I’m taking advantage of the sig service special on an older P239 9MM. I have several X-ray with the square notch rear and have asked for the U-notch to be installed. Any thoughts? What is your experience?
Originally posted by cmartin: I’m taking advantage of the sig service special on an older P239 9MM. I have several X-ray with the square notch rear and have asked for the U-notch to be installed. Any thoughts? What is your experience?
I much prefer the U-notch, gonna be 100% subjective to the shooter, so hopefully you like it better.
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Posts: 6718 | Location: Georgia | Registered: August 10, 2009
I like the U-notch in theory, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to me in practice when engaging targets at speed. With focusing on the target, front sight, and sight alignment, I’m not even aware of whether the rear sight has the U notch or the traditional rectangular notch.
► 6.4/93.6 ___________ “We are Americans …. Together we have resisted the trap of appeasement, cynicism, and isolation that gives temptation to tyrants.” — George H. W. Bush
Posts: 47852 | Location: 10,150 Feet Above Sea Level in Colorado | Registered: April 04, 2002
Originally posted by sigfreund: I like the U-notch in theory, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to me in practice when engaging targets at speed. With focusing on the target, front sight, and sight alignment, I’m not even aware of whether the rear sight has the U notch or the traditional rectangular notch.
My experience exactly. I like a U notch in theory, but it doesn't seem to matter in practice.
Originally posted by sigfreund: I like the U-notch in theory, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference to me in practice when engaging targets at speed. With focusing on the target, front sight, and sight alignment, I’m not even aware of whether the rear sight has the U notch or the traditional rectangular notch.
I prefer the U-notch on all my pistols...even my revolvers
While you may not consciously notice the shape of the notch when shooting at speed, if you're using a front dot, you'll tend to not bury the front sights as deep into the notch...causing your POA to be a bit lower...this of course, depends on the size of your front dot
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Posts: 14271 | Location: northern california | Registered: February 07, 2003
I typically prefer squared off sights, just for the geometric consistency, but in practice it really doesn't matter provided they are designed properly. I align the top of the posts so everything below that doesn't really matter. The front dot just provides contrast so I can pick up the sights quickly. As long as the posts are square, this works just fine regardless of the shape of the rear notch.
My 642 UC has an XS Big Dot out front with a U-notch in the rear. The top of the front sight is rounded, so aligning the "posts" is next to impossible. A proper sight picture requires sticking the front sight dot right at the bottom of the "U" in the rear sight. For the type of work you're typically doing with a J-Frame, it's actually a pretty decent system as it's very fast once you get used to it, but it threw me for a loop when I first shot it as it's completely different from my technique with other sights. With practice I've come to terms with it, but I still think it's much easier to get a precise sight picture with squared off posts.
Another place a U-notch would be nice is with sights that have a round dot on the front sight but a "too shallow" square notch on the rear. I have a couple of S&W revolvers like this with High-Viz front sights (the ones with the sealed fiber-optic tube) as well as my Beretta 81. A proper sight picture with the posts aligned ends up covering the bottom half of the front sight dot with the base of the rear sight notch, which I find to be visually distracting. A deeper "U" notch would be preferable on these types of sights so that the entire front dot would be visible when the posts are aligned.
Posts: 9459 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
