Dawson/Shooters Connection front sight.

[Julien Boit]

I just purchased a .110 Dawson specially made fiber FS.

They are available only through Shooter's Connection.

Any of you have the same set up ?

I tried the .090 but found t too small, the .125 is ok but I wanna give the .110 a try.

Any advice, appreciation is welcomed.

I also wanna try the green rod with it , somebody uses them ?

Thanks

[Phil Dunlop]

Hi Julian,

I just put a Dawson .1" on my pistol.

Its well made and the service was awesome. I wanted an .09 but they don't yet serrate them. I have been suprised by the extra width, it really is a great sight picture, but I know I couldn't tolerate any less light around the post.

I bought it because its about the only ready made sight which is serrated, so mostly I've shot the dot blacked out

I know you know all the pros and cons of the optic, I'm still not happy that its the way to go for me, though obviously there are times when it is an advantage.

I shot a steel match with it a couple of weeks ago and managed to shoot reasonably without ever switching my focus back to the F/S, (or should I say being aware of doing so)

For me even blacked out the 'dot' is a distraction, when I look at the F/S I always look right at the dot which is fine on close open IPSC targets but doesn't help at all on tight shots or the longer ranges of the NRA mover for example.

Good luck with your purchase,

P.D.

[reneet]

I've been shooting the .09 Dawson on my Fat Free Long Slide for over a year and really like it.

[Julien Boit]

Thanks for the input guys.

I'm about to put the FS on one of my gun, and I'll give it a try this week end in a small club match.

[Jim Norman]

Since I have a non-standard cut on the slide on my Para, I had George of EGW make me a new front sight.

0.10 with serrations, red insert, widen the rear notch and reblue as required.

I can only say I wish I had done this a year or more ago. I used to use a step sight, 0.090 down to about 0.030, very accurate, but also not fast enough for old eyes.

If you want a width that you don't see listed or you want other special work, I highly recommend EGW. (Plug mode off)

Jim Norman

[Julien Boit]

I saw that Dawson make their sights in .090, .100, .110, .125

I guess that would cover almost all needs.

I just installed the green rod on the .110.

That green dot looks nice for the moment, can't wait to try it this week end.

[blue edge]

I like the green rod

I wish I could get a green dot in my C-MORE !!!!!

[TriggerT]

Dawson used to make an "Indoor" fiber optic, which I have on my Para. Lust a little bit longer than the current model, and it takes the larger diameter rods. I LOVE that sight, and wish I could find one for my Les Baer.

I have tried the green color insert, but I just like the red better. Personal preferance.

[dbletap_ed]

I just switched to a dot front sight myself and find that the yellow works best for me.

[Julien Boit]

Ok guys, here is my report from the trial of the front sight change.

About the width, I didn't noticed a real change from the .125 to the .110.

It seems identical to me, for the moment, maybe I need more time.

As for the green insert, I like it. It's a little bit less disturbing for my eyes, and for hard shots, I can focus more easily on the square of the sight.

I think I'm gonna keep it this way.

At the same match, I tried a thumb rest too.

I need to try it with "softer" ammo, those were chronoed at 191 PF

Something around 175 will be better. I found a little more control on double taps.

More investigating to come.

[mcoliver]

At the same match, I tried a thumb rest too.

I need to try it with "softer" ammo, those were chronoed at 191 PF

Hello Julien. Got any pics of this thumbrest? Thanks.

[Julien Boit]

Here it is.

It comes from Arredondo accessories.

I had to Dremelize it a bit to fit the holster and the IPSC box.

Mine is black but it comes in red, blue, grey and black.

[Jasonub]

nice does it work?

[Julien Boit]

Yes it does.

But I have to do more testing to get used to.

My biggest fear was that I would be unable to put my thumb back on it when running, or after a mag change, but my thumb found , almost naturally, its place on the rest.

But as I said, I'll have to test it with softer ammo, but if it works with "handcannon ammos", It should work with puffy 175 PF loads

[Jasonub]

thanks, i thought it will cause you to push the second shot down to the right. i might try it too but what it will do is just speed splits? Or will it do more? Thanks

[Julien Boit]

I think the trick is to not apply too much pressure on it.

I found it allows me faster split times on close targets, but it also allows me to track a little bit more my front sight, more consistently.

But I would need more time to confirm or not if I'm gonna keep it on the pistols.

I also put one on my shorty 38 super, need to practice a lot now

[Jasonub]

thanks julien sorry for deviating from the topic mods.

[mcoliver]

Thanks for the pic Julien. I'm also planning to test one soon.

[mcoliver]

Hello Julien. I was finally able to test the thumbrest last weekend. My first impressions were the gun actually shot flatter with the weak thumb now having an active role in recoil control. I didn't notice any torquing or erratic tracking of the front sight, probably because the thumb rest was fit right to my thumb.

However, being used to the front-ejection-when -racking-the-slide method, I'm now forced to rack the slide using the rear serrations. This method needs some getting used to more than hte thumbrest.

[Julien Boit]

You're right.

I had to adapt my grip on the slide. I now catch it a little closer of the muzzle.

I don't like too much gripping the rear portions of the slide, unless the gun has a scope mounted

[reneet]

How does the gun lay on a table with the thumbrest on it?

[Julien Boit]

The pistols tends to point a little high.

I only tried with a short dustcover frame and classic 5" slide, maybe a full profile and long framed pistol would stay flatter. Also, I had to trim a bit the thumbrest to fit the holster and the box.

But I found nothing that makes the pick more difficult.

I'm gonna post some pics later .

[Julien Boit]

Here is the beast :

I think there are a couple of things to do to try to put the pistol flat.

Using a "big" thumb safety, like the swenson, the one currently on the pistol is the original STI safety. Or trying to trim the side of the thumbrest with an angle.

But as I said in the previous post, maybe a "muzzle heavy" pistol wouldn't sit the same way.

[Skywalker]

Julien,

looking at the pics, I guess there is no way to have that gun (or a long dustcovered one) lay flat or, better, muzzle down.

The thumbrest providing propping is nowhere near the center of gravity of the whole thing, and it gets worse when the gun is fully loaded, because the CG shifts towards the grip, not towards the muzzle.

The only solution is what you already pointed out: a wider left-side safety to prop up the back of the gun.

Or, maybe screwing in a small slide racker in the bottom left side of the slide...

[mcoliver]

I have a long dust cover and my pistol lays the same way as Julien's. Because of the thumbrest, I no longer have any fear of using an extended mag button.

Drifting here a bit, but I just have to ask. If you position the gun that way in the box and the muzzle sticks out of the max depth because it's angled, is it no longer box-compliant?