Front sight width vs rear sight width

[bayjoe]

What is the recommended width of the rear sight to the front sight?

My front sight is .140 wide and my rear sight notch is .140. It seems that when i look down my sights there is a lot of day light on the rear sight.

My pistol is an old Canadian Para Ordnance P16-40 with factory sights.

I am thinking about replacing my rear sight to a small notch and wanted to get some feedback first before i buy  

[Ollies930]

I think that a lot depends on usage and personal preference. For faster target acquisition most people prefer a fair amount of daylight on either side of the front post. For bullseye shooting it might go the other way, but would require a smaller front post. What are you planning on doing with your Para?

[bayjoe]

Wasn't planning on anything in particular. Just was thinking about changing rear sight and wanted input on what width of notch

[Ollies930]

Unless your eyes are getting a bit old and you need that wide of a front post, I would reduce the size of the front post until you notice a reduction of accuracy at typical use max distance. But the rear is probably in the ball park, width wise.

[yigal]

 i started to use 2.5mm F.S. with FO.  and 2.3-2.5 width and 2mm depth  R.S. on my TSO and 2011.

all R.S. i install 1mm fiber o.

Edited September 26, 2021 by yigal

[waktasz]

.140 is giant for both. 
I'd try a .125 or .115 with a rear notch that big and see how you like it. 
Most Bomar rears are .115 and people are running .090 to .115 for fronts 

[konkapot]

.140 is monstrously big. Try .090 and be prepared to be amazed and what you were missing before. 

[zzt]

I like a thin front blade with a very small FO.  I prefer daylight on both sides for USPSA and SCSA, and less daylight for bullseye.

[promtcy]

As most have said, depends on what you are doing. Bob Vogel used to run a .150 wide rear notch with a .117 wide front. Not sure if that's changed. I've run a .150 wide rear notch with a .125 wide front for steel challenge rimfire pistol. 

 

For pure accuracy you probably want less daylight. Depends on your eyes too. 

 

Most rear sight notches I've seen for Para's (I have two Pro Customs) are .110 wide, most front sights are .100 or .110 wide. I'd be interested in knowing what combinations you find. Do you know if it's LPA or Bomar rear sight on it now? I can't remember what the old Para's had. 

[Muricanwerewolf]

This is a topic debated on the internet for decades now and there's really no right answer. I know guys who prefer a fat combat sight taking up all their sight picture real estate (f*#kin weird) and guys with a narrow blade and just a little light peeping through (this seems like most people, and IMO is better than the first option). In my opinion, I like .15 rear and .11 front, which is very narrow up front with the fiber as high as it can go (TTI) and the rear is a dawson wide I think. With that wide a rear I'll never lose the front sight or not know where the sights are pointing, even if my presentation is dogs#!t. At the practical shooting distances we shoot I don't think there's much advantage lost because I'm a little less able to see if the sights are absolutely perfectly aligned laterally. Maybe if I'm trying to hit a 8 inch plate at 50 yards but that's a rough shot for anyone.

[obsessiveshooter]

You are going to get all kinds of answers here, and outliers are probably more apt to give you advice.  The best starting point would be the sight and notch widths recommended by Dawson for competition. It's rare that a high level shooter will have sights that are drastically different than those.   You can hone you preference from that starting point.