Please educate me about sights for comp

[mellow]

I'm in the process about educating myself on shooting USPSA. I've been looking at 1911's more geared toward competition and have a couple questions about sights.

I've been shooting for a couple years now. Strictly paper and plates at the range. I've been shooting stock glocks, 1911 geared toward defense/carry, and sigs.

The guns I've been using have either have three dot, bar and dot, or square outline and dot. Most of the competition set-ups I've been seeing don't even have bars, outlines, or dots. The rear sights are flat (as opposed to designs like novaks wedge shaped sights with the recess were the dots are located). Rear sights also have the posterior "lean". I have no better way of describing it. Lastly, both front and rear have horizontal serrations.

Now for the serrations, i assume that's to cut down on glare, but as for the rest of the features I've listed, I'm clueless.

Why are these features prevalent on competition guns??

Forgive the ignorance. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Navy joe]

The rear is cut like that to get a sight picture that is glare free, so you can see the notch clearly. Bar dot just doesn't work for me, neither does all the dots. I don't see how some people do it with a plain front blade. I have to see the front sight. What has worked on several guns is painting it bright orange w/ nail polish, Even shot a match with GI type 1911 sights like this, it's very doable. Other than that I'm a fiber-optic freak, gotta see the dot.

Lots of folks angle the corners off the rear of their bomars so they obscure less of the target. Some do a goalpost thing where they lop a rectangle off each corner with the same objective in mind.

 

[Jim Watson]

Target shooters have long known that a rectangular black post in a rectangular notch in a black blade gives the best accuracy on a well defined target. They use undercuts, serrations, smoke, and paint to keep them black. Mr Patridge worked that out about 1909.

USPSA shooters need more speed than Mr Patridge ever thought about. Many of them find that a narrower blade opens the sight picture up enough for speed and still allows that rectangle-in-a-rectangle sight picture for the hard shots. But they are still using dead black sights, many if not all of them. I know I did in my younger years.

Many folks can get even faster alignment with some color on the front sight, look at the popularity of the "fiber optic" front sights these days. I have gone to a white spot or red FO front as my eyes age. But they may lose some precision, you will seldom ever see a bullseye or PPC shooter with one.

When you get into variegated targets and poor lighting - as in the real world or even IDPA - the colored sights may be the only way to line up on the target at all, and tritium luminous night sights are a big help. Ramps, slants, and bobbed corners are to reduce snagging from under a concealment garment.

 

[eerw]

It seems the most popular iron sights ..at leat in IPSC is the bomar or Wilson adj and the Novak or the Heinie with a dovetail frontsight..

What has worked for me..is the bomar or the Heinie.. I like my rear blade to be on surface as not to add any distraction as I look through the notch...I like a fine serrations there and ususally redo the Heinie ones, as I find them too coarse..

I like my front sight to be black ( have tried the fiber optic), serrated and to be a patridge style..

I have in the past liked my front sight to be about .090 in thickness and my rear notch to be about .110 in width..I have a gun that has a front of .110 and rear of .125 and have liking that..but I don;t think I will switch everything..

I like the slide to be flattopped as it makes the front sight look taller..

I have tried the fiber optic..but since I shoot a dot gun too..my focus seems to drift to the target like shooting a dot gun and I forget about the focus on the front sight..so I went back to black on black..

I haven;t found a situation in competition where I thought i needed a bar or dot, or fiber optic for sight alignment yet..

anyway..that has been my experience..and it is not the only one...hope that helps a little..