The article is here. Some interesting comments on the revolvers used.
The article is here. Some interesting comments on the revolvers used.
One thing Greg didn't mention is that a lot of us in the snubby demographic ( I'd estimate the average age in class as 50ish) really need real sights on these things. My plan for class was to get some reps in with my 340, and then switch to my 640 to save my hands. I switched back at the next break because I couldn't pick up the sights with any sort of speed. This is with orange paint on the front and the rear blacked out.
Serves me right for not shelling out for that 3 inch 65 I decided I wanted after taking the inaugural run of this class last fall.
I highly recommend this class, and Greg as an instructor. Here's RevolverGuy's AAR of last fall's class. Some of the drills were slightly different, and we didn't shoot out of coat pockets, but we did discuss it.
https://revolverguy.com/aar-greg-ell...ose-revolvers/
Interesting how last fall, it was cool 'new' guns in Kydex, and this class was more old school, with those ported K's and a lot of nice leather.
'Nobody ever called the fire department because they did something intelligent'
I was supposed to take that class in May. Sounds like it would have been a good one.
I was going to take my LCR with my old J-frame as back up.
Chris
I agree about the sights, but age is not the only factor. I started carrying a gun in my mid 20's, beginning with a Colt Detective Special. The sights were the single biggest cause of my switch to a semiauto.Originally Posted by TQP
Despite having shot a very wide variety of revolvers, I have yet to see a revolver with sights as nice as any of the 9mm or .45 autos I currently use. In poor light, the conditions in which use fo the gun is most likely to be needed, the difference is even greater.
Good to know that this good option for training exists reasonably close to me.
At least in terms of 5-shot revolvers, what got me to switch from j-frame to LCR was the sights and the options available. Most J-frames have that silly little ramp up front with no option to change (that doesn't require machine or file work).
As for other revolvers, at least Ruger provides a platform for options. My GP100 and Redhawk both had replaceable front and rear sights, so you were only limited by what was on the market. I put a fiber optic in the GP100 and a taller patridge-style in the Redhawk. On the S&W side, only my 626JM has replaceable front sights, but since I intend to use that gun with an RDS, I haven't investigated options. The other S&Ws have integral front sights, leaving you with whatever the designer thought you should need.
Ideally the system used by Ruger in their GP100 would become universal and a glorious aftermarket of revolver front sights would spring up. I'm less fussed by the rears and find most adequate for my needs.
Chris
Ruger has absolutely taken revolver sights in the right direction. After reading your post, I did a small amount of searching, and found the following:
Ruger offers replacement fiber optic sights for the GP100 and multiple replacement front sights for the LCR, including a Novak tritium replacement sight.
Novak offers replacement front and rear tritium sights for the GP100 and SP101 as well as a tritium front sight for the LCR.
Neither Dawson nor Trijicon offered anything else for Ruger revolvers, although the Novak tritium sights sold either from Novak or through the Ruger website for the SP101 have Trijicon inserts.
Tru Glow offers tritium sights that are for a "Ruger LC" but I believe they are for the LC9, not for a revolver.
So, options exist, but are quite limited. I agree that the ability to change the front sight is far more critical than the ability to change the rear sight, but I do like a 3 dot tritium setup.
Sights that fit the GP100 front will also *mechanically* fit the Redhawk front (and possibly the Super Redhawk, but I've only tried the regular one). Presumably it goes the other way as well. Whether or not the sight is too low or too high depends on the load and barrel length.
At least in the past one could get replacement rear sight sets for the GP100 and Redhawk from various makers, but I haven't looked in nearly a decade. I had a set of fiber optic sights for the front and rear of my GP100 and later replaced the rear with a solid black sight. I don't recall who made the solid black sight, but the fiber set was Williams Firesights I think.
There are a few non-mainstream makers of sights for the GP100, Redhawk, and Super Redhawk fronts, and to a lesser extent, rears. I had one of those fronts on the Redhawk I used to own.
They're out there, but it's not like shopping for new sights for your Glock. There is just too much variation in sight systems between different models and different manufacturers, whereas the semiauto world is a bit more standardized (not entirely, but more so than revolvers).
But, in the 5-shot snubnose world, nothing has been as good to my eyes as an LCR with a fiber insert. If I could have put that same sight on my j-frame, I wouldn't have been tempted to switch.
Chris
I do wish that all current and future SP101s without fully adjustable rear sights would come with the Novak-style combat rear.
gn
"On the internet, nobody knows if you are a dog... or even a cat."
[QUOTE=mtnbkr;1075956]Sights that fit the GP100 front will also *mechanically* fit the Redhawk front (and possibly the Super Redhawk, but I've only tried the regular one). Presumably it goes the other way as well. Whether or not the sight is too low or too high depends on the load and barrel length.
At least in the past one could get replacement rear sight sets for the GP100 and Redhawk from various makers, but I haven't looked in nearly a decade. I had a set of fiber optic sights for the front and rear of my GP100 and later replaced the rear with a solid black sight. I don't recall who made the solid black sight, but the fiber set was Williams Firesights I think.
There are a few non-mainstream makers of sights for the GP100, Redhawk, and Super Redhawk fronts, and to a lesser extent, rears. I had one of those fronts on the Redhawk I used to own.
They're out there, but it's not like shopping for new sights for your Glock. There is just too much variation in sight systems between different models and different manufacturers, whereas the semiauto world is a bit more standardized (not entirely, but more so than revolvers).
comment-
The Redhawk sights, which are taller, do work on the GP100. Just crank up the rear sight. I'm hooked on Millett blaze orange front sights, and I've managed to find enough of the two types on eBay to cover all my GP100s'. I have the taller Redhawk sight on the five and six inch guns that aren't carried, and save the lower profile GP/Super Redhawk sights for the four inch carry guns. I really wish Millett still made iron sights.
I also attended this class with @TQP
It was a fantastic experience. Greg is a talented instructor who uses a conversational tone and communicates effectively with each student. I plan to take another course with him in the near future.
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