Not another sight picture question...

[heyyouduh]

I tried searching, but really couldn't find satisfying answers to what I was looking for across several forums I frequent. Trying to decide between my glock 17 4th gen and my H&K vp9 as my "go to" pistol (home and range gun, no plans to carry) as well as which sights. Currently the g17 wears plain iron sights front and back and the VP9 wears stock 3dot luminescent sights. I'm planning to get Dawson precision fiberoptic sights for one or both of these pistols, depending if I'm able to decide on one or not. When I shoot the g17 with the plain iron sights I half the target with the top blade of the front sight and line up the 3 top blades. When I shoot the VP9 I line up the 3 dots and place the front dot over the target. My questions are:

1. Any recommendations on front fiberoptic and plain rear vs front and rear (3 dot) fiberoptic sights?

2. If I get front fiberoptic front and plain rears, is the convention to use the fiberoptic dot to pick up the front sight and then line up the top of the blades to aim, or is it convention to just place the front fiberoptic dot over the target as well as in the "center" of the U notch. The latter seems like this would make more sense.

If I get front and rear fiberoptic sights, I assume the convention is to just line up the 3 dots and place the front dot over my target and ignore the top of the blades.

Thanks in advance.

[45dotACP]

1. I prefer plain rear and fiber optic or tritium front.

2. That'll depend on whether or not bullet weight you are shooting is always the same. Heavier bullets strike a little higher and can adjust the point of impact. I like to set my guns up to hit on the top blade and be able to use the dot to just set on closer/less accuracy intensive targets. Some like to "Drive the dot" and set the dot as the point of impact, but I find that I can refine my accuracy a little more when I set it up to impact on or slightly above the blade at 25 yards.

[heyyouduh]

1. I prefer plain rear and fiber optic or tritium front.

2. That'll depend on whether or not bullet weight you are shooting is always the same. Heavier bullets strike a little higher and can adjust the point of impact. I like to set my guns up to hit on the top blade and be able to use the dot to just set on closer/less accuracy intensive targets. Some like to "Drive the dot" and set the dot as the point of impact, but I find that I can refine my accuracy a little more when I set it up to impact on or slightly above the blade at 25 yards.

Thanks for your answer.

[Jiman]

I prefer a blacked out rear and tritium front, or if available a ‘gold dot’ front sight.

As for the different POAs, I’ve found that it depends and is personal preference. IME, for target/range shooting most generally prefer to use the top of the sight as a reference point. I’ve found it allows for a cleaner sight picture rather than covering up the target when using the dot. Using the dot works well for faster shooting at closer distances (i.e. combat shooting).

Fiber optic sights vary regarding POA/POI. I prefer lining up the top of the sight and have trained that way for decades and many brands now try to line up the fiber optic very close to the top of the sight to limit the difference between the dot and top of the sight.
Pistols of the same model, caliber, etc… can vary on the way they sight in. Recently my agency has been replacing our guns with the same/newer model of the same brand, caliber,etc… with different tritium sights on them. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason as to why….some required you to line up the top of the front sight on your target, and others the dot. Our rep. speculated that it was probably just whatever sight they had on hand when a particular run was made.

I’d suggest finding whatever kind of sight you like (i.e. tritium, FO, etc…) and selecting the correct height to give you the POA/POI you prefer. There are free sight calculators available on sites like Brownells to aid in selecting the correct heights. You’ll have to take measurements on your gun along with where you’re POI is and if you want to go higher or lower. Once you enter in all that info, it’ll suggest the correct front/rear combo to give you the POA/POI you want.
http://www.brownells.com/GunTech/ind...k=sight+height

[Ntexwheels]

POA I feel is individual preference. As for type of sights..It's easier to show than tell it.