Fiber optic gun sights

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lonewolf5347

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Guys like to ask what your favorite gun sights for older eyes.
I run the Glock gen4 17 in IDPA I been having trouble focus in on my sight when the distance is 15 yards.
No problem when the distance is at 10 yards.
I run now front fiber hiviz and black rear sight.
I was looking at trueglow TFO all green set up don't know if that the way to go.
 
I have older eyes and fiber optics were a true joy when I installed them on my pistols. A flat black rear sight with fiber optic front for me. I did experiment some with the rear sights. From a rear sight with two fiber optics and some with white dots on the rear. I found that anything other than just a flat black rear distracted my concentration from the fiber optic front. My front fiber optics are green 1.0 mm.

I'm not familiar with Glocks but Dawson Precision might be worth looking at.
 
I run FOs front, plain black rear (IDPA & 3Gun).

I've even gone so far as blackened out the rear dots on every pistol I own.

The majority of my FOs are Dawson's.
 
I like Dawson FO front and black rear on my iron sighted game guns. I machine the rear so the notch is shallower than they send them though.
 
Guys like to ask what your favorite gun sights for older eyes.
I run the Glock gen4 17 in IDPA I been having trouble focus in on my sight when the distance is 15 yards.
No problem when the distance is at 10 yards.
I run now front fiber hiviz and black rear sight.
I was looking at trueglow TFO all green set up don't know if that the way to go.
If you're focusing on front sight it shouldn't matter how far the target is. The fact that you're having issues at 15 and not at 10 hints that you may be using a target focus or somewhere between. I shoot like that also.

Not sure if more crap to distract you from the front sight will be beneficial in your case. However I CAN tell you that running an RMR and switching to carry optics division will be easier on aging eyes. It's a bit of a learning curve but once you get your presentations down, transitions and longer shots are much faster and easier with an optic.
 
Dawson makes an outstanding FO front sight. I have them on a few pistols, but sooner than later my eyes will tell me it is time for all of them to have them.
 
This area of discussion gets confusing in a hurry, in part because people sometimes use the word "focus" in one of (at least) two very different ways: 1) visual focus, which is a function of what objects or distance is sharp; versus 2) mental attention, which is what thing(s) the conscious mind is paying attention to.

I'm not sure a fiber optic helps with the former. Indeed, in bright conditions, a large fiber can be harder to visually focus on than a darker sight.

The real benefit of a fiber dot is that it allows some level of awareness of the front sight while shooting with a target focus. If you're trying to shoot front-sight focused at 15 yards, I don't think a fiber dot is going to change much about that. At 15 yards, the only real benefit of the fiber, IME, is that it may help you maintain front sight awareness during the recoil process a little better. If you're trying to shoot target-focused at 15 yards, which a few people can do effectively, a fiber is likely to be quite helpful. But I have never, ever heard anyone say that distance shooting got easier when they added rear fibers. That's not a thing.

I personally like a fairly small, green fiber on the front sight and a plain or serrated rear. My USPSA limited division gun is set up with a 0.040" fiber in the front and a plain black rear. I consider 3-dot configurations ill-conceived (with the possible exception of night sights for non-competition purposes), and a 3-fiber setup preposterous. This is obviously personal preference, but the vast majority of higher-level iron-sight practical/speed game competitors use something close to what I'm describing... at least 85+% of them run fiber fronts with a moderate to small dot and a plain black rear. This should be the first setup that anyone tries, and then, if they don't love it, do experiments off of that base. I would change the front dot color first, then it's size before I messed around with rear fibers.

Finally, as others have pointed out, fiber front sights are helpful, but only a minor improvement compared to plain black sights. Optical/glass sights with dots are where you will see a huge difference in speed and accuracy and ease of shot-calling. I don't know IDPA rules, but in USPSA, going to optics does put you into one of the optics divisions (open, carry optics, or pistol caliber carbine), so it may or may not make sense with your current gun. But when you are tired of struggling with the actual shooting and calling hits on far targets, particularly if your aging eyes are causing true focus problems for you, then it's time to get into optics.
 
IDPA has Carry Optics, too.

Today I ordered Dawson FO front and rear for a friend. She had been shooting FO front with factory Glock rear blacked out, then rubbed the paint off the sides to give a rough three dot picture. I disagreed but she knows her own mind.
 
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