Are Pistol Iron Sights Destined For Extinction? 7 Experts Answer

[Paladin]

Some good info on what is going on with pistol optics:

Are Pistol Iron Sights Destined For Extinction? 7 Experts Answer

[The Annoyed Man]

While I wholeheartedly endorse red dot sights on carbines and use them myself, I personally have very little experience with them on pistols…that being limited to shooting my son's G43X once, which has an aftermarket slide and an RDS on it. I had the same kind of difficulty with it that I had shooting a pistol with a laser aiming device on it. I "chased the dot" all over the target and couldn’t seem to get a decent group going.

I DO know that this is a training issue, and that given enough time and ammo (both = money), it can be overcome. The problem is that while I have enough of the former, I don’t have enough of the latter to devote to it right now. I have have lots of 9mm ammo, but the replacement cost is WAY higher than what I originally paid for it, so I’ve been minimizing my range time. And then there’s the cost of either converting an existing pistol or buying a new one that is properly equipped.

Maybe some day…

[Rafe]

While I wholeheartedly endorse red dot sights on carbines and use them myself, I personally have very little experience with them on pistols…that being limited to shooting my son's G43X once, which has an aftermarket slide and an RDS on it. I had the same kind of difficulty with it that I had shooting a pistol with a laser aiming device on it. I "chased the dot" all over the target and couldn’t seem to get a decent group going.

I DO know that this is a training issue, and that given enough time and ammo (both = money), it can be overcome. The problem is that while I have enough of the former, I don’t have enough of the latter to devote to it right now. I have have lots of 9mm ammo, but the replacement cost is WAY higher than what I originally paid for it, so I’ve been minimizing my range time. And then there’s the cost of either converting an existing pistol or buying a new one that is properly equipped.

Maybe some day…

Timely topic, and the American Rifleman article was a good one.

I think some of the biggest barriers to pistol mounted optics (PMO) mostly have been removed: size, reliability, cost, and immediacy of activation. Though size and total cost (e.g., new handguns as packaged items, refitting existing firearms) will, I think, always be an issue. You've got to have an optic viewport that is large enough to see through, and that means (in my lifetime, anyway) there will always be something sticking up somewhere on the gun, taking extra space on what I believe should be a priority on a concealed handgun: low-drag, low-impedance potential. Since I switched to OWB and don't (for now, anyway) have to dress "business casual" around the gun, I'd happily carry a PMO. But I haven't tried to see what happens with IWB and a tucked-in, buttoned-up shirt. Maybe someday we'll have something like a heads-up pilot display that projects the viewport holographically from some tiny projector no larger than a conventional fixed rear sight. Someday.

I've only shot a couple of PMO pistols, but I didn't have the "chase the dot" issue that TAM noted...though I definitely experience it with lasers. Maybe that's because I did have it when first using RDS on carbines, and it took my slow-moving brain significant range hours to retrain itself from "Front sight! Front sight!" Also, I used to have my prescription shooting glasses set to have the dominant eye's focal distance equal to that of the front sight, and the non-dominant eye set to full distance vision. Non-pro tip: Don't do that with red-dot optics. No bueno. But I seem to adjust rather automatically now, just as I do when dealing with natural point of aim and switching between 1911 and Glock grip angles.

Speaking of 1911s, while I firmly believe that PMOs are taking over, I get the impression that 1911-style slides are the most difficult on which to mount a PMO elegantly and compactly. And for some of my 1911s, the thought of sending the slides to a smith to be cut up to fit an optic...well, it just ain't gonna happen.

So, nope, my opinion is that iron sights will never go extinct on handguns any more than they have on rifles. That said, when I have the funds I have a couple of XDs and a couple of Glocks that I would very much like to mount a current, state-of-art PMO on. And, other than a barbeque-gun 1911 (something from Wilson or Nighthawk that I'll never be able to afford anyway) I have a feeling my next 1911 will be one that comes PMO-ready from the manufacturer.

Edited to add:

Manufacturers aside, we also asked Gunsite Academy CEO Ken Campbell. “The pistol-mounted optic (PMO) is clearly not in the future, it is now,” he said. “We see about 50 percent of the pistols at Gunsite with PMO.”

How to know you're gettin' older really, really quickly: You've been to Gunsite one time for a handgun course, and there wasn't a single appearance of, or even conversation about, pistol mounted optics.

[Soccerdad1995]

My opinion is that iron sights will never go "extinct", any more than they have for long guns. One reason is reliability. I need my optics to function as expected even if the gun has been sitting, untouched, in my pickup truck for the last 6 months. I don't want to worry about tracking a rotation on batteries, etc.

[powerboatr]

for me i have PMO on my .22 plinking pistol
i like the wide range of PMO we are seeing now, its great technology.

all my other pistols use factory sights, because all of them rotate through the carry phase of life and i prefer a SLIM fit in the holster and smaller footprint under my attire.
I don't carry open, its a preference.
that being said i have seen some very nice smaller optics on a few Springfield pistols and they are nice, but not for me
if my eyes get worse , then i may change

my rifles all have scopes and are illuminated , but do not send out a laser beam. they are excellent

i did read the blue lasers are a longer reach, so maybe in the next scope for the rifle it might be looked at.

my 1911s, i am a purest and they will stay as built.

[The Annoyed Man]

So, nope, my opinion is that iron sights will never go extinct on handguns any more than they have on rifles.

Although I really like the 2 RDSs I own (an Aimpoint T1 Micro on a SBR and a PA micro on a PC9), I’m generally a believer in etched reticles, so that if the battery goes down I still have a useable optic. In fact, the 2 most recent optic purchases I’ve made were Primary Arms 1x and 3x microprisms with the ACSS reticle. But even with an etched reticle, I always mount a set of BUIS, and I always zero them for 50 yards.

So if/when I ever mount an RDS on a pistol, I will definitely make sure to have BUIS on it as well. As to whether the irons are going to be cowitnessed with the dot, I tend to prefer actual cowitness on my long guns. I don’t know what my preference for that would be on a pistol, although I would likely use suppressor-height sights.

[Grayling813]

Timely article. After seeing several friends in the late 50's to late 60's mount RDS on their pistols and greatly improve their qualification scores, I have ordered a GDS (green dot site) to mount on my Sig P365X. Hopefully my tired old eyes will benefit from this. As far as the iron sites, the device I purchased co-witnesses the existing sites should the device fail.