Sights are a very subjective thing. What works for me won't necessarily work for everyone. It is only through trial and error and experimentation that we find what works for each of us. Unfortunately, money is a limited resource. Time is a finite resource. You can barter your time for money, but you can't buy time. With that in mind, here are my observations on my preferred sights on a defensive handgun, specifically the Glock 19. I'm 34 years old, right eye/hand dominant, and have 20/30 vision with astigmatism and wear glasses.
In a high stress scenario, the evidence says that I will focus on the threat. This is the product of evolution and cannot be undone in our species in our lifetime. This is why dots exist. To help us break through our instinct to focus on the threat and deliver accurate fire.
After experimenting with 3 dots, 2 dots, single dot, and no dot, I've found the best combo for me is to have a completely black rear sight with a single dot up front. I shoot with both eyes open. With a 3 dot setup, there can be up to 6 dots in my peripheral vision. I can figure out which one is the front sight in a fraction of a second, but that's how much time it can take to end a gunfight, and I don't want to give anything up. With a single dot, when I try to snap my focus back to the front sight, I don't have rear dots competing for my attention.
My favorite rear sight is from 10-8 Performance. The rear face is serrated to reduce glare and the sight body features a 90 degree ledge for one-handed slide manipulation. It is available with either a .140" or .156" wide notch width, and the bottom of the notch is a U-shape. The U combined with my preferred .140" width makes it easier for me to locate the dot if I happen to present the muzzle a bit low. They are also Melonited which is a plus for me. I often CCW without an undershirt here in the south. I've never seen so much as a speck of rust on these sights even as they ride against my belly in the heat of summer. Due to the Melonite, the outer surface is extremely hard. I've used these sights in my Glocks, M&Ps, 1911, and Walther PPQ. Everytime I've had to remove a little material with a diamond file.
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| 10-8 Rear |
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| 10-8 Rear - Side |
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| 10-8 Rear & 10-8 Front |
Up front, I prefer Dawson Precision Fiber Optic .125" wide sights with a green rod. In low light, red is the first color to disappear, followed by orange, yellow, green, and blue. That's why everything takes a blue tone when the lights go out. Now red is great if it is the illumination source like on an illuminated optic or laser, but both of those devices are bringing their own red light to the party. I prefer the .125" width as opposed to .100" or .110" for durability. .125" means there is more metal surrounding the holes that must be drilled for the fiber rod. These are finished in black oxide which isn't as rust proof as Melonite, but since they are protected by the holster and never touch my skin I'm not too worried, and have had no evidence of rust. Then again, I don't open carry in the rain, nor do I live near the coast. Also, black oxide is a nice deep flat black as opposed to the slight grey-ish tint of Melonite. Dawson offers their front sights in pretty much any height you need and include the nut driver tool.
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| Dawson Front F/O |
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| Dawson Front F/O - Serrated Face |
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| Dawson Front F/O - Side |
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| Dawson RMR Height F/O Front & Rear |
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| Dawson Tools Included |
I have a .250 black sight that I use as a temporary front sight. I get my rear sight adjusted for windage with a $60 sight pusher. Using the sight correction calculator at
Dawson Precisions sight calculator, I can order the exact front sight to give me a zero at 25 yards. My POA is the top edge of the sight. With my ammo, the bullet path apexes at 25 yards, dropping about 1.5" at 50 yards. While, I typically use the dot as my POA since I rarely expect to engage threats past 10 yards, I know I can use the top of the sight for a more precise shot if I have the opportunity.
While some may question the durability of FO sights. A proper holster completely covers and protects the front sight. In the worse case scenario, the rod is covered by mud/blood, or breaks, leaving you with basically a black post. The upper portion of the blade could be dented, collapsed, or broken off at the hole, but there are usually 2 to 4 of them. Even if they all broke off, I'd still have the lower portion of the sight to work with. At typical defensive ranges well under 25 feet, I'm confident in my ability to get hits. Besides, they can't be less durable than the factory plastic sights. Fiber optic rods are cheap and easily replaced with a nail clipper and lighter. They are much brighter in daylight and are as visible as tritium in low light. Only when it's almost too dark to ID your target do tritium lamps have the advantage. With a weapon or handheld light (I always have a handheld light when I carry), both effectively become black sights anyways. For these reasons I don't think tritium sights offer much advantage in low light shooting. They're not worse though, and I probably wouldn't replace tritium if they came on the gun. In a few years when they start to dim however...
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| FNX 45 - Daylight |
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| FNX 45 - Sights in Darkness |
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| FNX 45 - Sights w/ 30 lumens |
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| FNX 45 - Sights w/ 100 lumens |
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| Glock 26 - 10-8 F/O Front w/ 30 lumens |
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| Glock 26 - 10-8 F/O Front w/ 100 lumens |
As I write this, I have a Trijicon RMR on the way. I recently purchased a Glock 19 MOS to mount my Fastfire III red dot to try it out. While I'm still retraining my brain to focus on the target, I can definitely see an advantage in the red dot. Enough to plunk down the money for an RM07. If I could find one I would have just bought a Unity Atom slide but that costs as much as a new G19. Plus with 2 guns I can John Woo to my hearts content. Now where can I find a dozen white doves?
-Carry On
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