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Pistol sights ?

EhlerDave
I saw a post on gunbroker about pistol sights. Now for the life of me I cant find it again. The post said that dot sights do not hold at the 6 oclock position that they cover the impact point. Is this true? If so that may be why I shoot low so often. If not I need to practice more. [8D]
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5 comments

Date Votes
  • dcs shooters
    Forget about the dots. Align the top of the front sight with the top of the rear as if there were no dots there, and see where your point of impact is [;)]
    If you still hit low, you might have to use a center hold.
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  • 45forme
    I had not heard that about dot sights. Like DCS says, if you are going for accuracy, use the full sight picture, not the dots. The dots are for quick shots & follow ups.

    Shoot from a rest at 25yds to get an idea of where the sights hit with what ammo, and then learn how to compensate at different distances. Since I think most pistols are sighted for 25yds, you may shoot low at close distances because of the barrel/sight offset. And of course, you will shoot low at long distances due to bullet drop.
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  • tsr1965
    If you are using three dot sites, the POI(point of impact), designed for those sites are the center dot. They are meant for speedy aquistion in a hostile situation, where as you line up the three dots, and put the center dot on what you intend to shoot.

    I do however, absolutely agree with DCS, as to see how accurate a load or pistol is, shoot at six O'-clock like a bullseye shooter, as DCS describes.

    Best
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by EhlerDave
    I saw a post on gunbroker about pistol sights. Now for the life of me I cant find it again. The post said that dot sights do not hold at the 6 oclock position that they cover the impact point. Is this true? If so that may be why I shoot low so often. If not I need to practice more. [8D]




    It depends on the sights in question and how they are zeroed.

    SOME 3-dot sights are zeroed so that the top of the front dot is supposed to represent the site of impact.

    SOME 3-dot sights are zeroed so that the bullet is supposed to impact at the center of the front dot. If I remember right, Glocks are like this from the factory.

    You'll have to test your individual gun to find out where the bullets go. It may vary a bit from gun to gun or load to load.

    Personally, I dislike three dot-sights, find them imprecise and inconsistent, and generally would rather not bother trying to figure out where the bullet goes.

    So when shooting, I usually try to ignore the dots entirely, and use a conventional sight picture. In at least one case, I've also gone so far as to blot out the dots with black ink!

    Dot sights are basically intended for fast close range shooting. In that kind of scenario, they work reasonably well. Get the front dot somewhere in between the two rear ones, and then put it in the center of your target. Not all that accurate, but in a pinch, you'll be "close enough" and it *IS* faster than trying to get a conventional bullseye sight picture.
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  • EhlerDave
    Thanks for the ideas. I will shoot the gun in question and just see what it does, may just black out the dots and use it like real sights. [:)]
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