try looking at Novak rear sights. They do make a fully adjustable rear sight that is all black (no dots). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eerw Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 (edited) The Novak cut on the Smith and Wesson guns is proprietary. it is not the same as the standard 1911 novak cut. not sure what the front dovetail dimensions are. Edited May 27, 2012 by eerw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthemac Posted May 27, 2012 Author Share Posted May 27, 2012 I emailed Dawson Precision and they told me they do not offer a rear sight for my pistol. What size F/O front are you gents running? I am a bit hesitant to mix orders and get a front sight from one company and a rear from another, I have a fear of the sights not sighting in properly, due to inconsistent sizing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quack Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) for Novak replacements, i like 10-8 sights. They make them to fit the S&W as well http://www.10-8performance.com/s-w-1911-rear-sight/ for front sights, i like .100" wide Dawson fiber optic sights. 10-8 also has front sights for the S&W. http://www.10-8performance.com/s-w-1911-e-series-front-sight/ Edited May 28, 2012 by Quack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudman Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I run a 0.125" Brazos Lightning Rod front sight and Dawson Precision FO rear sight. To be honest, I never notice the FO rods in the rear sight when I'm shooting - but it looks pretty spiffy in the holster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowboy1629 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I emailed Dawson Precision and they told me they do not offer a rear sight for my pistol. What size F/O front are you gents running? I am a bit hesitant to mix orders and get a front sight from one company and a rear from another, I have a fear of the sights not sighting in properly, due to inconsistent sizing Mix & match isn't a problem. Dawson can tell you how to measure you front sight that you have now so that you can match it to theirs for proper allignment. I too like the .100 in green. I think the green stands out better in low light. Dawson sights come with both green and red fibers so you can choose what works best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthemac Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 for Novak replacements, i like 10-8 sights. They make them to fit the S&W as well http://www.10-8performance.com/s-w-1911-rear-sight/ for front sights, i like .100" wide Dawson fiber optic sights. 10-8 also has front sights for the S&W. http://www.10-8performance.com/s-w-1911-e-series-front-sight/ Very nice. What size rear notch would you recommend? It seems like the .100 fiber optic front is popular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quack Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I use either the .125" or .140" wide rear sights with .100" wide front. Sent from my ADR6425LVW using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvary45 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Although i run a dawsom serrated non FO front sight, my setup is .88 front sight with a .135 rear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djthemac Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thanks for all the input guys! I ended up going with 10-8 performance. I got a .100 front FO (green) front sight, with the 10-8 black serrated U notch .140 My first impressions were good, I feel faster acquiring the front sight with more light bars on both sides. The fiber optic really draws my attention, and and feels uncluttered at the same time. My one complaint is that when shooting at 20+ yards, its hard to differentiate exactly how to line the sight up, the FO needs to be lower in the sight, and I am having trouble differentiating the top of the FO sight to line up with the top of the rear sight. I am considering going with a black serrated front, as I am relatively young and my eyes are ok for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvary45 Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I shot FO front sights for a while, even with the brazos micro .40 FO is still caught myself using the dot as a sight with no clearly defined top and edges. I would catch myself sometimes just seeing green then pulling the trigger not really getting a crisp front sight, I went to a .90 black serrated dawson front sight. My accuracy went up and i found out that it doesn't take any longer to acquire my sight picture with a very crisp front sight, also seemed like i can call my shots more accurately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlockCanMan Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 Thanks for all the input guys! I ended up going with 10-8 performance. I got a .100 front FO (green) front sight, with the 10-8 black serrated U notch .140 My first impressions were good, I feel faster acquiring the front sight with more light bars on both sides. The fiber optic really draws my attention, and and feels uncluttered at the same time. My one complaint is that when shooting at 20+ yards, its hard to differentiate exactly how to line the sight up, the FO needs to be lower in the sight, and I am having trouble differentiating the top of the FO sight to line up with the top of the rear sight. I am considering going with a black serrated front, as I am relatively young and my eyes are ok for now. Practice, Practice, and Practice. You must believe in the "Force". Do not go over to the dark side...(in this case black front sights).Set up some targets at longer distances and learn to use your sights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polizei1 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 (edited) Make sure you pick up some fiber rods. If you haven't tried red, pick some up and try both colors and see what works best. As for the longer shots, I bead my FO up with my lighter to get a nice "bubble" and it's pretty close to the top. Probably not the best way, but I just use the FO like a red-dot. I put the "dot" where I want to shoot. Edited June 21, 2012 by polizei1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag316 Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 If you want a fixed sight, you might consider Warrens. I put a set of them on the 1911 I built for my wife, and I'm toying with replacing the Heinie's on my Duty One with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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