Anyone use XS Sights

I've had XS Sights 24/7 Big Dot tritium sights on my Glock 19 for almost 10 years.

When I first installed them I wasn't sure I liked them. It took 200-300 rounds to get used to them and become proficient.

I find they're very quick to acquire visually and very quick to obtain a good sight picture.

They also allow you to shoot accurately. Like anything else worth learning it just takes some time and effort to become a great shot with them.

Video demonstrations:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY5RURFEGd8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQVCeJ103BQ

Good luck!

They are quick to acquire and I had them on my M&P 9C carry gun for a while. I had them until I was at my Dad's house shooting and tried to shoot a pop can at about ten feet. The big dot completely obscured the can and I had a heck of a time hitting it. I've since switched to Ameriglo Operators. I paint the front sight red. I daylight they are just as quick to acquire as the XS and as the lights dim it switches to the bright green tritium front and the subdued yellow rears. They work great and I would never go back to the XS sights.

I have the XS big dot tritiums on my P220 and, as mentioned, they are quick to acquire but I do lose some accuracy due to size. They are plenty accurate enough for a defensive handgun in my opinion, just not for small targets.

I use them on my primary carry G23.

I have them on my 1911. Not the big dot but the standard size front dot.

I find that it doesn't cover the target as much as the big dot. Still easy to use, just dot the I and fire.

i have them on my NAA Pug. They're perfect for a small pocket gun and almost act like point shooting with the Pug. I prefer Heine Straight 8 style sights on anything over a .380 size though. They tend to be more accurate for me.

I have the standard dot on my new Ruger LCR, and have just started to practice with it and the trigger system. Instructions say cover object up at one distance and 6 o'clock hold for another distance. The sight seems like it will work out just fine.

I use them on my G27. They are extremely fast to acquire but took around 100rds to get used to them.

For a while I had the xs big dot sights on 3 pistols. I've since then replaced them all. They worked fine for very close very fast work but when the target got small (IDPA head shots at 15 yds) I just couldn't do it. I guess what I'm saying is that they were not a big enough advantage up close to offset the disadvantage for smaller targets farther away. Try them for yourself is best.

I use them on my carry Glock 19. I like them. I won't be swapping out all the sights on my other handguns to big dots, but I certainly love them on my glock. I couldn't shoot well with the factory plastic sights...blacking out the U notch with a sharpie helped, but I wanted tritium. I tried the big dots out of sheer curiosity since I was in the market for new sights. For up close and personal inside of 15 yards, they are great. With practice you can easily make hits farther out. It just takes practice (which we all need anyway, right?).

If I already had traditional 3 dot night sights, I wouldn't change them to big dots.

If this were a range only piece, I wouldn't use big dots.

I prefer all black combat sights...maybe a gold bead. But I just had to have tritium, so I tried the big dots. I'm sold on the product and very satisfied with the results. Like I said though, I'm not rushing out to buy several more sets for my other handguns. However, if I needed to replace the big dots on my carry 19 for whatever reason, I'd probably buy another set of big dots. I like them.

What Shawn Dodson said...

I like mine.

I have them on a Colt XSE Lightweight Commander. My main interest is SD and I like them for SD. I've shot my fastest 2nd shots using the XS Big Dots. I place a 6'' circle (Shoot&See) at 18 feet. I only count the pair if both shots hit that circle (1'' away from the circle won't count). In this "contest" my best pistols had been a Glock 19 with Meprolights and the Lightweight Commander using it's original 3 dot sights; both pistols averaged .29 after about 15 pairs of "qualifying" double taps. After installing the Big Dots, using the same factory ammunition, the XS Big Dots / Commander dropped that time to .21 sec. I know this is a small difference, but I've done that little drill a bunch and .21 is blazing (for me) considering 230 gr. full power ammo. Based on my little "test" they do hold a slight advantage if the target is about 6'' in diameter about 18 feet away and fast follow up shots are the goal.

blitzen said:

For a while I had the xs big dot sights on 3 pistols. I've since then replaced them all. They worked fine for very close very fast work but when the target got small (IDPA head shots at 15 yds) I just couldn't do it. I guess what I'm saying is that they were not a big enough advantage up close to offset the disadvantage for smaller targets farther away. Try them for yourself is best.

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+1

I had them on a G23. They were great for up close speed, but slow and sometimes impossible to use beyond 15 yards. If I ever had to take a precise shot at longer ranges I couldn't with the XS big dots.

I timed my shots at 25yards. I'm way faster with a Warren Sevigny Comp rear and a Dawson thin FO front sight. The Xs sights take too long to line up at longer ranges, very hard for precision shooting.

At closer ranges, I can point shoot, even faster, within the ranges the Xs sights did best at.

Maybe I'll put them on a g26, but I'll probally trade them instead.

I have the standard size dot on my bedside gun (Sig P226). Very quick to acquire. And because they are not the BIG dot, they are accurate for distant shooting as well as up close. By far my favorite sight configuration.

I have no problem quickly hitting and exploding potatoes at 35 yards. It takes time and effort to learn how to shoot accurately with them at distances.

I tried a few things before settling on the XS sights. For any pistol that might serve a self-defense role, I've put them on. For self defense work (i.e. not a target match gun) they work great IMO. If I didn't like them, I would have removed them.

XS 24/7 Big Dots on all 5 of my Glocks. Perfect for self degense, but good for me at longer ranges. I use a G17 with the 24/7's in 3 Gun Matcher.

My Kahr PM9 came with the Big Dot front sight, but I coudn't adjust to it. Just too different from the sights on anything else I owned. It now has the same 3-dot Trijicon tritium night sights as my other semi autos do.

If all your guns have that Big Dot, and you shoot well with it, or you only have one gun... may be the way to go.

For me...no thanks. I shot way high with it, and if I have to make a mental "exception" for one carry gun, that is a potentially fatal flaw.
I'd prefer to keep a common sight picture.

JMHO.

XS Sights: Just Say No
6-Dec-09 by ToddG

http://pistol-training.com/archives/2140

I get asked about XS pistol sights all the time, and keep meaning to write something in-depth about them. But the issue came up at HKPRO again today and my quick response there seemed like a reasonable start:

I would not recommend the XS sights. Some people have a religious fervor about them which borders on the frightening, but in general here’s the thing to keep in mind:

No top-ranked competitive shooter uses them.
No military unit in the U.S. uses them.
No major LE agency in the U.S. uses them.
No major SWAT team in the U.S. uses them.
If they’re really so great and fast and “instinctive,” why are none of those groups using them?

In fairness, I’ll admit that I’ve had two students in classes this year who were pretty good with the XS sights on their gun (both managed to score an Advanced rating on the F.A.S.T.). But I’ve watched far more struggle with the XS system in the same time period…

The main issue is that the rear sight simply does not provide the kind of visual feedback necessary to get acceptable hits under the wide range of circumstances that matter in a practical setting. Their claim to fame is that they’re fast on wide open close targets… but even point shooting is fast on wide open close targets! Everything is. As soon as you start to require tougher shots, the XS sights slow you down more than traditional notch and post sights will.

Train hard & stay safe! ToddG

They take some getting used to.

They are NOT 'Target sites'

But at the end of the last rifle class I took I used my Glock 26 with XS big dots to hit a Larue steel reactive target (Smaller than chest sized steel for those who don't know) out to 100 yards.

I'd say that is accurate ENOUGH!

(And I don't make ANY claims about being some 'expert shot')

I agree with HK-Freak on why professionals do not use the XS sights.

No top-ranked competitive shooter uses them.
No military unit in the U.S. uses them.
No major LE agency in the U.S. uses them.
No major SWAT team in the U.S. uses them.
If they’re really so great and fast and “instinctive,” why are none of those groups using them?

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I also agree with the rear sight not having enough encasement or wrap to give the ocular feedback to make preceise longer shots. Yes it takes a while to get used to them but even after 1,000 of rounds I removed them and use a more standard style blade sight.
I have test extensively almost all the sights out there and personaly keep going back to a fiber optic enhanced blade style. Yes I am as fast with the XS at close distances, but I am just as fast with any sight at that distance because of the practise. With any shooter there is a distance that you must made the transission from a rapid point shoot to proper sight picture in order to hit longer shots with accuracy. At that point a blade type sight will give that preceise sight picture.
Yes many people are extremely accurate with the Big Dots. Lots of practice pays off, and everyone is entitled to and has their own opionion.

The only real way to know is to try them as I have and make the decesion yourself.

I sell lots of different brands of sights, including all of the competition speed sights. I also shoot IDPA and some IPSC.


TDR911

gonna put some on my 2nd gen G-19 . I think they are mainly for up close personal defense . I dont think they are for shooting way far like target shooting .

You are correct tercel89.

think they are mainly for up close personal defense

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In my opinion they are mainly designed for close up self defense and are also a good choice for those that have their eyesight becoming an issue. I only use glasses for up close reading and work right now. At arms length the sights are not clear. In normal street attire I do not wear glasses, so if there is a self defense situation I have to rely on my sight as it is. Big dots helped me pick up the front sight but I did not like the rear sight alignment at all. I am currently working on a rear sight that will complement the big dot style front. They will be fiber optic for the prototype.

I have a special pair of shooting glasses that have the right lense with the focus at the distance of the pistol sight. Perfect sight picture with my dominent eye. The other left lense is set for distance so any target at 25 feet and out is in focus. That way they covers both close focus and distance focus.

Does anyone have a set of XS sights on their pistol? Likes or dislikes.......

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I have a set on my xd service model. I have been using xs sights for over 5 years now, between my xd service model (the last 3 years) a glock 23, and a glock 19, that i had about 5 years ago which was the first exposure i had to them. I have no complaints. They are fast to acquire. They really come into their own when you are moving, and or your target is moving, or both (which is very conducive to true defensive shootings as we can see from empirical evidence that threats normally don't stand still).

Additionally they are fast for first shot hits, and they are really good for follow up shots. which falls right into the needs that one has in a defensive scenario. you want to fire the first round as fast as you can, and you want to (if need be) fire follow up shots quick as you can.

Regardless of what people say (and they are many) they are plenty accurate. Now with that said you have to ensure that you mean accurate in the right context. do you want to use them to shoot 50yd bullseye comps? no, however for a defensive firearm they are more than adequate.

I use them for carry, and since i like to train as I carry i use them on my xd carry gun in idpa. I am no master level but i do pretty well. Here is a testament of the accuracy that they are capable of. At the last local match i made a 20yd head shot while on the move backwards(is this realistic? mostly no, however they can do it.) Which is nothing compared to some shots that people have made with them. Look up James Yeager's XS sight video on you tube, he and many others have made shots on steel at 100yds, and some farther than that.

For me, i train and practice at realistic (plausible) distances, and use realistic (plausible) size target areas that represents a plausible self defense encounter that i would plausibly find myself in.

most people don't understand them, and have never used them. but will post about them anyway.

others have tried them and do not know how to use them and discredit them.

others have heard from someone that they are not accurate and they simply believe it. These are not the case at all. Get a set, attend training, and if you can't won't do that read the instructions that come with the sights, apply the fundamentals and you will have no problems.