# Insight on Gun Sights



## greenpen40 (Apr 21, 2014)

Hi All,

I have been browsing the internet on different guns and models to get but one thing I have come across is that the sights on the gun drastically change the performance and style of the gun. Whether it is from accuracy to ease of holstering, sights play a huge role in decisions making. Before I jump to any conclusion, I have a few questions concerning sights that I am hoping you all can help me with.

1) Do the sights that come straight from a gun manufacture supply their own brand or do they use sights from a sight manufacture? Or does it depend on the gun/model?

2) What are the most popular gun sights out there? Brand, style, notch width, etc?

3) When choosing a new sight, how do you know if it will fit into the preexisting dovetail slot? If it does not, how do you go about adjusting the sight and or the slot to make it fit?

4) Do all the dovetail slots stay the same within a gun manufacture, stay the same within models, or is there no pattern at all? ie all Ruger models are 65° x .495 or all 1911 models from Colt, S&W, etc have the same slot dimensions or both? Also do the slot dimensions differ from the front and rear slots?

I am new to all of this so I apologize if some of these questions seem newbish. Anyways, I look forward to all your replies and opinions.

Cheers,


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

greenpen40 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I have been browsing the internet on different guns and models to get but one thing I have come across is that the sights on the gun drastically change the performance and style of the gun. Whether it is from accuracy to ease of holstering, sights play a huge role in decisions making. Before I jump to any conclusion, I have a few questions concerning sights that I am hoping you all can help me with.
> *
> 1) Do the sights that come straight from a gun manufacture supply their own brand or do they use sights from a sight manufacture? Or does it depend on the gun/model?*


It depends. Some outfits do their own in house for some models, for other models they may contract them from another vendor etc.



> * 2) What are the most popular gun sights out there? Brand, style, notch width, etc?*


*
Trijicon*, *Ameriglo*, *XS*, *Heinie*, *Dawson Precision*, *Novak*, *Warren Tactical*, and *10-8* to name a few. In terms of style, it varies there's everything from plain black to night sights, to fiber optics, to night sight / fiber optic combos. Notch width varies from .12 - .156 with .14 being about the norm. 


> *3) When choosing a new sight, how do you know if it will fit into the preexisting dovetail slot? If it does not, how do you go about adjusting the sight and or the slot to make it fit?*


Most sight manufactures list them by make and model that the sights are for. You NEVER adjust the slot on the handgun, you file the sight to get it fit properly. I strongly suggest *not* doing this yourself. Some sights are press-fit and you just drive them in with a sight-safe punch and mallet. Others have sight press machines that drift the sight in for you.



> *
> 4) Do all the dovetail slots stay the same within a gun manufacture, stay the same within models, or is there no pattern at all? ie all Ruger models are 65° x .495 or all 1911 models from Colt, S&W, etc have the same slot dimensions or both? Also do the slot dimensions differ from the front and rear slots?*


It will vary from model to model. A Colt 1911 Elite will have different sight cuts than a Series 70 and both will be different than a Special Combat etc. The front and rear slots are different.










Those pads at the bottom are the surfaces that mate to the sight cut.










Some common 1911 sight cuts, you can see how the rear slot is different










Here you can see the different front and rear cuts.










Here are some samples of CZ sights/cuts demonstrating different set ups from the same manufacturer. 



> * I am new to all of this so I apologize if some of these questions seem newbish. Anyways, I look forward to all your replies and opinions.*
> 
> Cheers,


No worries, that's what we're (well most of us) here for.


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## greenpen40 (Apr 21, 2014)

Thank you for the response VAMarine, this is great information. Another question I am wondering is if Bo-Mar sights are a type of sight or a brand because I can not find a website just for Bo-Mar sights.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

greenpen40 said:


> Thank you for the response VAMarine, this is great information. Another question I am wondering is if Bo-Mar sights are a type of sight or a brand because I can not find a website just for Bo-Mar sights.


Now days it's more a style of sight. The president of Bomar was killed in a vehicle accident some years ago, not sure what's happened to the company since. They used to do do a lot of bullseye stuff and such for target guns.


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## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

VAMarine did an excellent posting. I would only add that your taste in sites will change as your time and experience in this sports deepens.

Site selection also really depends on what you're doing with the gun. Bench shooting, self defense (drawing from pocket or holster vs. home defense at night), IDPA.... They all have different requirements. There is no one 'best' for every application and if there was such a thing it would be different for each shooter. The same goes for scopes and other optics. 

Good luck!


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## greenpen40 (Apr 21, 2014)

This is all starting to come together now so thank you for the help. I understand that from model to model the the groove varies but what about the same model from different makes? The reason why I am asking this is because I am also in the machining industry so I am wondering if I will need a single dovetail cutter or multiple dovetails. So if this question is in the wrong place or would be more beneficial somewhere else please let me know.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

If it's from different makes, it's not the same model. This isn't like a Firebird / Camaro or Thunder Bird and Cougar having a lot of the same parts.

When it comes to guns they may look the same but they aint. A 5" 1911 from Colt with what looks like a Novak rear may not be a Novak rear and may have different dimension than a Sig 5" 1911 that IS using a Novak rear etc.

There are over two dozen makers of 1911s and a lot of sight manufacturers.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

What exactly are you wanting to do? If you're talking about becoming a gunsmith there's a lot more leeway in what you can do to the gun rather than Joe Blow hobbyist with a hammer and a punch.


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## greenpen40 (Apr 21, 2014)

So what you are saying is that there is no universal standard out there. Perfect, that makes it soooo much easier. I kinda expected that but I wanted some confirmation also.

Thank you for clearing that up VAMarine.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

Well the thing is that a lot of the sight makers do the work for you and the sights arw made to fit the gun with minimum hands on filing etc. If your wanting to start cutting slides for a specific sight, you but the cutter that corresponds to the sight you want to install. And don't deviate too far from that. But in the case of most moderne pistols you don't need to be cutting on slides unless you are machining your own or are looking to make sights for a specific cut etc. It's either as easy as it can be or as hard as you want to make it depending on what your end goal is.


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