Fiber optic front sight question

[velocette]

I recently joined a local shooting club that has an informal competition loosely based upon the PPC format. Large black silouette targets at 7, 25 & 50 yards, fired at several cadences.
Okay, I have a 1911 that was built as a ball gun. Bomar sights front & rear.
The front sight when aiming at center mass of the target gets hard to distinguish. Not too much of a problem at the short line, but at 50 yds, its causing patterns not groups.
Any of you have experience using the fiber optic sights that claim great visibility? Do they actually help or are they another "mall ninja" accessory??

TIA
Roger

 

[Jim Watson]

Fibre optic sights are great for close fast shooting as in IPSC or IDPA. I don't think it would help precision shooting as in PPC. Some colored paint would be a cheap way to check it out.

Do you have enough sight adjustment for a neck hold? It is usual in PPC to adjust the sights such that a hold on the neck or head as though it were a 6 o'clock aim on a bullseye will drop bullets into the tenring of the B27.

 

[1SOW]

I feel the same way Jim Watson feels.

The FO sights work very well for closer fast shooting, transitions and faster target aquisition. I have never found any paint that would compare with a good FO front. The FO lights up very bright in daylight. But for bullseye type accuracy at longer ranges, they don't help me at all.

With my pistol, it's harder for me to be very accurate at ranges of 25 or more yards with my FO front. It's actually a distraction, as it draws your eye to the front sight like a magnet. A plain black post works better for me for pure accuracy.

 

[JoeSlomo]

Ditto to what the two gentlemen above posted...

While some folks like "fatty" front sights, I am a big fan of "skinnies" myself.

Perhaps you can drop to a thinner front sight post?

I dropped to a .090 from like a .125 EXACTLY because I wanted greater precision at range. Granted, I'm not shooting at 50 yards in competition, but the changed helped me. With the fatty sight, head shots and 8" plates at 20-25 meters were a pain in the butt as the target would be masked by the sight. This becomes less of a problem with the "skinny" sight.

Some folks don't like all the extra light around the sight, however, I prefer it...

 

[velocette]

Thank you gentlemen, you have answered my question very effectively. No FO front sight. work with the Bomars.

Roger

 

[Red Cent]

http://performanceshootinghq.com/1911sightsystems.aspx

 

[9mmepiphany]

back when i shot PPC, we shot with black sights on the black target. the trick was getting truly black sights (i would say non-reflective, but if you can see them, they are reflective).

we used to use a carbide lamp's smoke to blacked our sights. if you brushed them against something, you just re-blackened when changing distances.

you're greatest disadvantage of shooting a 1911 in this type of match is the drop at 50 yards. that is why S&W made their M-952 PPC gun in 9mm

 

[velocette]

9mm epiphany;

You have a good point there. It takes 11 clicks up on the Bomar rear sight to bring me back to center mass / target between 25 yds and 50 yds.
My problem is to be certain to remember to do so.
Easy for the 40 somethings shooting but, well for this 65+ yr old, well I might forget.

Roger

 

[Jim Watson]

There is no trajectory disadvantage to .45. You know the range, you adjust the sight.

Friend of mine tried a M952 and found it nowhere close to the real cop-only PPC 1500.

My Python would allow a 50 yd neck hold with the rear sight all the way down. I think 13 clicks up for 25 yd center hold but it has been a number of years since I shot that event. Things were looser in the 1970s but the NRA has funny ideas about Americans shooting at humanoid targets now.

 

[Hagen442]

I am spoiled to FOs on Match Guns.
I think they Help Old Eyes