bad eyes and new sights

[John Erickson]

hi everyone,
I need some help with picking the best sight for me. My eyes are to the point when I shoot my mp9 full size, with factory sights I just don't see three dots, more like a white oval shape.
Been looking on line for sights and the xl big dot I would think could solve my problem. The pistol is home defense and winter carry. Has anyone here had good luck with them ?
Thank you,

[MichiganScott]

Never used them. I had to train myself to point shoot. It took a couple of years and I need to practice a couple of times a month to keep my skills, but I can shoot smaller groups at ten yards or less than I can if I use the sights.

A lot of shooters do very well with just replacing the iron front sight with fiber optic.

[stealth01]

John,
I have a similar issue... I had XS Sights installed on my 1911 PC (the large dot version). They are very fast on the target... just dot the "I" and squeeze the trigger!

[Biggfoot44]

Some people like the XS sights, some hate them, you'll have to try some to see for yourself, hopefully on someone else's pistol first.

[Mambeaux]

I just put a XS big dot on my 640-1 and really like it.

[SW CQB 45]

cheap method first

take a black sharpie and blacken the two rear dots. see if that helps.

being over 50, I am dealing with a lot of eye issues right now.

I have found having only the single front sight dot whether paint, fiber optic or tritium to work the best for me. also a wider rear notch helps in finding the front sight faster.

[one eye joe]

Originally Posted by John Erickson

hi everyone,
I need some help with picking the best sight for me. My eyes are to the point when I shoot my mp9 full size, with factory sights I just don't see three dots, more like a white oval shape.
Been looking on line for sights and the xl big dot I would think could solve my problem. The pistol is home defense and winter carry. Has anyone here had good luck with them ?
Thank you,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM. MY SIGHT IS VERY COMPROMISED ALSO, SO I HEAR YA. IF YOUR WEAPON IS TO BE USED STRICTLY FOR SD / HD, I WOULD CONSIDER THE USE OF A CRIMSON TRACE LASER GRIP. IMHO, THEY CAN'T BE BEAT. I WAS TURNED ONTO THEM BY MAS AYOOB AT A COURSE OF HIS THAT I ATTENDED, YEARS AGO. FOR SD DISTANCES OF 20' OR SO, AND WITHIN THE CONFINES OF A HOME, THEY CAN'T BE BEAT. HERE IS MY 642 CARRY WEAPON, WEARING LG-405s……...

[HayesGreener]

I am 64 and seeing the front sight gets harder every year. When I was at the SIG Academy in NH last year I was introduced to the Trijicon HD night sights, and I will never to back. The rear notch is very large to accommodate a very large dot on the front sight that looks like a basketball. They become standard night sights at night. My shooting has improved a lot since I started using them and I have been gradually replacing all my defensive pistol sights with them. I should also note that a lot of my pistol shooting students are in my age bracket and they seem to prefer these sights as well. They are expensive but then you get what you pay for. Good luck with it.

[SW CQB 45]

Originally Posted by HayesGreener

I am 64 and seeing the front sight gets harder every year. When I was at the SIG Academy in NH last year I was introduced to the Trijicon HD night sights, and I will never to back.

I keep looking at these on the net but have not brought myself to try a set.

being about 12 years behind you, what color front sight did you choose or prefer in the HD sights?

[AveragEd]

I've mentioned this on here several times in the past but it's been a while, so here's a rerun.

I returned to handgun shooting from trapshooting about seven years ago and found I could no longer focus on the sights (I'm 67) so I inverted my glasses and found I could see them well through my bifocal lens, so I bought drug store reading glasses that allowed me to see the sights clearly but the black bull of a 50-foot or 25-yard pistol target looked like a blurry football standing on end.

I mentioned this in one of my columns in Shotgun Sports Magazine and heard from Dr. Harold Morgan of Morgan Sport Optical in Olean, New York, who said he could make lenses for me that would allow me to see both my sights and the target clearly. I furnished him with my distance prescription and the maximum distance at which I shot and he sent me Ranger frames with lenses that let me see both objects with 95% clarity!

Before you buy sights that are large or appear so and prohibit the precise sights-to-target alignment required for target shooting, call Morgan Sports Optical at 800-594-0175.

Ed

[Jhawk412]

I've had cataract surgery in both eyes and my distance sight is pretty good. My close vision is lousy and worsening. I too am a firm believer in Crimson Trace lasers and have them on every gun I carry, for several reasons.

1. I can focus on the target and see the red dot telling me I am on target without even looking at the sights. In a deadly encounter, to be sure, you will be focusing on the bad guy, not the front sight. I guarantee it.

2. In low light or darkness, when you can't see your sights, you can still be on target with the laser. Of course some chippy will say if you can't see your target, you have no business shooting. I call bee ess on that. Low light encounters happen all the time, robberies on the street, drive bys, home invasions. I have personally confronted dozens of bad guys at night and wished I had better tools to defend myself. (I'm retired LEO.) Someone else will mention battery failure, I'm sure. I change the batteries in my lasers when I change my batteries in my smoke alarms, spring forward, fall back. Small price to pay for insurance with your guns.

3. Unconventional shooting positions. I teach the class required for concealed carry in Kansas. I had one fellow with Parkinson's but we got him qualified with a Ruger .22 with a CTC laser grip on it. Another elderly fellow had been gored by a bull in his right shoulder and couldn't raise his dominant hand above waist level. He qualified with the same .22 shooting from the hip for the entire 25-round course. He said his personal carry gun was in the shop but he had a laser on it for the same reason.

4. Look ma, no glasses. There is a real possibility of being in a gun fight without any glasses at all where you absolutely won't be able to see your sights up close. If you wake up with someone in your house, what are you going to grab first, your gun or your glasses? If you are in an encounter on the street that involves some physicality, think Trayvon here, odds are good your glasses are going to be knocked off your face. You may still need to use your gun after that.

It's not all about the sights. Point shooting is also a good skill as well, particularly for up close. As our generation gets older, we all need some help hitting what we're aiming at. I think the laser is a wonderful aid and Crimson Trace are the best since they turn on with a proper grip on your pistol. This is of course my opinion. YMMV.

[markyboy57]

Check out the truglo TFX sights. Fiber optic for daylight with tritium behind the fiber optic for night. I have a set on my Glock 21. Hands down the best sight I have ever used.

[Rpg]

Try the easy solutions first:

Black out dots on the rear sight (shoe polish or a sharpie).

Open up the rear sights with a file. This is often overlooked, but improves things for most shooters.

[SilentKnight]

I took the cheap route. I painted the front sight with luminous orange paint because in a gunfight I only use the front sight. It was brilliant and gave me great confidence. Rear sights are useless to me in a short confrontation. Front sights are all I use after years of shooting for shooting a human silhouette out to 15 yards. Inside that, training makes me very accurate without anything but feel and knowledge of my firearm.

[brentb636]

Originally Posted by John Erickson

hi everyone,
I need some help with picking the best sight for me. My eyes are to the point when I shoot my mp9 full size, with factory sights I just don't see three dots, more like a white oval shape.
Been looking on line for sights and the xl big dot I would think could solve my problem. The pistol is home defense and winter carry. Has anyone here had good luck with them ?
Thank you,

John, I don't know of a better sight for that purpose. I have them installed on my 4513TSW and my Stainless Lady Smith bedside gun. The sights MUST have been inspired by the "In a Fight, Front Sight" slogan, because they are fast to acquire and I find them quite good shooting as well. I like them and so do my 68 year old eyes.
Brent

[HayesGreener]

Originally Posted by SW CQB 45

I keep looking at these on the net but have not brought myself to try a set.

being about 12 years behind you, what color front sight did you choose or prefer in the HD sights?

I had the opportunity to try both yellow and orange and to me the orange stands out better in more lighting conditions.

[raljr1]

I went to the optician and had a pair of safety glasses made that have a reading correction on the bottom 2/3 of the lens for my shooting eye. Top portion is clear. They enable me to see both the sights and the target with only a minor shift of my eye.

[AveragEd]

I think I should clarify my post (#10 above) by saying that I was speaking in terms of recreational target shooting, the way most handgun owners I know use them 99+% of the time. I don't live in a high crime area so combative shooting is not the first thing I think of when talking about handguns. However, I do have a concealed carry license and own an S&W E-Series 1911Sc in .45ACP in case I ever venture someplace where I feel I need to carry it. It has Trijicon Night Sights which make point-shooting in all light conditions easy but are pretty vague for bullseye use.

Ed

[Hill_Country]

Originally Posted by Jhawk412

I've had cataract surgery in both eyes and my distance sight is pretty good. My close vision is lousy and worsening. I too am a firm believer in Crimson Trace lasers and have them on every gun I carry, for several reasons.

1. I can focus on the target and see the red dot telling me I am on target without even looking at the sights. In a deadly encounter, to be sure, you will be focusing on the bad guy, not the front sight. I guarantee it.

2. In low light or darkness, when you can't see your sights, you can still be on target with the laser. Of course some chippy will say if you can't see your target, you have no business shooting. I call bee ess on that. Low light encounters happen all the time, robberies on the street, drive bys, home invasions. I have personally confronted dozens of bad guys at night and wished I had better tools to defend myself. (I'm retired LEO.) Someone else will mention battery failure, I'm sure. I change the batteries in my lasers when I change my batteries in my smoke alarms, spring forward, fall back. Small price to pay for insurance with your guns.

3. Unconventional shooting positions. I teach the class required for concealed carry in Kansas. I had one fellow with Parkinson's but we got him qualified with a Ruger .22 with a CTC laser grip on it. Another elderly fellow had been gored by a bull in his right shoulder and couldn't raise his dominant hand above waist level. He qualified with the same .22 shooting from the hip for the entire 25-round course. He said his personal carry gun was in the shop but he had a laser on it for the same reason.

4. Look ma, no glasses. There is a real possibility of being in a gun fight without any glasses at all where you absolutely won't be able to see your sights up close. If you wake up with someone in your house, what are you going to grab first, your gun or your glasses? If you are in an encounter on the street that involves some physicality, think Trayvon here, odds are good your glasses are going to be knocked off your face. You may still need to use your gun after that.

It's not all about the sights. Point shooting is also a good skill as well, particularly for up close. As our generation gets older, we all need some help hitting what we're aiming at. I think the laser is a wonderful aid and Crimson Trace are the best since they turn on with a proper grip on your pistol. This is of course my opinion. YMMV.

Jhawk412 got it right. Lasers are an order of magnitude improvement in most self defense situations. Anyone who has used a laser knows that all the excuses about battery life, etc., are smoke - they don't suddenly go dead. And especially for us guys with "more experienced" eyes, lasers can be a real lifesaver.
Thanks for telling it like it is, Jhawk412.

[stealth01]

John,
I feel your pain... 70 years old, glaucoma and cataracts... matter of fact I'm having my first cataract surgery next month. I equipped my PC 1911 with XS Sight's Big Dot. They are terrific... They are combat sights NOT target sights... But I can nail thoracic cavity double taps at 25 yards!! I'm taking my Kimber Tactical in this AM to have the same sights installed (I want all of my handgun sights to be the same sight picture).

[gibekim]

Had the same problem seeing the sights clearly. Went to the eye doctor and had a prescription written to bring the sights into focus with my dominant eye, i.e. the entire lens for that eye is for the sights. Had the non-dominant eye corrected for distance. You basically have side by side bi-focals. They used to this with contact lenses at one time. They function quite nicely and doing it this way you don't have to tip you head backwards to see out of the lower part of a bi-focal. Try it, you'll like it.

[nocents]

Originally Posted by gibekim

Had the same problem seeing the sights clearly. Went to the eye doctor and had a prescription written to bring the sights into focus with my dominant eye, i.e. the entire lens for that eye is for the sights. Had the non-dominant eye corrected for distance. You basically have side by side bi-focals. They used to this with contact lenses at one time. They function quite nicely and doing it this way you don't have to tip you head backwards to see out of the lower part of a bi-focal. Try it, you'll like it.

this is interesting....but do you wear these full time or just when shooting......I just received some new traditional bifocals with a new prescription and I can now get a better sight picture but still think the XS big dot would be beneficial for my ccw....not many laser options for a 3913NL......and I am too stubborn to change weapons after all the time and ammo I have invested in making it like an extension of my arm

[raljr1]

I wear mine just for shooting, but I do were a reading contact lens in one eye most of the time.

[Marvin Gardens]

Before my laser eye surgery I couldn't see sights anymore. The Gunsite Smithy installed what we called "Geezer sights" on my carry guns. It was a XS big dot on the front and they ran an end mill through the rear creating a trough across the top of the rear sight.

Worked great for me.

Regards.

Bob

[RV4driver]

Geezer sights, oh my. My future is screaming down upon me. And I was starting to feel like the old guy at 61. Thanks, guys!

My sight picture has gone from "exactly there" to "somewhere in the vicinity of there".

[Hill_Country]

Originally Posted by stealth01

John,
I feel your pain... 70 years old, glaucoma and cataracts... matter of fact I'm having my first cataract surgery next month. I equipped my PC 1911 with XS Sight's Big Dot. They are terrific... They are combat sights NOT target sights... But I can nail thoracic cavity double taps at 25 yards!! I'm taking my Kimber Tactical in this AM to have the same sights installed (I want all of my handgun sights to be the same sight picture).

Stealth01 - good luck with the cataract surgery. I had both done last year and it is a piece of cake. I didn't realize how dim things were getting. Its like putting new batteries in a flashlight you didn't realize needed them - all of a sudden everything is really nice and bright.

[Hill_Country]

Originally Posted by RV4driver

Geezer sights, oh my. My future is screaming down upon me. And I was starting to feel like the old guy at 61. Thanks, guys!

My sight picture has gone from "exactly there" to "somewhere in the vicinity of there".

You have to feel young hanging out on the S&W semi-auto forum - where the guns and owners are made of steel and neither are obsolete.