Paint on rear sight legal in Production?

[cb35]

Hello BE Forum members, hopefully someone can answer this for me:

My rear sights are all black, with a fiberoptic red front. I was thinking of marking the middle of the rear sights with a sharpie or something similar to help me line it up with the front a bit faster. Is this against the rules in Production?

[Skydiver]

Cynical black and white side me says: The older rule book from 2008 explicitly allowed painting or coloring the sights (D4.21). That clause got lost in the 2010 rulebook, but as I recall there was an NROI ruling that was in place that allowed the application of "sight black". The current rule book makes no mention of coloring the sights. And worse, when looking at the rulings, one then stumbles across the following ruling:

Question:

Can I paint a dot or arrow inside the magwell of my production handgun for a reference point and paint an arrow or stripes on my slide to help with alignment?

Answer:

No, a competitor may not paint dots, stripes or anything to help them reload or align sights quicker, cosmetic finishes only as per 21.2a "this clause is now interpreted to specifically allow refinishing the frame as well as the slide, subject to the existing constraints on refinishing (cosmetic only, no competitive advantage). Item 22 also goes on to say that the absence of an item in the list of prohibited modifications may not be construed to mean a modification is allowed. A modification is only allowed in Production Division if there is a rules clause or interpretation which specifically declares that it is allowed.

Note the phrase "or align the sights quicker"

The more practical side of me tends to go with: Since you are allowed to replace sights in Production with any other notch and post system, who am I to say that you can't put on sights which had a mark in the the middle of the notch.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Skydiver

[bagdad45]

Appendix D4-21.6 allows for replacement of sights with OFM or aftermarket parts. You could be sure to be legal if you replaced the current sight with a Dawson FO rear, or similar sight. The FO would provide the result I think you are looking for.

[JAFO]

The rules say sight changes are allowed, with no requirement that they be OEM, have a minimum production run, etc. To me, that means you can have any iron sight you want, including a custom one you make yourself.

Edited August 14, 2014 by JAFO

[Graham Smith]

Nevermind...

Edited August 14, 2014 by Graham Smith

[Ramas]

IPSC Production div. alows this mod, unless you gonna modify the slide.

[cb35]

Thanks all, it looks like it's legal then. I'll try it out to see if it works for me.