...and mounted.


The guinea pig G19. Bone stock except for the sights.

A while ago I posted about these sights. Interesting discussion and I figured that I would get these for one of my Glocks. But as usual I procrastinated about spending the dough being the regularly cheap SOB I can be, plus the two distributors that we use that carry the Bullseye were constantly out of stock of the product. Then a couple of weeks ago Sports South got them back in, and I was already placing a G19 MOS order and...well, you can guess the rest.

At first I was concerned as how in blazes I was going to mount the sight onto a gun, given how short it is. Neither my dedicated MGW Glock pusher nor my MGW Sight-Pro had a pushing block that would appear to place nice with the (apparently) finished housing of the Bullseye. But instead as it turns out, this Meprolight is among THE easiest rear sights I've ever mounted on any handgun. No pusher tool is required at all. The only thing the instructions call for is something called 'retaining compound' (aka Loctite 609). Once I managed to procure a bottle (pricey stuff, that 609) I was all set for putting the sight on the slide.

The Bullseye package from Meprolight is your customary night sight simple: the sight fully assembled, a TORX driver, instructions and the blister pack all the bits come in. Installation is just as straightforward. The subject gun is one of my G19 pistols, this one a Gen4. Check for clear gun and field strip to get the slide in-hand, and remove any existing rear sight as needed. Clean/degrease the dovetail slot to finalize prep.


The view of the top of the FT Bullseye and the two TORX screws holding it all in place.

The Bullseye comes intact but installation requires the attached dovetail be first removed from the rest of the sight. Held in place by two TORX screws, the included driver tool is provided exactly for this task. Once removed the dovetail is coated with the retaining compound as is the dovetail slot itself. This dovetail part is simply slipped into the slot (no pushing is necessary), then the sight 'superstructure' is reattached to the dovetail. It's at this time that the sight be centered and located as the TORX screws are tightened. The way the sight stays on is that the 'dovetail' really isn't a dovetail in the truest sense; it's actually more of a wedge that clamps the upper portion of the sight 'superstructure' to the sloped sides of the slot as the screws are tightened.

I fiddle with the lateral location of the sight on the slide (there is no elevation adjustment possible). Once I'm satisfied with the placement, I tighten both screws down tight, then back one completely out to apply some blue Loctite, then reinstall and torgue, then do the same to the second screw. Just like mounting a scope into rings. And aside from waiting the retaining compound to cure (it's a lot more watery than the word 'compound' initially led me to believe), as well as the thread lock, that's pretty much it on installation.


I had hoped to show the 'dovetail' wedging into the sloped walls of the dovetail slot. But those shadows wouldn't play nice. And yes there is air space beneath that wedge and the bottom of the slot.

The sight itself is pretty straightforward to use. Aside from the target, there is only a single plain to focus one's eye's on. Gen the illuminated center dot aligned in the middle of the equally illuminated surrounding circle. That's it. Both fiber optic filament and tritium are used for illuminating the 'bull's-eye' sight picture at the rear of the unit. A front sight is not needed; great for us whose eyes are aging to the point that quick focusing adjustments just don't work with the inevitable degradation/downward spiral of our muscles that control what we do with our eyes.


I didn't quite get the dot smack dab in the center of the ring; there's only so much I can do with a phone camera...

I've yet to take the gun to the range since I only installed the sight this past afternoon, but even without live fire just from handling and 'dry' sighting it's becoming abundantly clear that the Bullseye is as far from a 'bull's-eye' target sight as it could possibly be. This design was meant for fast sight acquisition and dealing with threats, not putting bullet after bullet in the same darn hole in the paper 'bad guy'. Since I haven't subjected it to live fire yet, I'm not sure if I'm still able to use a POA sight picture (usually the #2 in the three-example chart) that are customarily what Glocks are set to. Or will I be using the SIG-style 'combat sight picture', good ol' #3 that annoyingly covers up the point-of-aim. Only range time will tell me that answer.

I decided to leave the front sight on the gun, thinking that it may be useful for indexing/aiming if I'm confronted with a situation that won't allow me the luxury of actually sighting the gun. There's been a fair bit of chatter as to whether this is a wise choice; for now I will try it this way. If it doesn't work it's simple and easy enough to take the front sight off.

It's certainly an interesting sighting solution. I like how easy it is to pick up the dot and circle. It seems as if it will work fine for defensive distances. Only a day or three at the firing line will figure that out, and I'm looking forward to it.

Really looking forward to thoughts following a range trip. Staying tuned ....

So, it is basically an updated ghost ring?

How do you watch your front sight lift to call your shot?

I believe the front sight is completely unused and that the dot's relation inside the ring is basically the front sight.

It's an interesting concept but seems like it really is a close in get rounds generally center mass quickly kind of thing. I am looking forward to the shooting observations.

I am curious if it has any of the shooting from dim areas into bright areas that show up in most of the trit/fiber optic reflex sights. I guess technically it shouldn't because there is no window.

Interesting.

The front sight is superfluous and unnecessary for the operation of the rear sight. I decided to leave it on for now because it looks a bit weird leaving a "blowhole" in the slide where a front sight is normally supposed to be. I also figured that it might be useful in indexing the gun if shooting with the gun in a sighting position that's lower than eye level. But I also found comments on the web that claimed that leaving the front sight has caused visual conflicts with some shooters. Live fire will tell which way it'll work for me.

So far I also get the impression that this so-called "Bullseye" is best suited for minute-of-human shooting, where hitting center of mass is what the goal is. Its rear profile/silhouette obscures a large part of the view forward of the muzzle, making it near useless for any sort of distance and precise shooting.

It'll be sometime next week before I have a chance to get some rounds through the gun. I'll post what I discover and my impressions on how usable this sight is with regards to what I expect from a gun like the G19.

Reminds me of a fancier version of the old "guttersnipe" sights from the '70s.

Looks intriguing. I have an Gen 3 Glock that has the Dead Ringer Snake Eyes on it. Not the same thing but the same principle.
It came with them on and I thought I'd try it before I passed judgment. I actually like them even though the look a bit hokey.
These do pique my interest a little.