Get the Picture? The Right Sights for the Job

A sight picture is defined as “everything you see with your sights and your target.” A proper sight picture is fundamental for plinkers and self-defense training. There are many different styles of sights such as a bead, three dot sight, a notch or circular rear. Despite their set up differences, all sights need to be properly aligned to be seen and used correctly. Width of the rear notch and front sight post are a consideration however we will focus on the three most popular sight set ups available.

​1.) Fiber Optics

Fiber optics were once only popular among competitive shooters but are now gaining popularity among the defensive minded shooters. Fiber optics gather available light and makes the front sight easier to pick up in low-light/no-light to identify your target. The fiber-optic front sight is great for outdoor range target sessions as well as having no shelf life like tritium.

2.) Night Sights

Night sights such as ones with Tritium offer an advantage in a low light scenarios. Tritium is a radioactive material creating its own light and is a very popular upgrade for defensive guns as well. These sights typically come in bright colors for shooting during the day and glow at night making them a good choice for low-light shooting. Also, an added bonus to these sight upgrades is that locating the gun is easier in the dark as they will be glowing!

3.) Red Dots

My personal favorite! Red dots are user friendly and are great for people with poor eyesight, new shooters as a literal “point and aim,” are great for simplifying the process. Guns and Ammo agrees and states “With a red dot optic, life is simple—we have a dot, and we have a target. Place the dot on the target and press the trigger. Sounds too good to be true, right?” Red dots started within competition and the battlefield, but now are inexpensive, lightweight and compact.