NFLcavediver Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Like the title says fiber optic vs black rear sights, and why. There's one for fiber optic color on front sights. It was very helpful to new shooters, maybe this could do the same. I'm both a new shooter and up there in years, the mid point of the last century. I need something that my old eyes can see. I just shot my first UAPSA match I did as well as I thought I would, dead last. That's OK, but I would like to improve. I know the biggest thing is practice, practice and more practice, but it would sure be nice to see the sights. Thanks for all comments on the sights. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toothguy Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 (edited) I have a FO front and rear set on my revolver made by Protocol Design. The front fiber is a larger red and the rear ones are smaller green. I usually just look for the red front and don't really notice the green rear FO's unless the light is really poor. On cloudy days the rear FO's really help to give a quick sight picture reference especially against a dark background. I also think it helps, as your eyes get older, to open up the rear sight or use a more narrow front sight to let in more light. I think it's something you will need to experiment with. You can try many different combos of FO colors and if you don't like them you can black them out with a Sharpie Marker. Edited July 18, 2015 by toothguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapribek Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 You'll pick up the fiber optic more quickly than the black iron sight. More importantly, you might want to have your glasses set up thus way: dominant eye set for computer distance and non-dominant eye set with normal prescription. At 66, this allows me to see the front sight very clearly and I can still see the targets that are far away. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericridebike Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I think the most common configuration people use for competition is a plain black rear with a fiber optic front. As mentioned before, the fiber optic rod will help you pick up the front sight quicker. The front sight is what you should really be focusing on so it makes sense for it to have the fiber optic in it to help you pick it up and be a contrast vs a plain black rear sight. Many people that have rear sights with dots or fiber optics end up blacking them out with a sharpie marker. That way you know when you see the fiber optic rod, you know you are looking at the front sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuey Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I think the most common configuration people use for competition is a plain black rear with a fiber optic front. As mentioned before, the fiber optic rod will help you pick up the front sight quicker. The front sight is what you should really be focusing on so it makes sense for it to have the fiber optic in it to help you pick it up and be a contrast vs a plain black rear sight. Many people that have rear sights with dots or fiber optics end up blacking them out with a sharpie marker. That way you know when you see the fiber optic rod, you know you are looking at the front sight. Agreed. I starting with black front and went to FO later. I saw a big difference between the two. I recommended going to FO. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfaxis Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I had a red FO front and blacked out rears to begin with, and could not find the notch when getting on target. (I have to wear 1.5 readers in real life). Putting rear green FO's allow me to hit targets at distances greater than 25 ft. Without it, bullets go everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IATURNKEY Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I find myself ignoring the back site when it is plain black. It seems to place all of my focus on the front and has allowed me to pick up some speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kali Posted July 22, 2015 Share Posted July 22, 2015 Plain black for me. More precise, no fiber glow to obscure the edges of the sight. With the fiber I was breaking the shot as soon as seeing green (or red), now I see the edges of the sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oak hill Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 I find myself ignoring the back site when it is plain black. It seems to place all of my focus on the front and has allowed me to pick up some speed. Ditto with this. I like fiber optic front, and just dim it down with a black sharpie when in the bright sun so it does not have the starburst effect of being too bright for precision shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlightMurse Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 FO Front and plain rear for me please. For carry guns its a tritium front and plain rear sights as well. For whatever reason if I don't have tape on my glasses I see 5 dots and get confused on which one is which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GunBugBit Posted July 23, 2015 Share Posted July 23, 2015 A nice bright fiber optic catches my eye, and that has its advantages. The tradeoff is that it can be the dominating object in my sight/target picture when it's not really what I should be looking at. More important is the centering of the front sight post inside of the rear sight notch, and often the tops of the sights being aligned. I'll be trying a plain black sight setup for a few matches and see how that goes. It already served me well for one match and I hadn't even been practicing with that gun. While it can make a difference for sure, a shooter at my level isn't going to be made or broken by one or the other sight configuration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2kcrewcab Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 I prefer a green FO front with a black rear sight - and to take it one step further, I prefer Dawson Precision. The main thing I like about the Dawson front FO sights is that the fiber is pulled into a recess in the sight, making it more crisp than some of the other options out there. I also found that different colored lenses in my glasses made a difference in how I pick up the green FO. It might be just a Jedi mind trick, but I had some cheapo blue lens safety glasses that I bought at a local hardware store, and I could have sworn it made the green easier to pick up. Then I switched to some Maui Jim "HD" lenses, and it's even better than before. Your mileage may vary...but that's how it is for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowenbuilt Posted July 24, 2015 Share Posted July 24, 2015 Plain black rear for me and an FO front. Colorful rear sights are just too busy for my pea sized brain to contend with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFLcavediver Posted July 25, 2015 Author Share Posted July 25, 2015 I went and bought the DP fiber optic front and rear sights they are set up as red on front green on the rear. they came with extra fibers. So I can change them if I have trouble seeing one or the other. I went to the range today and ran 200 rounds through my Glock 22 with the stock sights. At about 175 rounds I put on the fiber front sight, just to see the difference! Wow is that easy to see. Being a taller front sight it shot a lot lower, isn't geometry something. I'll put on the rear tomorrow. If the rear fiber optics become a bother I can do the sharpie trick. Thank you for all the comments they are appreciated. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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