Duty 1911 Adj. Sights: Bad Idea?

[HMMurdock]

I've heard a lot of complaints regarding adjustable sights on a 1911, as in not worth trusting your life to, especially on a duty weapon (such as law enforcement).

Anyone have any experience with this? Does it matter the make of the sight and/or pistol or is it just a general rule to stay away from adjustable sights?

I'm namely eyeballing a Para Ordnance P-14.45 and they are available with both fixed and adjustable sights. Is there any benefit to having the adjustable sights? Is it ill-advised to opt for the adjustable sight model as a law enforcement duty weapon?

I currently own a Kimber Gold Match with adj. sights, too. Again, bad mojo or no?

(I've been hired to a large Metropolitan Police Department that permits using your own firearm --I have not decided on carrying the P14, so please keep your advice as to the selection of firearm to yourself. I'm just curious about the sights and anyone's experience with them. Thanks)

 

[steelyblue]

I would carry adjustable sights, but the low pros might be a little more snag free. I'm not a cop, so this is in a CC sense. If I was a cop, I might have a different opinion.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Novak three dot fixed sights on my Colt 1911. Couldn't be happier. I have about 6 different adjustable sights in a drawer that never made it.

 

[sniper350]

Sights ?? never used them working the streets ........ Not trying to be funny, but you had better learn some good "point shooting" techniques for close in combat work. Google "Fist Fire" to get an idea of what I am speaking.

D. R. Middlebrooks shoots a man-sized target from up to 75 yds away [ that's YARDS ] with NO sights whatsoever on his 1911. Pointshooting is fast and can save your life.........Sights are Optional, if they make you feel better to have them on your weapon

Really if you have to take that long "aimed" shot .......... I would opt for some low profile sights so as not to snag on anything.

JF.

 

[Dobe]

I like adjustables myself. No body ever thought adjustables were a problem when all of law enforcement were carrying revolvers. Nearly every Smith & Wesson with few exceptions being carried at that time had adjustables.

 

[Murdock]

Adjustable sights OK, just not necessary.

I have a 1911 with a Bomar rear sight "melted" into the slide that works very well. I have used this gun since 1987, and the only time I had trouble because of the rear sight was during a match. I had to exit a vehicle from the driver's side across the bench seat to the passenger side, then draw and shoot. When I released the seat belt at the beep and turned to the right, the sharp edge of the sight blade dug into the back of the seat upholstery. It slowed me down maybe 2-3 seconds in exiting the car. I fixed the problem by rounding off the outside edges of the sight.

My original concern when I went with adjustable sighting was that I wanted to be very accurate with whatever load I eventually came up with, in order to get the most out of the gun. In actual practice I learned that at "combat" ranges (up to 100 yards/meters) with any decent service load I never have had a need to adjust the sights. (At 100 yards, aim at the head of a man-sized silhouette and the bullet will drop into COM. At 200, aim a full body length above your hoped-for POI). Settle on the load you will use first, then go through whatever minor trouble it takes to zero a set of fixed sights (you will only have to do it once), and don't look back.

Streamlined sights like the Novaks won't mess up your hand if you have to wipe the slide to handle a stovepipe. The last several 1911 pattern weapons I have owned have all had fixed sights, and I never even think about adjusting them any more.

I should add that my professional experience was as a nuclear weapons courier, several years in an airborne unit of the USMC, and a couple of years assigned to Naval Special Warfare, where a 1911 pistol was my primary weapon. I mostly carried the gun in an M7 shoulder/chest holster. I continue to carry the same weapon now in my dotage as a civilian CCW holder.

 

[ShelbyV8]

If you use the same ammo all the time you only adjust them once, then they are fixed sights. For duty/combat shooting I didn't care if it even had a rear sight.

 

[Walkalong]

Adjustable sights on a duty 1911 is suicide!

I won't go that far by any means, but I would not want them on a duty gun. Not needed anyway.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

There are adjustable sights that are not as prone to getting knocked around and damaged as the factory Kimber and Para adjustables. I wouldn't have either of those on a carry gun. Those are target sights. Novak and MMC make adjustables better designed for duty use.

 

[possum]

i don't think that adjustable sights is "suicide" but i highly discourage folks from getting them on a duty, carry or pistol that is gonna be used for tactical applications. there are some grat adjustable sights out there that can take a beting but that is one of those things that i don't want to chance. pvt murphy and all.

i would pick a defensive load, that i was gonna use for duty use, and i would either get my gun setup to run that load, or i would choose load that shoots to poa, with the fixed sights that are one there.

 

[Zach S]

I would use fixed sights. All of my handguns are working guns (so to speak), and have fixed sights. I'm considering an adjustable sight for one handgun, but that depends on how much I have to file off of the rear sight to bring the POI down. Its a rimfire 1911. A toy, not a tool.

A zeroed adjustable sight is a complicated fixed sight. I prefer simplicity. My current ARs wear A1 sights, my planned ones will.

 

[1911 guy]

Maybe not suicide, but not a good idea.

I know that if I miss, it's because I pulled a shot, not because my sights got bumped, snagged, monkeyed with by gremlins, whatever. They were dialed in with Federal H.S. and hardball hits close enough to trust it with either.

How many times do you hear rifle shooters wonder if the scope is "off"? Do you want that monkey on the back of your duty gun? I don't, either.

 

[Dobe]

How many times do you hear rifle shooters wonder if the scope is "off"? Do you want that monkey on the back of your duty gun? I don't, either.

A good set of adjustables will never be as bullet proof as a good set of fixed. There is always the balance and the trade-off. I will give up a certain amount of security for adjustables, and here's why.

Many handgun manufacturers at present build their handguns to shoot POI/POA. I find this to be a problem, because I shoot 6 o'clock. Now that doesn't mean I aim for the foot in order to hit COM. I find a modest 6 o'clock hold to be intuitive as well as non obtrusive in that it doesn't cover up the intended small area of the whole.

I have fixed and adjustable sight handguns. I always prefer the adjustables. Currently, there are solid adjustables on the market now such as MMC, which are as close to indestructable as you can get. I will eventually have a set installed on one of my P7M8's. On 1911's, I prefer a nice set of low profile Bomars. Bomars are very tough and durable.

I spend the bulk of my handgun shooting at the ranges. I will most likely never shoot anyone. So, I set my handguns up for a dual purpose leaning towards the range with nice adjustables which can easily be used for social purposes. If a good adjustable such as a MCC is damaged by dropping, then it was dropped further than 4-5 feet. Again, remember the decades police carried S&W revolvers with adjustables. I grew up in this era, and don't remember many complaints about the sights.

 

[Drail]

On a business gun for the street, fixed sights. On a range fun gun adjustable. Definitely practice close in no sight shooting.