Modular Pistol Sights

Have you ever heard the term "rooney gun"? It’s sort of a slur toward competition-only firearms and equipment that allegedly could never be useful in the real world. It’s usually uttered by folks maintaining that back in the good ol’ days, when things were right and pure, shooting held a real world emphasis and participants only used true and proper shooting gear. Nobody tried "to gain an edge by any means" like those conniving competitors and their fake equipment today. It turns out this is not quite true.

When practical shooting was in its infancy in the late 1950s, there was no competition-specific gear for it. Over time, top competitors began learning what techniques, training approaches, and equipment worked best by looking to the winners. By the end of the 1950s participants began using competition-specific guns and gear. The 1911 began surfacing as a dominant platform but the as-issue gun didn’t always have the nicest trigger or adjustable sights as found on revolvers.

They also sometimes exhibited less-than-stellar reliability with anything besides military Early practical competition shooters added revolver sights to their automatic pistols and used custom holsters inspired by Fast Draw. Both are 1950s era competition equipment from Jeff Cooper. While it was not standard issue at the time, this experimentation would create positive changes in factory and standard issue offerings. round nose ammunition.

Competitors took their Government Model handguns to custom gunsmiths to retrofit adjustable revolver sights and have trigger and action jobs done. None of this was found on actual carry guns of the day, military or police, but competitors did it to gain an edge. Early competitors noted that merely having a handgun reliable enough to complete a match without a malfunction was a big advantage.

Combat shooters of the 1950s and 1960s were using "rooney guns", that is, firearms modified with the best-known modifications of the day and intended to win competitions, demonstrating what refinements did prove reliable and useful. Most of these have since found their way into readily-available aftermarket accessories and into factory production guns. This was also true of accessories such as holsters as well.

International Practical Shooting Confederation, United States Practical Shooting Association, and International Defensive Pistol Association events all use belts that fit through the regular trouser belt loops because of the common use of "rooney" gun belt holsters influenced by competitive Fast Draw, a sport that had its heyday at the same time practical shooting started.

In fact, the very first practical shooting competitions organized by Jeff Cooper at Big Bear called Leatherslaps were influenced by and marketed around the Fast Draw and cowboy/wild west chic popular at the time. Among his many credits, famed shooting innovator and Precision Pistol competitor Gil Hebard was Far As the name implies, the tube can not be seen through.

USAR Shooting Team member Joe Pascarelli used an Aimpoint on his handguns to win the Pistol Nationals at Camp Perry in 1979. Speed shooters would realize these sights were also fast when Jerry Barnhart used one to secure the USPSA Nationals ten years later. They weren’t very durable at first. the first to introduce optical sights to pistol competition. Burris offered their Bullseye Pistol Scope in the 1960s with a large dot reticle and either no magnification or 1.7X.

One of the first notable reflex sights was the Single Point Occluded Eye Gunsite. OEGs do not have a lens in the tube to see through and require users to keep both eyes open. While maintaining focus on the target with both eyes the aiming eye sees the dot inside the OEG tube and the superimposed red dot is used for sighting. This scope was used with the then new CAR-15 Commando (XM177/ GAU-5 series) carbines during the Son Tay Raid in 1970.

In 1981 Armson released a tritium-illuminated OEG similar to the original but with more robust features and a variety of mounting systems for popular rifles and shotguns. In 1974, a small group of Swedish entrepreneurs started exploring ways to create a similar sighting technology that would allow shooters to acquire their target quickly like the OEG while being able to see through the tube.

In 1976, United States Patent 3,942,901, "Optical sighting instrument with means for producing a sighting mark", was awarded to the company that would become Aimpoint. The abstract reads that their invention is an optical instrument comprising a concave lens with a light-reflecting surface and a light source. The lens allows observing the target while reflecting a dot of light appearing to lie far in front of the mirror to serve as a sighting mark on a line between the observer’s eye and a target.

Aimpoint’s first commercial sight product, the Aimpoint Electronic, was introduced to the market and proved successful. A number of companies began following suit on the concept and refinements started to be offered. Ultradot followed with less expensive copies of the Aimpoint and started to gain traction in Precision Pistol in the 1980s as their price point was good along with sufficient reliability.

The Florida-based Tasco offered an affordable and well-made Japanese manufactured sight as the Pro Point that proved a tipping point for red dot optic popularity. While the original Aimpoint design utilized a full tube to house the lens and controls appearing similar to a "normal" optic, this is not necessary. Unlike scopes, red dot sights only need one lens. C- More Systems were the first to offer tubeless sights with a single open lens atop the controls, emitter, and mounting hardware.

In theory this more open design gives the shooter a wider field of view. Miniaturization of this idea has allowed the concept to be used on ever smaller units. Tasco released the Optima 2000 in the late 1990s, one of the first of the ultra-compact red dot sights. Product improvements on this concept, primarily ruggedization, were released in the form of the Docter USA and JP Enterprises Jpoint models.

One of the current best releases of the miniature models is the Insight m RDS (mini Red Dot Sight), a fully mil-spec unit that is waterproof, shock and drop proof, is usable with night sights Far Modern versions are as durable as iron sights and a single AA battery provides tens of thousands of hours of constant-on power. Red dots need a lens to work but not necessarily a tube. C- More Systems was among the first to offer a tubeless optic.

Red dot sights can be used on any number of firearms, including this FN MAG (M240).

85 ounces. Far and naked vision, Picatinny/M1913 rail mountable, yet only weighs 0.85 ounces. The original Aimpoint design used a battery-powered red LED to emit a light seen as the red dot reticle reflected on the internal lens. Other light sources used include fiber optic light collectors and tritium capsules. Others were designed for use with night vision devices and other light colors such as green are available. Reticle shapes are not limited to dots.

Any shape reticle image can be designed to reflect on the lens and some sights use a chevron or triangular pattern. An optic, magnified or not, offers advantages over iron sights for precision shooting, especially given the relatively short sight radius on handguns. It’s a myth that reliability is unimportant in Precision Pistol (Bullseye) competition.

Competitors are allowed only one alibi per stage (a 900 aggregate has four: Slow Fire, National Match Course, Timed Fire, Rapid Fire) and an alibi target scores the worst ten shots. However, reliability is more forgiving than the no-alibi format in other disciplines. As red dots proved more reliable they became popular on pistols for the Bianchi Cup, which the National Rifle Association would later purchase the rights to and call Action Pistol.

When first used in bullseye and then the Bianchi Cup in the late 1970s and early 1980s, they were so new and "space age" to be taken seriously. People surmised they were also slow, until Jerry Barnhart used an optic to win the USPSA Nationals in 1990. This would also lead to the creation of stock class in USPSA, formally called Limited, that disallowed such modifications, as well as IDPA to avoid race gun modifications altogether.

After competition shooters beat them up enough and manufacturers eventually learned how to make them robust, military and law enforcement began using these sights on long guns. While still too bulky for handguns, the 1990s-era Aimpoint proved reliable enough for military use in the form of the M68 Close Combat Optic. For those with concerns about optics as general issue sights, read "Do D Small Arms Repair Technician" by Steph Martz in the April 2019 issue.

Quick review: modern optics are typically more robust and require less maintenance than iron sights. Another improvement to the sights was miniaturization. Docter Optics (now Noblex) in Germany was one of the first companies to offer a micro red dot sight small enough to fit on the rear of a pistol slide. Excluding the necessary screen for the red dot to project on, the sight was not much bigger than a Bomar or similar quality adjustable rear sight.

IPSC started offering different equipment divisions around the same time USPSA did. Like IDPA, they used a box with specific dimensions that a Standard division (stock class) handgun had to fit. Of course, the anything-goes Unlimited or Open division guns didn’t have to fit. IPSC also offered an interesting third option called Modified which allowed modifications similar to Unlimited/Open but it had to fit the same box as Standard.

With micro red dots now small enough to slide mount, they became a fixture on IPSC Modified guns.

One gun can now be configured for numerous different shooting applications and competition disciplines. I’ve always maintained that if you want to see what progressive, cutting-edge tactical trainers will be using for equipment and technique five years from now, see what is used by winning competitors today. This is yet another example. This technology can be had on real world handguns. Tactically-minded shooters started experimenting with this equipment on duty pistols.

While the first tube sights weighed around a pound, these micro red dots weigh a few ounces. With an optic, there is no sight radius and no accuracy benefit from having a pistol with a longer slide. Custom slide milling and optic cuts for popular service handguns such as Glock, Smith & Wesson, Heckler & Koch, SIG Sauer, Canik, Springfield and the like started to become available. In the last several years red dot sights have improved in their availability, durability, battery life, and usability.

Some police departments have begun issuing handgun red dot sights already and the military is following as well. As it became known that the winner of the XM17 Modular Handgun System was the SIG Sauer P320, the U. S. Navy procured 60,000 units as well as awarding Trijicon a contract for their miniature reflex sights. The M17/18 are optics-ready out of the box. Of course, we have over a century of available service handguns when iron sights were the only option.

Dan Behymer of US Precision Defense (USprecisionDefense.com, offers some advice on this transition. Here are the basics. Iron sights are still viable and remain ideal for many applications. Given that an optic reduces error from sight misalignment, which becomes less noticeable to the iron sight shooter as the sight radius shortens, engaging at 100+ yards is a real option with a firearm traditionally considered to have a maximum effective range of 50 yards.

Although the price point has dropped as reliability has increased, it’s still more expensive, especially compared to fixed iron sights. For personal defensive use, the majority of incidents at one or two dozen feet away or closer so this capability is not as useful. Tall iron sights as a back up are an option and it depends on shooter preference. Obviously, for Carry Optics division or other range use there is no need; a sight failure costs you some stage points at worst.

Many recommend them for duty use in law enforcement or military scenarios. A good recommendation is to measure and fit the sights to your slide that have a 1/3 co-witness so they don’t completely block your sight picture but are there for emergencies. It truly depends on what the intended use of the pistol is going to be. It’s worth noting again that current red dot sights, including micro sights that ride a handgun slide, are proving as reliable as iron sights so even that doesn’t have to be a hard rule.

Generally, there are two sizes of red dots sights. There are the full size (but still small) units like the Trijicon RMR, Shield RMS, Holosun 507c, Swampfox, Vortex, Venom, and similar. The other are micro dot sizes such as the SIG Romeo Zero, Holosun 507k, Trijicon RMRcc, Shield RMSc, and others. They all have their place but it’s recommended to use the larger optic if it will fit.

A good reference point is that if the magazine is double stack you can go full size; if it is single stack then a micro is recommended. Some pistols

like the Springfield XD are full-size but are limited to the micro due to placement of the firing pin blocker pocket and the extractor pocket. At first, the only option was custom work to modify cuts on the slide to mount an optic. This made things more compact than the previous method of adding a rail the length of the slide (common for Wad guns in Bullseye) or adding amount to the frame (common on Unlimited guns in action shooting). The benefit of modifying the slide is a sleeker profile for the optic.

Manufacturers later began adding adapter plates to factory offerings. This was necessary as mounting differs between optics, such as screw locations. Cutting the slide rather than using an adapter plate saves weight and with the cut the balance stays relatively the same. The disadvantage is any custom work is more expensive than an available factory option and any machine work makes it impractical to go back or to use a different mounting pattern without careful welding and machining.

The one big disadvantage to both custom machine work and factory pre-cut slides and mounting plates is their permanence. For years, long guns have offered modular mounting options in the form of Picatinny, Modular Lock (M-Lok), and Key Mod. Sights and accessories can be added and removed easily. Nighthawk Custom and Accuracy Xnow offers these kind of options on handguns. Nighthawk Custom Nighthawk Custom (Nighthhawk- Custom.com, offers their Interchangeable Optic System.

This utilizes removable plates that allow the shooter to switch from standard iron sights to a variety of red dot sights in less than 30 seconds while holding zero. The IOS makes one handgun adaptable to any number of uses, allowing for multiple low profile sight mounts that can be readily switched out. The dovetail cut in the slide each plate can be removed and still return to zero, allowing for quick and easy switching of the rear sight without sacrificing aesthetic or function.

The IOS is available for new builds or existing 1911 handguns, both from Nighthawk Custom and other manufacturers. Users switch plates by untightening a screw on top of their iron sights plate, releasing the retaining pin. The retaining pin can then be pushed out of the side of the plate, allowing the plate to slide off the back of the firearm. Then, slide on the plate with a different sight, insert the retaining pin, and tighten the screw.

The tapered dovetail cut provides a large centering surface to maintain rear sight alignment. Accessory mounts accept plates for the Trijicon RMR, Trijicon SRO, Shield RMSc, or Vortex Viper. The optic system is cut low in the slide so that regular height front sights can be used instead of tall suppressor sights like most other mounting systems. Also a modular design, Nighthawk Custom also offers the Dropin Trigger System.

Designed by Mark Dye, Director of Gunsmithing Programs Montgomery Community College, the DTS is an allin-one unit replacing the existing hammer, hammer strut, sear, disconnector, and sear spring. Your existing sear pin and hammer pin will be retained for use with the DTS, but no other parts are necessary for installation. With a steel housing securing the unit, the internal parts are machined from bar stock 416 stainless steel.

The traditional three-pronged sear spring is no longer necessary as the springs for the disconnector and sear are built into the unit. A single-leg grip safety spring is included with the DTS to replace the existing sear spring. No bending or tweaking of sear spring legs is necessary to try to tune the pull weight. Since the unit is self-contained, the DTS is in control of the critical hammer/sear pivot pin placements and diameters.

The DTS works with 1911 models in Series 70, Series 80, and Swartz Style, as well as 2011 models.