What You See Is How You Shoot: Picking the Best Pistol Sights for Your Eyes

The most user-friendly pistols generally have good-to-excellent ergonomics, a smooth trigger and a rugged set of well-made iron sights that work with your eyes. Sights must be sturdy enough not to break easily and must not “drift” left or right from a centered position on any pistol you intend to use for self-defense applications.

If you buy a pistol fitted with plastic sights, it’s in your best interest to have a set of metal sights installed. But what type of sights should you use?

Up Your Game

After I retired from my law enforcement career, I wrote a number of agency-profile articles for a tactical magazine. While most of those pieces focused on SWAT teams, I also spent time with patrol personnel.

During a visit to a major metropolitan police department, I was astonished to see a patrol lieutenant carrying a holstered Glock 17 fitted with a set of standard factory plastic sights. Bear in mind, this occurred when a wide variety of standard iron sights and iron night sights were available.

When I asked why the department didn’t issue pistols with iron night sights, I was basically told that the sights its sworn personnel used “worked just fine.”

That reply struck me like someone saying a competent driver can safely operate a two-wheel-drive car on standard street tires during a snowstorm. That’s true — I did it for many years, long before all-wheel and four-wheel drive became common — but a far better option is to drive a well-designed all-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicle fitted with more-aggressive tires in inclement weather.

Iron Sights

Earlier semi-autos, including the Colt 1911 Government Model, were fitted with the lowest-profile iron sights imaginable. The 9mm Browning Hi-Power manufactured before the advent of the Mk III was also equipped with a rather poor set of low-profile, 1911-style sights.

Fortunately, by the latter part of the 20th century, firearms manufacturers began raising the height of standard iron pistol sights to a more user-friendly level.

In the 1980s, double-action/single-action SIG Sauer pistols were manufactured with iron sights that featured a single, non-illuminated white painted line in the center of the rear sight paired with a non-illuminated white dot on the front-sight post.

This trend continued across the firearms industry, with a pistol often featuring two non-illuminated white dots on the right and left sides of the rear sight and a matching non-illuminated white dot on the front post. Clearly, the addition of a white line or white-dot inserts represented a definite improvement over the standard all-black metal sights.

Tritium Sights

Designs progressed even further when iron sights containing round green tritium inserts — known as “night sights” — became available. These were offered in three basic illuminated designs.

The most common was the standard three-dot night sights, which featured three white circular outlines — two on the rear sight and one on the front post — each containing a green tritium insert that glowed in low light.

Another option that has become a popular setup is the use of a standard all-black square-cut rear iron sight with the tritium front sight serving as the only illuminated night sight.

The argument for this system is that, in a low-light deadly force situation, the shooter’s eyes will naturally focus on the glowing front sight.

As the firearms-accessory industry continued to evolve, brightly colored rings — red, orange or green — were added around iron-sight posts containing green tritium inserts. In addition, fiber-optic sights in a variety of colors became a widely available option.

Optic Height and Ghost-Ring Sights

The pistol sights I favor most are high-visibility, optic-height night sights with tritium inserts. A close second are illuminated ghost-ring night sights.

When fitted to a pistol with a threaded barrel, optic-height night sights provide a proper sight picture even with a suppressor attached. They also serve as reliable backup iron sights when a micro-optic is installed.

In a tactical emergency, a higher, flat-front-faced rear sight can also be used to retract or rack the slide one-handed.

As someone who has field-tested numerous pistols with different sights, one of my favorite concealed carry pistols is my flawlessly reliable 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Compact (3.6-inch) fitted with optic-height night sights.

I like it so much that I plan to add a full-sized 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 Metal Law Enforcement model with optic-height night sights to my personal-defense battery.

Although the standard three-dot night sights on my full-sized M&P 2.0 provide a very good sight picture, optic-height night sights provide an even better sight picture. This capability is especially handy when I’m engaging multiple targets rapidly or at longer distances.

Ghost-ring night sights are another viable option. They use a round rear aperture and an illuminated fixed front post.

The AmeriGlo ghost-ring night sights, for example, include two illuminated dots at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions and a bright tritium dot in the front post.

Micro-Compact Optics

The most modern innovation in pistol sighting systems is the use of a micro-optic secured to the top-rear portion of the slide. Though a micro-optic is terrifically handy, you must change the battery that powers it on a regular schedule.

You must also reverify the zero whenever you remove or reinstall a micro-optic for any reason. Do this before returning a micro-optic-equipped pistol to service.

My personal favorite micro-optics are manufactured by Trijicon.

One of the most interesting innovations in slide cuts to support a micro-compact optic was engineered by Staccato. The new Staccato HD series of 2011 pistols features a cutout to accommodate a micro-optic positioned at the extreme rear of the slide.

As such, the rear fixed sight on a Staccato HD pistol is positioned in front of the optic cutout. A 9mm Staccato HD pistol also comes equipped with an illuminated Trijicon tritium front sight.

Testing Sights

One good way to determine which sights work best for your eyes is to examine various new and used pistols at local gun shops. Not all standard iron sights, night sights or micro-optics are alike.

If the store’s staff is up for it, you can test various sights by walking slowly into and out of a dark room and then into a dimly lit hallway or a space illuminated by bright sunlight while looking through different unloaded pistols equipped with various sighting systems.

You can run the same test with pistols fitted with micro-optics. Doing so will show you which types of sights provide the clearest sight picture for your eyes, as individual shooters often prefer the sight picture produced by certain brands and designs.

It’s also worth remembering that tritium night sights will generally provide some level of illumination even after a decade of use. Any illumination is better than none.

And equipping a pistol with a compact tactical light will illuminate your area of operation in low-light conditions and even complete darkness.

You Need to Get What’s Right For You

Start with a simple eyeball test at the gun shop and then take the pistol to the range and validate your choice under pressure. If the sight picture feels natural and you can present and hit quickly in varying light, you’ve found sights that match your eyes — and that’s what matters when it counts.

Testing different setups in varied lighting will tell you more than any ad or article. Choose the sights that give you the clearest picture for your eyes, and you’ll know you can run your pistol with confidence in any condition.

SOURCES

• AmeriGlo: AmeriGlo.com
• Smith & Wesson: Smith-Wesson.com
• Staccato: Staccato2011.com
• Trijicon: Trijicon.com