Aiming a pistol Is nothing fancy, but it can always use visual assistance. We are basically using the sights as a reference to verify that our bullets will hit the target roughly where we need it to. Too often we are hearing that we need to STARE/FOCUS on the front sight. This is merely a method of trying to get people to lessen the likelihood of movement of the sights. I feel that this is stupid since we don’t need THAT level of visual focus to see if the sights are staying aligned. Simply watch the threat/target and lift your gun until your sights sit between. They will be a bit hazy but it will be unmistakable whether they are aligned and moving. Plus, having a hard focus on a close object and leaving further objects hazy is going to adversely affect accuracy. The eye is going to not be able to help but see the sights accurately and you will be able to see them with precision due to the close range. Try using your thumb to aim at little letters in this article. Watch the word with a hard focus and bring your thumb up like a pistol sight. The edges will be hazy but sharp Also, look at the current RMR fetish where this is the exact visual method used. If this is used for electronic sights, what is the excuse for all other sights? This is a simple explanation and example proving my point. I have been doing this since I started shooting in Marine Boot Camp. Not being able to see the target at 500m made it necessary. Go figure, though I was supposed to focus on the sight, I hit perfectly using the method of focusing on the target. Since then it made no sense the stare at the sight when the sight is not the threat that I should be monitoring during the engagement anyways. How are you going to monitor your shots on target if you stare at the sights? Perform constant shifts in focus? Ridiculous. How do you think machine gunners track their tracers? Stare at their barrel or sights to ensure no movement? PFFF!!
THE ENHANCEMENT
The enhancement I propose is using some kind of durable paint like fingernail polish on the entire face of the front sight. This concept is used on other things, namely the AK or other rifles that have a front sight cover that can be given a bright outline to help the eye pick it up peripherally while firing at the threat. Though this particular example with rifles is a little flexible on precision due to it being meant for close range reflexive fire. The pistol sight enhancement is not considered for broad aiming, but rather enhancing the ability to apply precision through peripheral alignment and tracking.
HOW TO DO IT
Well, I already gave you an idea of what we are doing but I figure I might as well take you through the steps regardless. First thing you want to do is clean off your front and rear sights. After cleaning, I recommend using a permanent marker and completely blacking out the rear dots or whatever reference points. The less contrasts, the less your eyes are going to have to process peripheral data.
After picking a good contrasting color for the front sight, such as pink, orange, or lime green, shake the bottle with vigor. Do not risk leaving the polish watery because a lot of time they can separate a bit. If the bottle cap doesn’t come with a brush, that is odd but it can be remedied with a Q tip.
For this part make sure your slide is muzzle down since gravity makes stuff run. Make sure that the polish is equally applied and sort of bulbs out a little. The best way to prevent needing to clean up is by doing small applications to prevent flooding it unnecessarily. The who process takes a total of like 10 seconds so don’t be hasty.
ENJOY THE PROGRESS
After this application is complete, leave the sight alone for at least a half hour and then you are good to go. Now you have turned your irons into a sighting system that easily rivals some RDS’ on the market. I am sure you will immediately notice how fast your eyes pick up the sights while focusing on the threat. This is a low-priced enhancement that is not perfect but it is a way to supplement or fill in for something like a nice bright fiber optic sight system, which I recommend. Don’t bother with night sights since the price doesn’t do anything for you when your job is PID at night, and if the light is so low to pick up merely a glow, then I doubt that you can see what you are shooting at. Other than that, I have no opinion.
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