I'm a believer in adjustable sights. I've used and abused various Ruger and Smith revolvers for 30 years or so and havent had any real problem with adjustables. I dropped a 29 on a truck bumper once and broke the rear sight blade, but it was still functional. I've had a number of fixed sight guns that are a pain in the behind to shoot when they didnt all hit the same. Shoot farther distances and the difference in POA and POI becomes more problematic. I reckon it's OK if you want to monkey around with Kentucky windage to make a hit, but shoot a couple different guns, and I just feel it becomes a nuisance. I"ve done the adjusting fixed sights thing, but it's a pain to deal with filing and otherwise tinkering when good adjustables are so simple to use, and generally give a cleaner sight picture in any event.
I'm a bit surprised that folks don't seem to mind if a gun that their life may depend on doesnt hit exactly where they want it to, but a sport gun is more appropriate for having really good sights. If my life depends on a gun, I want it to hit exactly where I want it to, at whatever range I chose to sight in in for. No, you may not choose to make a shot with a defensive gun at distance, or expect it to happen, but being able to sure makes sense if the moment happened, instead of sitting there doing nothing, thinking that you can't, because you only have a 2" gun (or whatever) that you only shoot at X yards in practice, and you couldnt keep your shots on the paper at distance. I've shot a 2" Smith 38 at a couple hundred yards on several occasions, it hit consistantly, but off to the side by a couple feet or so. The gun was quite capable of hitting the plate we were shooting at, but the sights (or lack of hitting exactly POA) were the weak point. Adjustables would make hits at that range (or any range) much easier. Not that anyone shoots those distances regularly with a short gun, but why handicap yourself right off the bat? The biggest problem with shooting it at that range was the sights not being regulated for the range and load, not the gun or caliber. I also want to choose a load and be able to shoot up to the guns ability, not have the gun choose the load and have me try to make use of it. Once in a while I decide the change loads also, adjustables make that a simple process.
Years ago, before Vaqueros were available, I had thoughts of making a fixed sight Ruger SA. Now, I have a couple Vaqueros, and am thinking about having Smith K frame adjustables and custom front sights put on them. The sights on the Vaqueros arent as easy to see or clear as adjustables, especially in poor light.
