2cats Posted August 2, 2002 Share Posted August 2, 2002 ? Why are they popular? If they indeed work well form many people - why? how? I understand that the notch is pretty narrow, between 0.110 and 0.111. Do people open this up? What width front blades do people use with these? Many thanks, 2cats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted August 2, 2002 Share Posted August 2, 2002 > Why are they popular? Beats the shjt out of me! I never measured my BMCS notches, nor the notches of the Caspian and STI adjustable sights I've used, but they work fine on 5" 2011s with front sights of .094" and .099". (Edited by Erik Warren at 6:30 pm on Aug. 20, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 2, 2002 Share Posted August 2, 2002 they are repeatable, they don't break with normal use, they look good. Used them for 15 years with the standard notch, and never had a problem. Since I now shoot in the Senior division and my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, I open up the notch to .14 on my Commander. Still great, after all these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 The Bomars have simply been the industry standard for years. Nevertheless, thankfully, Bill Wilson finally decided to take a look at a good design with an eye of improvement. The Wilson sight is a big-time improvement over the Bomar, if for no other reason than you can change the rear blade/notch in less than a minute, using only a screwdriver. If you should ever want to change the rear blade in your Bomar, you'll probably want to kill yourself by the time, or if you ever, finish the job. In addition, the Wilson sight is much more robust, the interchangeable parts are CNC machined to precise tolerances, which means they don't loosen up after a steady diet of Stock gun ammo. And, if that's not enough, you purchase the Wilson sight on be.com at a discounted price. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 2cats, What Brian said. FWIW, I replaced my stock STI rear with a Wilson from brianenos.com because I got tired of replacing the pivot pin. It broke about every 500 rds or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 Right! The pivot pin in the Bomar is a twinkie roll pin. The Wilson pivot pin is made out solid bar stock. I can't imagine it could ever break. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 I've said this before, but on three separate occasions I've dropped my Wilson .45 on concrete and had it land on the rear sight blade. It just sat there and laughed, not at ALL impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 Your sight may not have said anything, but I will, "...ouch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cats Posted August 7, 2002 Author Share Posted August 7, 2002 What sight cut does the Wilson go into? (I'm gathering . . .) (Edited by 2cats at 10:11 am on Aug. 7, 2002) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 7, 2002 Share Posted August 7, 2002 2cats, Wilson makes two mounting styles - one fits a standard Bomar dovetail, and the other is his own design that simply anchors the site into a slot you mill into the top of the slide. (Maybe about 3/8".) That is how Wilson mounts them when he builds the guns as new. But luckily for the rest of us with Bomar cuts already in the slide, his dovetailed version usually installs with a small amount of hand fitting. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cats Posted August 8, 2002 Author Share Posted August 8, 2002 Did they ascend to their position in history primarily by being the first rugged, and therefore useful, adjustable? What about sight picture? Is the Bo-Mar popularity tied to the notion that you can't beat the traditional notch and post? Let's expand this subject: What do people like and dislike about their sight pictures? (P.S. I'm coming off 2 years with Ashley sights, which I liked, and still do like, but I have started shooting groups and am wondering about alternatives. Thus my interest and line of questioning) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 8, 2002 Share Posted August 8, 2002 Their rise in history revolves around the fact that they were the best on the market for over 25 yrs. Things evolve, and maybe they have evolved past BoMar sights, but they were the best for a long time. That is why there is chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla, if you don't like one, you can get another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 2cats, I was just talking with a fella on the phone this morning about the pros and cons of the Wilson Combat Pyramid rear blade. (I may have been the first to experiment with that style rear blade, inspired by Walter Roper's book, Experiments of a Handgunner.) I "thought" I liked it for several years, but over time I began to notice that I really didn't shoot as well as it "looked" like I was - when I was actually shooting. Meaning, my shots weren't landing as close to my calls as expected. I finally gave it up because I did not feel I was getting the feedback, in the horizontal alignment department, offered by a standard rear blade. The Pyramid rear blade, and the T's or inverted T front sights look real good when you're aiming statically, but at speed, for me, I didn't feel I was getting the feedback that traditional patridge sights provide. At speed, it's just hard to beat the big, bold, easily-readable, sight picture of patridge sights. It's uncanny how quickly the eye can discern any misalignment whatsoever on these type sights. It's a hard thing to explain in words. Maybe one more thought might help. Many of the trendy sights in use today easily show you when the sights are perfectly aligned; however, they provide little feedback concerning where the shot may land if they are slightly to grossly misaligned. Which is the way we shoot most of our shots in IPSC. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benos Posted August 12, 2002 Share Posted August 12, 2002 Since we've thread-drifted right out of this forum with 2cats question and my last post, I'm going to re-post it in the Shooting Technique Questions, Handgun forum. be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21 shooter Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 Does he make a drop-in for Glocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted August 19, 2002 Share Posted August 19, 2002 You can get bomar's for the glock...they hang off the back of the slide a bit. You can get the slide milled special for them for some extra $$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrguar Posted August 20, 2002 Share Posted August 20, 2002 Bo-Mars pretty much hold up to everything Action shooting can throw at them. I have had lookalikes come apart on me at matches...I have seen them come off other guns...I finished my last stage at the 1999 Aware with a broken elevation screw ..every shot I fired the sights flipped up then back down....very disconcerting for me and entertaining fro everyone else,still I managed to shoot 132 out of 140 points on a field course....I have Bo-Mars on all of my guns now I run a .095 rear & .095 front took a little while to get used to but is very comfortable to shoot. The easiest way I found to change rear blades is to change the entire leaf with the notch of your choice....can be done in about 10 mins..with no fuss or special tools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 You tell 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 <smiling nicely and nodding at jrguar> Yeah, uh-huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 It's cool you've had such good experiences with Bo-Mars, and I certainly wish you continued luck. Thing is, the Wilson can change the entire sight blade in about one minute - if you go REAAAAL slow. The blades are designed to be easily interchangeable. Removal and installation only entails twisting the windage adjustment screw, all you need is a flathead screwdriver. The entire sight body, and every sight blade, is machined from bar stock. The hinge pin is likewise machined from bar stock. I'll stick with the Wilson's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Aaaaaaand......here's 1,000! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 What is so neat about changing the blade? I have a rear sight on each of my pistols and each one has its own blade, I don't need to change them. If you guys would stop dropping them on the concrete or letting them fall out of the truck when you get out, you wouldn't be having all these problems. Just kidding...to each his own, but why do you need to change the blades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipster Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 Quote: Just kidding...to each his own, but why do you need to change the blades. tightloop, I can't believe you asked that question. The obvious answer is: "Because you can". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBChaffin Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 You need to change the blades when you've been playing with the files and dremel making your rear sight more to your liking, but you go a little too far and mess one up. I had a Bo-mar that I did just such a thing too. Replaced the whole sight with a Wilson from our host and got the blade just right (for the moment) on it on the first try (largely thanks to "learning" on the Bo-mar. If I ever want to change the look of the rear blade, rear notch width, etc, it's a simple call to Brian and about a minute as Duane mentioned to swap them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted August 21, 2002 Share Posted August 21, 2002 DB, with all due respect to a Man of Knowledge, a man's got to know his limitations, and it sounds like your's are working with files and a Dremel. That is why I have a quality pistolsmith to do that kind of thing for those of us who are less talented. I am funny that way, when I spend 2500 bucks on a custom pistol, I don't want to F*** it up by my putting a file on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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