I’m generally a minimalist when it comes to firearms, especially my carry guns. Toward that end, I carry Glock. And while I’ve never been a big fan of the stock Glock sights, it didn’t seem like any of the other configurations contributed enough to my effectiveness to warrant a switch (i.e. converting all my carry guns to the same sighting system). On all the systems I’d tested, I always seem to have an issue with spending just a little too long getting a decent enough sight picture to feel really confident in my shots. This is especially apparent when working from the draw, while moving, or when acquiring secondary targets. But after a recent 2-day defensive pistol course . . .
with Mike Seeklander at United States Shooting Academy, I finally decided to do some in-depth research and find something that I hadn’t tried before. That’s when I stumbled upon Speed Sights. At first glance they almost put me off, looking just a little gimmicky on their website. But after a little more research I decided to bite the bullet and order a set for my Glock 19.
I opted for the night option which puts a Trijicon vial in both the front and rear sights. I’m generally not real big on night sights (see: minimalist) but I thought I’d give them a whirl. The money-back satisfaction guarantee didn’t hurt the decision either.
Speed Sights utilize a 3-diamond system; the rear diamonds are bright white and the front is either fluorescent orange or green. I went orange. What got me to try them is that it seemed intuitive that it would be easier, faster and probably more accurate to align three diamonds, instead of 3 dots, essentially creating a straight line across the center of the sight picture.
They arrived about 3 days after ordering and they installed in about 10 minutes. I didn’t have a sight pusher handy, but a punch and a hammer did the trick. But be careful, these sights are aluminum so a punch can mar them if not protected. There’s a set screw in the rear sight but it’s not really necessary – just a little added insurance. A few dry fire draws later and I was in love. I immediately packed up my gear for a lunch time shooting session the next day.
At the range, the first two magazines I put through the gun really impressed me; I shot a tighter 10 yard group than I was used to during rapid fire and from the draw. The front sight was easier and faster to acquire than even the brightest fiber optic sights I’d used. Even from the draw, the front sight naturally caught my eye even before it was on target.
The rear white diamonds contrast well with the orange front, making it super easy to get perfect alignment quickly; they almost seem to “lock” into place. The rears, being white, actually made it easier to focus on the bright orange front sight. The front diamond is larger than the rears, so it fills up the dead space nicely.
Something these sights seem to do is reduce the “wobble”, or at least make me think it’s reduced. With a 3-dot system it can be easy to find yourself searching for the perfect picture, jerking the trigger when you finally think you have it and throwing the round. This “locking” feeling seemed to reduce that effect.
The sights are nice and durable, they fit in all of my holsters and I haven’t had any issues with snagging. The rear sight has a flat front to allow for one-handed manipulation of the slide off a holster or belt. I’ve tested this and they work well, giving almost as much surface area as stock Glock sights.
The Trijicon vials are nice and bright, and actually provide very good low light visibility where I could still identify a target. I couldn’t find a lighting condition where I didn’t have a clear sight picture. The bright colors of the sights hold up well under low light and the Trijicons pick up right at the point where it starts getting too dark to see the sight paint clearly.
This system really lives up to its name; I got accurate speed. I’m much more confident in my shots under stress and speed with these in front of me. In fact, I’m getting ready to place an order for another set for my G26. It looks like they’ve got options for Glock, Springfield XD/XDM and SIG models and they say others aren’t far behind.
I paid $79.50 for the rear and $39.50 for the front. Not cheap, but definitely worth it. Especially for something I’m now putting my life behind.
Ratings (out of five stars):
Design: * * * * *
The machined lines look great and they’re designed to not hinder concealability while staying highly functional.
Durability: * * * *
The aluminum concerns me just a little. Since it’s a softer metal, I could see it getting them dinged up in the wrong circumstances.
Overall Rating: * * * * *
These things are sweet. They do what they’re intended to do – help you put lead on target accurately and as fast as possible.