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XS Big Dot Sight Review

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  • SIG_Fiend

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    They suck.



    Accuracy

    To clarify. Less precision alignment equals less "data" with which to make more precise shots. You cannot be as accurate or as consistently accurate with these sights. It's simple science.


    Speed

    There is no scientific basis with which to claim these sights are "faster". The ONLY way this can be tested is on the shot timer, which most Big Dot proponents do not seem to use, but rather go by "feel" which is arbitrary and inaccurate. There is not a single national or world champion pistol shooter that has ever taken home one single title with these sights. If there was something there, that would not be the case. This effectively closes that debate.




    That is all.

    BTW, if anyone wants a good condition set of XS Big Dots, tritium front and rear for $50, or to trade for something else, I'm all ears! Probably didn't do myself any favors for trying to sell these. LOL ;)
    Target Sports
     

    xd.40

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    but James Yeager said...

    [video=youtube;[URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY5RURFEGd8"]AY5RURFEGd8[/URL]][/video]

    lol

    Hope it helps with the sale :)
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    but James Yeager said...

    :)

    Not a reputable source of info. ;) There's not really anyone of good repute in the industry that I know of that actually recommends them, or at the least quotes any of the supposed benefits of them.

    Mike, I know you do well with them but, again, the general claims about them are that they are "faster" sights. To date there has yet to be a single test, video evidence, etc. to support it. In the end, there's not really anything that they offer over a standard notch and post sight.
     

    M. Sage

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    Not a reputable source of info. ;) There's not really anyone of good repute in the industry that I know of that actually recommends them, or at the least quotes any of the supposed benefits of them.

    Mike, I know you do well with them but, again, the general claims about them are that they are "faster" sights. To date there has yet to be a single test, video evidence, etc. to support it. In the end, there's not really anything that they offer over a standard notch and post sight.

    Yeah, I don't think they're faster. I got rid of those sights and the P220 they sit on a while ago anyhow.
     

    breakingcontact

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    These are my sights.

    I guess i like the idea of the big dot sights and i considered them for my carry gun. If someone likes them and shoots more due to them then the sights work and the shooter improves!
     

    benenglish

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    My vision is terrible. I can't see my front sight worth squat with my regular glasses using progressive lenses. I have special shooting glasses that make iron sights a joy to use but they're a lost cause with my regular glasses.

    I can shoot a red dot fine with my regular glasses but plain irons are a fuzzy mess. I wouldn't expect the XS big dot sights to be faster. I would expect them to be less accurate. But I may experiment with them in the future simply because I can actually see them.

    Either that or I need to consider switching to red dots on my SD handguns, a step I really don't want to take since the training (or, more accurately, re-training) required is more of an effort that I can put forth right now.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    My vision is terrible. I can't see my front sight worth squat with my regular glasses using progressive lenses. I have special shooting glasses that make iron sights a joy to use but they're a lost cause with my regular glasses.

    I can shoot a red dot fine with my regular glasses but plain irons are a fuzzy mess. I wouldn't expect the XS big dot sights to be faster. I would expect them to be less accurate. But I may experiment with them in the future simply because I can actually see them.

    Either that or I need to consider switching to red dots on my SD handguns, a step I really don't want to take since the training (or, more accurately, re-training) required is more of an effort that I can put forth right now.


    And that is totally legitimate. No argument there. What I was mainly getting at is, for people that have a choice between the two sight methods and don't have vision issues, there are a lot of ridiculous claims thrown around about these sights. Like, for example, how some claim these are "gunfighting sights"....Yet no "gunfighter" or serious professional I've ever known or heard of uses them. Ultimately it's all personal preference, it just irks me hearing people (no one here, speaking generally) throw around ridiculous and unsubstantiated claims like some of what we've heard with XS Big Dots.
     

    Whisky

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    my Browning HP and my eyesight didn't get along - I replaced the front with green TFO and blacked out the rear, not much of an improvement - it's tough to shoot well when eyes don't recognize sights

    I'm willing to try most anything
     

    jrob24

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    I put a big dot on my LCR a couple months ago. I didn't do a scientific accuracy test, but I can hit the black silhouette targets just fine between 15-30ft which is the distance I normally shoot handguns at. It is easier to see against a dark colored target. Plus it glows in the dark, which is cool for whatever it's worth. Next range trip I'll shoot for accuracy and measure group sizes.
     

    MR2Aaron

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    Speed

    There is no scientific basis with which to claim these sights are "faster". The ONLY way this can be tested is on the shot timer, which most Big Dot proponents do not seem to use, but rather go by "feel" which is arbitrary and inaccurate. There is not a single national or world champion pistol shooter that has ever taken home one single title with these sights. If there was something there, that would not be the case. This effectively closes that debate.

    So, did you actually test this scientifically somehow?

    For instance, take two identical handguns, one with some other standard sight, and the other with these, and several shooters of varying skill levels, and use a shot timer to time a large number of shots with each combination.

    You can't just cite that "no one in these totally arbitrary competitions uses these, so they're clearly terrible." While that may be true, correlation is not causation. There may be another reason no one uses them in those competitions, or that they're poorly suited for that use, where the competition is generally done under ideal conditions, but better suited to some other application.

    With that out of the way I'm totally willing to take your word for it; I just had to call out your specious justification for your conclusion.
     

    biglucky

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    I love them personally. I run them on Glock, my M&P Shield, have a shotgun with them on it, and run them on my AK..

    I do find that target acquisition is faster, but it takes some training. It is not automatic.
     

    Andy

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    Some of you fellers are going about this the wrong way. The Big Dot sights are exactly the same concept as the big white ivory bead "express sight" set on double rifles designed for dangerous game in Africa (where I grew up).

    They allow you to focus your eyes on the THREAT - where your eyeballs *are* hard-focused anyway under threat of imminent death - while still being able to see the big fuzzy white ball of a front sight and superimpose it on the charging critter and make a good shot.

    21f0h0g.jpg


    If that beast above were charging at you at 40 mph and was going to be on top of you in the next second, can you honestly tell me you'd be focusing your eyes on a little front sight? Bullshit you would - your eyeballs would be out on stalks staring at whatever was about to eat them.

    That's what BIG front sights are for - big enough to be visible, even unfocused, so you can still place them on the nasty thing you're staring at.
     
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