Talk me out of a fiber optic adj. rear sight...

[Pinkowitz]

I've got the standard serrated adj. rear and FO front sights. They work great except when shooting at dark targets - I struggle to get the front post dead center of my sight picture when I can't see any light through the side gaps.

 

Considering an SVI FO rear - https://infinity.americommerce.com/p/127-Infinity-Illuminated-Competition-Rear-Sight.aspx It seems like would make it easier to line up the sights on a black target.

 

What are the gotchas I'm not thinking of? There's gotta be a reason almost no one uses these sights. This is primarily for 3-gun and limited.

[Southpaw]

FYI, Dawson also makes a fiber optic rear sight. I have one and it works well. 

[Rnlinebacker]

I've got the standard serrated adj. rear and FO front sights. They work great except when shooting at dark targets - I struggle to get the front post dead center of my sight picture when I can't see any light through the side gaps.
 
Considering an SVI FO rear - https://infinity.americommerce.com/p/127-Infinity-Illuminated-Competition-Rear-Sight.aspx It seems like would make it easier to line up the sights on a black target.
 
What are the gotchas I'm not thinking of? There's gotta be a reason almost no one uses these sights. This is primarily for 3-gun and limited.

your eye is naturally attracted to bright colors hence when black rear works very well with FO front. You're going to make a visual distraction fighting the fibers. How often are you shooting dark targets?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[muncie21]

I have the SVI fiber rear sight and frankly find it to be a distraction.  Because of this, I used a sharpee to blacken the fiber rods.

 

P.S. in USPSA, you aren't supposed to shoot the dark guys

Edited October 3, 2019 by muncie21

[af_tt]

3 dots are for low light when you cant get light bars on on each side of your front sight post. It will not help you and* possibly hinder you if you use them in a competition setting.

 

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

[cas]

I found that rear dots REALLY slowed me down.  They all get blacked out now.  White outline sights get blacked out of turned around. 

 

I have one "house gun" with tritium bar/dot sights.  Once in a while I'd shoot a match with it just for some trigger time, I'd do so with a small piece of electrical tap over the rear bar. 

[Denato1]

I have both, I switched my rear sight on my shadow 2 to something with a 2 dot fiber in rear. I used it that way for a year. now i just switched back to a plain black rear sight. After a while i started to feel like it was drawing my attention too much. I think it all depends on your shooting style. If you use a  "combat" sight picture and line up the dots on that target it is a must. I found that with a traditional sight picture on further shots, it complicated the sight picture for me. I still run a 3 dot fiber on my walther q5. 

 

It all depends on your Style, and What you can see.

[Postal Bob]

A few things to consider:

First, are we talking about indoor, or outdoor shooting? Because for me personally, I can't see FO sights indoors no matter what the target is.

Second. How wide is your rear sight notch, or your front sight post? If the rear is too narrow, or the front too wide, you're going to have a hard time to "see any light through the side gaps" as you say. Especially shooting action pistol when transitioning target to target.

Third, What color is your FO sight? Again, for me, a red FO is like a laser pointed in my eye. All my eye sees is the red FO, and not much of the rear sight at all. For that reason, I use a small green FO rod. It's not as bright, and only serves as a reference point, rather than drawing all my attention to the dot.

Edited October 4, 2019 by Postal Bob

[Hi-Power Jack]

21 hours ago, Pinkowitz said:

  when I can't see light through the side gaps.

 

I'd consider a more narrow front sight (which is my favorite - c. 0.080" FO), 

or wider rear sight.     

[Descartian]

I’m not a fan of 3 dot sights or fiber optic rears. It’s too confusing of a sight picture and will slow you down. Either stick with what you have s d adapt or go with a narrower front fight. 

[ClayBuster]

Good lord, I’m just starting to somewhat like a FO front. Still on the fence though. I’ve always preferred the black rears. ( I felt dirty typing that.) 

[zombywoof]

I kinda like a three dot sight. I don't shoot irons that much though.

[HHjr]

On 10/3/2019 at 6:34 PM, muncie21 said:

I have the SVI fiber rear sight and frankly find it to be a distraction.  Because of this, I used a sharpee to blacken the fiber rods.

 

P.S. in USPSA, you aren't supposed to shoot the dark guys

This right there..... black rear.... and Fixed!   anything else is a distraction.    I put a Dawson .100 wide fo front on a custom Caspian 45 build and went on to win Expert CDP state championship match.  I feel fixed rear zero detriment to hitting.... regardless of bullet wt.... I reload and buy what’s the deal!!!  this being reasonable pistol distances.      Did the same exact thing on a XDTactical and won Expert ESP championship match next year.  I once thought adjustable was required..... proved that Wrong.  Once you find what works you not change..... neither does your

 

H

[tbarker13]

Tried using rear fibers in my earlier USPSA days. But as several others have mentioned, those rear fibers can be distracting. Now, I just use plain black rear sights. Much better for me.

[Paul-the new guy]

I run the infinity FO rear and front.  I use green front and red rear.  Works well for me.  My eyes are pretty bad so even with mono vision contacts the sights are fuzzy and the bright dots are easier to get lined up.  I don't get "distracted" by the sights but I am only a B in USPSA and an EX in IDPA 

[MikeBurgess]

for 90% +  of the targets we shoot you don't need that good a sight picture (equal height equal light) front fiber in the notch is about all you need to see most of the time. adding more noise to the sights will just add to the information you need to sort through in order to call a good enough shot.

 

 

[Dranoel]

Just go ahead and buy it.

 

[sean_stw]

I've tried FO front and rear sight sights and for me it was hard to be fast and accurate. there's just to much going on to be able to focus and line up the sights quickly, ive tried red rear and green front and the other way around and neither worked good for me.

[Prange]

On 10/3/2019 at 5:08 PM, Pinkowitz said:

I've got the standard serrated adj. rear and FO front sights. They work great except when shooting at dark targets - I struggle to get the front post dead center of my sight picture when I can't see any light through the side gaps.

 

Considering an SVI FO rear - https://infinity.americommerce.com/p/127-Infinity-Illuminated-Competition-Rear-Sight.aspx It seems like would make it easier to line up the sights on a black target.

 

What are the gotchas I'm not thinking of? There's gotta be a reason almost no one uses these sights. This is primarily for 3-gun and limited.

If the front sight is .125, you could try opening the rear sight notch to .140-150 and leave the rear sight black.

 

Eyes can only focus on one object at a time. The "3-dot" sights are just BS marketing. With multiple "dots", the eyes shift focus from dot to dot, front to rear, and you aren't really focusing on anything.

 

Also, a dedicated pair of prescription shooting glasses would certainly help. 

 

Don Nygord and Dr.Norman Wong wrote some great articles on vision for the shooting sports.

[GOF]

Have you ever tried a FO front with a white outlined rear sight? I have, and it seems to center the FO dot quickly. Your eyes may vary.

[MikeyScuba]

I blacked my rear fibres out.  Did a course with Steve Anderson and I was having issues with a drill.  He suggested I black out the Xmas tree I had going on on the top of my gun.  I did and it worked!

 

i only had those sights as I saw them on a gun of a shooter who helped us when we were brand new. Thought they were cool.