FN-FNP9 - Sight Misery

[ChrisStock]

I love my FN-FNP9 dearly, let there be no doubt. Of course I had to fall in love with a pistol with very few aftermarket accessories.

Here's the issue: I have been unable to locate any decent front sights for it. I bought a tritium set from Ameriglo, and they work great at night, but are just as low-vis as the factory sets in the daytime. Slow sight reads are not a problem when beating the hell out of paper, but as I look forward to my first match next weekend, I realize that I am going to need everything bit of help I can get when shooting for time.

I have pondered dragging it around to different shops seeing if I can retrofit a set of FO sights manufactured for a different pistol, but this is a serious pain considering my schedule. Are there any other FNP owners here who have found a working solution? Thanks folks!

[rubberneck]

Did you try Novak's? They have sights for a bunch of guns (including fiber optic front sights) and even if they don't have a front sight for the P9 they might have one that works with a little fitting.

[L9X25]

Chris,

As long as your gun shoots to point of aim, that is all that you will need. What you can do for the future is take a few measurements from the existing front sight and contact Dawson Precision and see if they have a fiber optic that will fit your dimensions.

There must be 100 different types of "iron" sights but the people at the top of the game stick with the traditional styles. The only options are whether each individual likes the fibre optic front sight or not. Back on black sights are still very competitive.

In the begining, the trick to doing your best is to shoot slowly and do everything else fast. The shooting part will get faster with time and the last thing you want to do is to rush the shooting part. Points are scored with the shooting and time is saved with your feet, don't sacrifice points for time.

You will do fine, just relax and have fun!

[Joe4d]

dab some fingernail polish on them, FO's are only faster because you think they are, black out any dots lines or doodads on the rear sight. But I would need more info to specifically answer your question, how is the front sight mounted ? dovetailed, staked ? top of slide flat like a glock or round like a 1911? if dovetailed what are the dimensions ? depth of cut width front to rear at bottom of cut ? side to side ?

[ChrisStock]

Did you try Novak's? They have sights for a bunch of guns (including fiber optic front sights) and even if they don't have a front sight for the P9 they might have one that works with a little fitting.

Thanks, Rubberneck. I did in fact send an email to Novak, and they do not have a drop in replacement, but would need to mill the slide to get one of their beautiful sights to work. I was trying to avoid altering anything that can't be undone to bring it back to factory new. Thanks for the direction though!

Chris,

As long as your gun shoots to point of aim, that is all that you will need. What you can do for the future is take a few measurements from the existing front sight and contact Dawson Precision and see if they have a fiber optic that will fit your dimensions.

In the begining, the trick to doing your best is to shoot slowly and do everything else fast. The shooting part will get faster with time and the last thing you want to do is to rush the shooting part. Points are scored with the shooting and time is saved with your feet, don't sacrifice points for time.

You will do fine, just relax and have fun!

Leo,

After shooting with the FO sights, it is tough going back to a grey dot between 2 white ones. After doing a few hours of study in this thread, and the resultant links, I think my first priority will be adhering to the range commands and safety, followed by all A's, then speed will come dragging in. I just wanted to give speed a little kick in the pants without sacrificing the first two objectives. With three bulging disks in my back, I won't be making up a ton of time with my feet, so my hands and eyes need all the help that they can get.

I will be contacting Dawson on Monday, and seeing if they have an idea of how best to help me out with a solution that doesn't require milling or altering something that can't be undone.

Thanks again for the words of encouragement and experience , now to go practice with the .50 cal can I filled up with 9MM last night!

dab some fingernail polish on them, FO's are only faster because you think they are, black out any dots lines or doodads on the rear sight. But I would need more info to specifically answer your question, how is the front sight mounted ? dovetailed, staked ? top of slide flat like a glock or round like a 1911? if dovetailed what are the dimensions ? depth of cut width front to rear at bottom of cut ? side to side ?

Joe4D,

I think it has more to do being able to accquire the front sight post faster. It never occured to me what a difference this would make until I fired my wife's 95DC that we had FOs attached to. I will have to measure the dovetail on it and get back with you on that. I had to threadlock the front sight post after losing it in the sand a few weeks ago. I'll have to see if I can get an accurate measurement without hammering it out of alignment. Lord knows it took long enough to get it drifted just perfect and locked in so that POA=POI.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, guys, I will just have to shoot with what brought me here in the first place, and that's ok. No big deal, I was looking for an easy and quick solution. Nobody's fault but mine for falling in love with a pistol from the other side of the pond.