Wilson CQB Elite 9mm sight issue

[Balrog]

I recently acquired and have been shooting a Wilson CQB Elite 9mm, with 5" barrel, and gold dot front sight and a combat rear sight that consists of a wide notch and no dots or other markings.

The problem i have is that I am getting the proper sight picture. The gold bead, I am told, is for rapid shooting where only the front sight is acquired and for groups, I should hold the sights so the top of the front sight is level with top of rear sight. Unfortunately for me, I am drawn to the gold bead and tend to draw it down into the notch, which causes the front sight to be too low, and the gun shoots low of course as a result. It takes a lot of concentration for me to not do this.

I think the problem stems from shooting Glocks a lot, where the front dot is drawn into the rear notch. The gold bead is different and when drawn into the notch, the front sight is actually too low.

So here is my question…

Should I just learn to shoot the gun as is? I don't really like this idea because I don't like having to remember how certain guns shoot.

Should I replace the front sight with a shorter sight, which would the make the gun shoot higher?

Or should I replace both the front and rear sights with the three dot style I am more familiar with and don't have problems shooting?

 

[Blueduck]

That's a dream gun for most people. To not enjoy shooting it because of readily available $50 front sights you DO like would seem a shame.

Make it yours is my vote, who cares what somebody else thought would work best for you.

 

[RON in PA]

Have you tried blackening the gold dot with something like a sharpie pen and then shooting it? If that doesn't work I'd go with a new set of sights of your preference.

 

[tarosean]

Change sights to what you prefer. There are thousands of options out there..

 

[strambo]

Since you shoot Glocks a lot the difference in grip angle is also contributing to presenting this gun low. I don't shoot Glocks much and when I do they point high since I am used to guns with a steeper grip angle.

Here is something to try. With a Glock and the Wilson, set up a post-it note on a wall 4-5 yds away. Line up on it and with your eyes closed either draw and dry-fire or present from the low ready position and open your eyes to see where the sights are. I bet with the Glock they are close, with the Wilson they are low. If so, this has nothing to do with sight alignment since your eyes were closed and everything to do with grip. If there is no difference, then it must be the sights.

 

[JDR]

The new Wilson CQB Elites come with a F.O. Front Sight, did somebody put that Gold Bead front sight with a shorter blade than stock and then fail to zero it in afterwards? The other issue is most Govt Length 9mm 1911s come with adjustable rear sights so that you can zero the gun to the particular weight of the 9mm ammo you are shooting. My Springfield Loaded 9mm, and my STI Trojan 9mm always shot the 147 gr 9mm better than 115 or 124 grain ammo. I never had to tweak the rear sight of either gun with the 147 grain ammo, particularly the Fed American Eagle 147 grain ammo

One thing about a Wilson 1911 regardless of caliber is that they are always tack drivers, but yours is apparently not. If this were my gun I would contact Wilson and explain the situation. I would consider sending the gun the gun back to Wilson, and have them replace the Gold Bead with a Fiber Optic front sight. If they can then zero the gun to shoot 1" high at 25 yds., your problem is solved since the gun is now setup for practical accuracy at all distances out to 50 yds.

 

[Balrog]

This is a CQB Elite Carry, and it comes from Wilson with gold bead front sight and rear battle sight.

I took it back to the range and blacked out the gold bead with a Sharpie. Holding standard sight picture, it shoots to point of aim and is very accurate. So the previous problem with shooting low is related to my shooting and not the gun. For some reason I tend to pull the gold bead down to far in the rear notch, causing it to shoot low. The gun itself is accurate and shoots to point of aim, I just have hard time with the gold bead.

 

[9mmepiphany]

Should I just learn to shoot the gun as is? I don't really like this idea because I don't like having to remember how certain guns shoot.

Holding standard sight picture, it shoots to point of aim and is very accurate.

The gun itself is accurate and shoots to point of aim, I just have hard time with the gold bead.

I think you are answering your own question.

If the gun, with correct sight alignment is shooting correctly, why would you not want to shoot it correctly?

If your other guns are shooting differently, than I would question the technique you are using when shooting them.

should I replace both the front and rear sights with the three dot style I am more familiar with and don't have problems shooting?

This was my first clue.

Most people who shoot with the 3-dot sights aren't aligning their sight correctly. This doesn't make a lot of different if coarse accuracy is all you want, but you are giving up both accuracy and speed of alignment when using these sights.

A front fiber optic, gold bead, or white dot is really only meant to draw your eye to the front blade faster. It isn't meant as an aiming point except for very close targets

 

[JDR]

This is a CQB Elite Carry, and it comes from Wilson with gold bead front sight and rear battle sight.

The standard front sight config for the Wilson CQB Elite is a fiber optic front sight. The gold bead front sight is a Wilson Upgrade / Option. With my middle-aged presbiotic eyesight, I know that there is no such thing as one sight system for all conditions and all shooters. But I can tell you that a F.O. Front with a blind rear sight works beautifully for me on my STI Trojan, once you get the sight picture & alignment right.

 

[Balrog]

The CQB Elite Carry is listed on the Wilson website as a "Sports South Exclusive". Maybe that is a distributor, not sure. But it comes configured a little differenly than the CQB Elite.
Here is the gun in question, you can read the specs:
http://wilsoncombat.com/new/sports-south.asp

 

[JDR]

Your CQB is the only Government Length 9mm 1911 that I've seen that didn't have an adjustable rear sight. Both my Springfield Loaded and my STI Trojan 9mm 1911's had adjustable rear sights. If you had adjustables on yours you could just jack up the rear sight a few clicks to raise your POI. But I've never had to touch the rear sight when I shot 147 grain ammo.

I don't know what kind of ammo you are shooting but I would experiment with a box each of Fed AE 115, 124, and 147 grain ammo, I'm willing to bet your gun will shoot the middle or heavier weight ammo better.

 

[Balrog]

If the gun, with correct sight alignment is shooting correctly, why would you not want to shoot it correctly?

Its not that I don't want to shoot it correctly, its that I have a tendency to draw the gold bead down too far into the very large rear sight notch. This causes the front sight to be drawn down too low.

I don't see why its unreasonable to pick the sights that work best for me rather than learning a new type of sights.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I don't see why its unreasonable to pick the sights that work best for me rather than learning a new type of sights.

I'm not saying it's unreasonable to shoot less than optimal sights, as long as you're willing to accept the inherent limitations

What I'm saying is that learning to align sights correctly and using sights that are optimal to correct sight alignment has more ultimate upside.

But nothing says that the fastest and most accurate alignment of your sights has to be your goal

 

[Balrog]

I'm not saying it's unreasonable to shoot less than optimal sights, as long as you're willing to accept the inherent limitations

What I'm saying is that learning to align sights correctly and using sights that are optimal to correct sight alignment has more ultimate upside.

But nothing says that the fastest and most accurate alignment of your sights has to be your goal

Yea but I think you are missing my point that most of my guns have 3 dot sights on them, and I really don't like the idea of having a different set up on one gun.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I'm not missing your point.

What I'm saying is that if you want to shooter better with all your guns, you should get rid of your 3-dot sights and standardize on aligning your sights correctly...or not

 

[Balrog]

What I'm saying is that if you want to shooter better with all your guns, you should get rid of your 3-dot sights and standardize on aligning your sights correctly...or not

Oh Good Lord no.
I shoot fine with 3 dot sights. No way I would undergo the cost, effort, and retraining to refit a bunch of guns with a sight that doesn't work well for me.