xs vs straight eight

night sights

  • xs

    Votes: 15 55.6%

  • straight eight

    Votes: 12 44.4%
  • Total voters
    27
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Revolver Ocelot

Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2006
Messages
1,470
Looking for an opinion on these two sights, if you've used either and have any thoughts on the pros or cons of either please comment.
 
I've not played with the XS, but I have played quite a lot with the straight eight. I was never really able to like it much. For some reason, I was never able to convince my eyeball to stack the two dots, o always wanted to see them spaced, somewhat. Of course, this made for a consistently high POI, as well as some vertical stringing. I'd much rather have a single dot for day use, or three for night.

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
 
I'd much rather have a single dot for day use, or three for night
Click to expand...

as of right now that is how most of my guns are set up, I've never been able to get 3 dot sights to work for me. I feel like I should have something on my rear sight but as of right now the two sights I mentioned are the only ones I haven't given a shot.
 
Neither!

Get a night front with a plain black rear.

If you are shooting fast, you'll only pick up the front, and if you are shooting slow/precise, you can line up using black target type rears very easily.
 
Sights

Just my opinion. I'd love Straight Eights if they were "intuitive" in "proper use" method. I've had pistols with them. My natural inclination is to stack the dots to form an "eight". That's not correct. If you do it the intuitive way, the pistol will shoot very low. You are supposed to leave a "space" between the dots. That seems variable and subject to not being repeated exactly. I did not know MY WAY was incorrect until someone on a board informed me. So I checked the manufacture and low and behold, I was wrong. The proper sight picture still makes no sense to me. I learned too late as I had traded the pistol off. Why would they call them "eights" if you are not supposed to form an eight with them.
 
I have never been a big fan of the straight eight sights as they just don't seem to line up right for me. Had the XS sights on a Colt Agent and loved the way they could be aquired so quickly.
 
Don't like either. Plain flat black rear notch, whatever front you can see. The fiber optic insert front sights still work well for me shooting steel plates.
 
I'd much rather have a single dot for day use, or three for night.
Click to expand...
I've just picked up a gun with single dot front/rear black sights and I really like it so far. On the other hand, I ran a factory 3-dot night sight on my Glock 17 for 10 years and never really liked it. I never developed any real speed in aligning the three dots in dim light and had to usually "hunt" for my point of aim. Perhaps it would work better with some of the current 2-color, 3-dot sights but I doubt I'll ever give 3-dot sights another try.
 
Last edited:
I've been using XS Big Dot tritium sights since 2001.

I've had zero problems with accuracy.

They are very fast to visually acquire.

They are very fast to determine acceptable alignment to place the shot.

It took me a couple hundred rounds or so to become proficient with them. I have no problem placing my shots with accuracy.

I prefer them over conventional pistol sights.

(I even have them on my Remington 870.)

Tips or techniques? Just follow sight alignment/sight picture instructions from XS and you'll be good to go. (This was my biggest error when I first tried XS Sights - I wasn't sure I liked them at first because I sucked when I first used them. When I realized that I didn't KNOW how to use them I went home, REALLY looked at the instructions, and when I actually followed the instructions the next time at the range I got excellent results.)

I don't like three-dot sights as I believe they're visually "too busy".

I don't have any experience with the Straight 8 sights.
 
I really like the bar dot version found on an older P220 of mine. This, I thought, meant that I should really like the straight eight variety as well. Turns out that I do not. They are harder for me to pick up and I never am able to put the same space between them... I too always think that a space between the two is necessary. I could likely train myself out of this habit but on one firearm that only sees range duty anymore... not worth it.

The XS sights are easier for me to pick up and align correctly.
 
I had the straight 8's on an XDM, and I immediately regretted it. The stock 3-dots were better for me. The quality of the Heinie's was outstanding, I just could not get the hang of the design. Sold the gun, now all my auto's wear 3 dots.
 
mes228 said:
Just my opinion. I'd love Straight Eights if they were "intuitive" in "proper use" method. I've had pistols with them. My natural inclination is to stack the dots to form an "eight". That's not correct. If you do it the intuitive way, the pistol will shoot very low. You are supposed to leave a "space" between the dots. That seems variable and subject to not being repeated exactly. I did not know MY WAY was incorrect until someone on a board informed me. So I checked the manufacture and low and behold, I was wrong. The proper sight picture still makes no sense to me. I learned too late as I had traded the pistol off. Why would they call them "eights" if you are not supposed to form an eight with them.
Click to expand...
They are designed so that you have the front dot above the rear dot the same distance that you have it from either sight of the rear notch. That is intuitive if you'd allow you subconscious to align your sights...that is what intuitive means...without thought.

Trying to form the "8" is a conscious action and works on the same principle as the 3-dot system...that is why these systems have proven slower and more confusing to the eye.

By eliminating the any dots on the rear blade, you avoid that distraction and simply look through the rear notch as see the front lamp
 
9mmepiphany said:
By eliminating the any dots on the rear blade, you avoid that distraction and simply look through the rear notch as see the front lamp
Click to expand...

That works well so long as there's enough light to get a sense of the rear sight. In the dark, though, I want to see something on the back. Once you've confirmed the initial index, you can ignore the extra dots, and focus on the front as usual. A case of better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.

That's my take, anyhow.


Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk 2
 
If it is so dark that you can't see the rear sight, you wouldn't have enough light to identify your target.

Night sights are really only useful at dusk when it is still dark enough to make out your target, but just dark enough to be unable to make out your sights...that is where the front dot comes into play. With your gun indexed, if you can't see the front dot, it isn't in the rear notch. With a good index, you can even sight along the top of the slide using the front dot as a confirmation of the center of the slide...like with the Stressfire Index technique.

With your gun index, you really don't even need the front dot...that is what we did with our revolvers before the advent of night sights. That is one of the advantages of the Modern Isosceles over the Weaver...better natural body index
 
truthfully, if I had that little light, I'd probably use my flashlight. I'm starting to think I ought to not worry about it and stick with what has been working for me so far, tritium front, plain rear.
 
Too much concentration on sights, PERIOD! At some point you should be shooting center mass at realistic distances, without even looking at sights! Wasted money!
Click to expand...
"Point shooting" has pretty much been discredited by every shooting expert I've ever seen, except in the most close of close combat. Beyond arms reach you should be using your sights.
 
...and unless you have a pretty unlimited supply of ammo (for each different gun you want to do it with), Point Shooting is best learned through Aimed Shooting.

Those who believe that modern (as it seems to currently be defined) point shooting can be learned by pointing aren't mistaken...they have just decided to take the harder route.

True unsighted fire...through body index; as opposed to seeing any part of the gun...is learned through trial and error.
 
I run a Big Dot XS front sight and a plain Heine rear sight with the groove milled out to .175" so that it marries up with the front. It's da bomb, and I vastly prefer it to the 'traditional' XS rear express sight or the Heine Straight Eight sights.

My local gunsmith does the rear sight milling for me, and he's probably done about a dozen or so for me over the last year.
 
rbernie, that is a great idea, I could take a big dot and match it up with a 10-8 u notch, just rest the ball in the u.
 
The 10-8 rear sight U notch is where I got the idea, but it's a bit small at only .156 - you'll need it milled out in some fashion to make it big enough to comfortably show the entire front dot. I've settled on .175 as a good size for my needs.

If I buy the XS front sight from my favorite shop, they throw in the milling for free; takes Charles about five minutes on the mill...
 
When viewed at arms length, the front dot completely fills the rear U notch with only a wisp of light around it.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    87.1 KB · Views: 124
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top