Most people just live with the sights that come with their gun. They learn to shoot as best they can with the sights provided by the manufacturer. Only a small minority go to the trouble of swapping-out the stock units for night sights — critical for self-defense — or something that works better, faster and more intuitively. Besides, how much of a difference could a new set of sights really make? A lot . . .
RF and I fired-up his Merc and journeyed across central Texas to the impressive Tac Pro Shooting Center. We shot a literal range of guns equipped with XS Sights under the careful tutelage of former British SBS soldier Bill Davison — the only human ever to successfully combine a native Lincolnshire accent with a Texas drawl. We compared firearms fitted with Ft. Worth-based XS Sight Systems‘ sights with standard three-dots.
I shot back-to-back FNS-9 pistols. As you’ll see, lining up the ‘lollipop’ using the right sights and, yes, good technique made a significant difference surprisingly quickly.
“The biggest advantage I found was the speed of my follow-up shots,” TTAG jefe RF reports. “While it takes some practice to learn how to use XS sights for accuracy — perfectly doable — it took no time at all to realize that I can return to target far faster with XS’s Big Dot than I can with three-dots or Heine sights. I was ringing steel twice as quickly as I normally do. Which is still really slow, but a lot better.”
XS Sights freshly-minted marketing director Zack Kinsley acknowledges that he’s got a ways to go to convince people his product is just as accurate as any other sight (shooting a target at 100 yards with a pistol did a pretty good job of that). Meanwhile, Zack’s happy highlighting the fact that the Big Dot is ideal for self-defense for OFWG’s with failing eyesight, or adrenaline fueled anyone else.
“Put the dot on the bad guy and squeeze the trigger,” he advises. “Repeat until the threat stops.”
XS makes Big Dot tritium sights for virtually any handgun and provides custom work if your heater’s not on their list.
XS Sights also make a variety of options for smoothbores and rifles.
Their Xti angle mount sights were particularly impressive. You turn your gun sideways and use the same sighting system to hit your target.
RF was impressed enough that he’s now sporting XS Big Dots on his Wilson Combat EDC. In other words, he trusts his life to the sights. High praise indeed. We’ll see what The Sunshine of the Eternally Skeptical Mind (a.k.a., Jon Wayne Taylor) has to say about them and report back.