I recently picked up a police trade-in 3953. Factory Novak night sights and no mag safety from the factory. Some carry wear but nothing too dramatic. All in all a nice flat and light carry weapon.

As could be expected on a 20 year old pistol, the night sights were dim. Also, my close vision has gone to poop over the years so I thought I'd give the XS sights a try.

They do not list a set for the 3953 on their site but a quick email to their tech section gave me a model number. SW-0003P-5. Brownells had them in stock. They arrived and included detailed instructions. They were dated '11.

The install was pretty easy. Some file work is needed, but nothing too crazy. Once I drifted the front and rear sight into place I reassembled the weapon and took a sight picture.

I am very pleased, as the large, white dot draws my eyes. I haven't fired it since the install but I will report back. I'm not expecting to be able to hit a quarter at 25 yards, but for minute-of-thug these should do just fine.

To sum up, if your vision is poor give the XS Big Dots a try.

I'll try to grab some pictures.

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Stu

Thanks for the review. My old eyes are finding it hard to use some sights. Aftermarket S&W sights are not made by many manufacturers..

Thanks for the report. I'm anxious to see the pics and hear how you like them. I've been thinking about doing the same but hadn't had the nerve to drop the dough without a first hand report.

Here are the pics. Hopefully I'll get to the range this weekend. I'll report back after the trial by fire.

They are good-looking, beefy sights. They don't seem to be much, if any, taller than the factory Novaks.


That white dot is large and easy to see. No calico cats were harmed in the production of these photos.


Upon closer examination the rear sight overhangs the dovertail a bit. For all I know the Novaks do to and I just didn't notice.


One last overview.

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Stu

Stu, thanks for posting the pictures. The sights look great. Looking forward to your range report.

I made it to the range with my best friend this past Saturday.

I put about 125 rounds through the 3953; a mix of Federal 9BP and range ball. The large front sight is very easy to see. As anticipated, precision accuracy suffered. I think it'll take another few hundred rounds to really get a feel for these sights.

Vertical stringing was evident, as holding for elevation with the dot in the V notch takes some getting used to. When I settled down and really focused good groups were the result. Fast snap shots with a quick sight picture resulted in good hits at every range from 3 to 7 yards.

I'm out of practice. Years ago I'd fire 200 rounds per week. Now I'm lucky to fire that many in 6 months.

Overall I am pleased with these sights. I think that with more practice that the precision groups would tighten up.

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Stu

I have mixed emotions about XS Sights… I outfitted my SA 1911 Loaded 9mm, and have gone through several thousands of rounds. They are very good for fast acquisition, but drifting is an issue until you get used to the sight picture. The second item, it takes some time for the “Zen” moment to kick it. The big dot blocks the target view… so you do need to “train” on centering the ball. If I had to do it over again, I would go with the smaller front sight.

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