Fixed sight rant

The problem with a point of impact in action shooting is you need to cover what you are shooting with your front sight, trying to get 2 hits as fast as you can when you have the target covered is much harder than seeing where you want to hit sitting on top of the front sight. Plus if you get a stage with a couple 40-50 yard targets thrown in you have some over hold already built in.

That sounds like "combat sight"; with POA sight, you still see half the target.
 
The problem with a point of impact in action shooting is you need to cover what you are shooting with your front sight, trying to get 2 hits as fast as you can when you have the target covered is much harder than seeing where you want to hit sitting on top of the front sight. Plus if you get a stage with a couple 40-50 yard targets thrown in you have some over hold already built in.

As for the fixed sights, yes they would be much better for concealed carry and less chance of snagging but were talking about competition guns with many different types of people shooting different power factors with different weights of bullets and powders, there is a reason Tanfogilo and STI build all their competition guns with adjustable rear sights. A 9mm with fixed sights shooting POA at 20 yds with a factory loaded 115gr bullet will shoot about 5-6" low with a 147gr bullet loaded for IPSC minor power factor.

If that's working for you then great. But I don't seem to have much problem with my targets using the POA matching POI setup. And most of the folks I shoot with use the same setup. The only ones I've talked with that use the 6 o'clock are the slow fire bullseye crowd.

That's not to say that there are not a few of the action shooters that use a deliberately low POA and hold a little under. But from the ones I've talked with locally about such things I've yet to find one.

I would suggest that it's a "you say po- tay-toe and I say po-tah-toe" sort of deal.
 
xldbldbh saying the CZ Shadow was not designed for competition is like saying the tennis racket was not designed for tennis. I will end it there. If you think there is some kind of conspiracy as to why handguns come with fixed iron sights fill your boots. As an aside I haven't touched my Tanfoglio adjustable sights since the day I bought the gun 12 years ago. Of the dozen or so pistols I own it is the only one with adjustable sights. Only two of my revolvers have adjustable sights. There is a place for adjustable sights for sure. I am not sure your conclusions match what we see at matches. Most use fixed sights in the Divisions I shoot and we seem to manage ok.

Slavex is the resident CZ expert on the forum. Maybe he can shed some light on why that company produces so many competition guns with fixed sights. I doubt it has much to do with added costs.

Take Care

Bob
 
Agreed . . . some seem like the sights are a total afterthought

There is a fellow down in the Seattle area who shot IDPA Revolver Division for two years with no front sight at all and did quite well. Seems it broke off at a shoot and he never got around to replacing it for a couple of years. :>). Oddly enough a broken sight during a stage does not get you a re-shoot in IDPA. You just have to finish the stage best you can.

Take Care

Bob
 
Isnt the Shadows rear sight adjustable for windage with a hex key adjustment? My Canadian addition was.

I know that is not the issue discussed above (not an action shooter so can't comment on that) but windage was the bigger problem I experienced with a couple guns.
 
Isnt the Shadows rear sight adjustable for windage with a hex key adjustment? My Canadian addition was.

I know that is not the issue discussed above (not an action shooter so can't comment on that) but windage was the bigger problem I experienced with a couple guns.

Yes but sights like the Shadows are generally considered "fixed" sights. Adjustable sights allow for vertical and horizontal adjustments without moving the sight base via screws for raising and lowering the sight and moving it left and right. I hope I have described it correctly.

Take Care

Bob
 
Canuck44 the shadow was not built strickly with competition in mind, the shadow 2 is and comes with an adjustable, just like every competition gun from Tanfogilo and STI so you might want to argue with them. You are right tho, Slavex is the resident expert on shadows and just a couple days ago mentioned in a post he runs adjustable sights because he travels to a lot of matches and has to shoot match ammo which could be just about anything from 115 to 147 and needs to adjust elevation.

Just noticed a shadow for sale in EE, has a pic of the test sheet that came with it, although a tad to the right it seems the factory sent it out with fixed sights set at 6 oclock at 25 meters.
IMAG0284_zps6rv6mtgh.jpg
 
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Indeed, I point shoot form time to time. I like adjustable sights to zero with whatever load I use most.
There is a fellow down in the Seattle area who shot IDPA Revolver Division for two years with no front sight at all and did quite well. Seems it broke off at a shoot and he never got around to replacing it for a couple of years. :>). Oddly enough a broken sight during a stage does not get you a re-shoot in IDPA. You just have to finish the stage best you can.

Take Care

Bob
 
Isnt the Shadows rear sight adjustable for windage with a hex key adjustment? My Canadian addition was.

I know that is not the issue discussed above (not an action shooter so can't comment on that) but windage was the bigger problem I experienced with a couple guns.

All guns actually can be adjusted. It's just that in some cases a hammer and brass punch are required for windage and a file or welder is needed for elevation changes. In the case of the Shadow it's the allen key for windage and a file or welder for elevation.

I'm semi serious about this too. So while it is funny on the surface of it it's actually the case in more practical terms.

The guns I do like adjustables on are my serious bullseye guns where I want to alter the POA in small amounts to try to move my grouping right onto the X ring. Or my Ruger Super Blackhawk where I'm shooting a mix of softer loads and full power loads and trying to hit things at 50 and 100 yards. For that sort of a mix the adjustable sight gets used quite a lot.

All of my cowboy revolvers came with fixed sights and I had to dress down two of them to match up the POA to the POI. On the pair of Colt 1860 clones they came with the original style front sights that are considered to be set for shooting out a guy at 100 yards by aiming at his horse or something since they shot so high. On those I replaced the front sight blades with taller new ones and then dressed those down with a file during sighting in shooting.

If my Shadow were off by a bit and I had to file down the top of the rear sight I'd have no issue with doing so. I know that we can get different height front sights for this reason. But those only come in set steps. If I needed something in between then I'd go with the one which shot a touch high and file down the rear for the elevation change until it was perfect.
 
In my experience every handgun I have bought with fixed sights has been spot on. Missing the target has ALWAYS BEEN ME never the sight so I suggest caution about how bad a sight is until you have truly proved where the problem is. When I bought my sig 226 I was sure it was the sight but after about 300 rounds lo and behold I was spot on. Same with all my other handguns (8 altogether). Not saying this will always be the case but most decent manufacturers do a sight in when testing.
 
I think awhile back one of the foolish firearm forum folk elders declaimed that all non-adjustable sights can be adjusted once a load is settled on. Most of my guns have to be more versatile than that and I pretty much have to have adjustable sights on a serious gun.
 
I think awhile back one of the foolish firearm forum folk elders declaimed that all non-adjustable sights can be adjusted once a load is settled on. Most of my guns have to be more versatile than that and I pretty much have to have adjustable sights on a serious gun.

I have adjustibles on my most serious guns as I usually develop a reload to suit that particular gun and have to change point of impact to suit the cartridge. I think my earlier point is more around standard commercial ammo and fixed sights. Many times I have shot a gun someone has been complaining about the sights on and done a 3 " group on centre at 10 yards. Sometime people blame the sights when it is actually their technique. Just make sure which it is before you adjust.

Fixed sights will generally also take more abuse without being knocked of alignment so they also have their pluses. I would prefer a fixed site on a combat gun for example.
 
Many times I have shot a gun someone has been complaining about the sights on and done a 3 " group on centre at 10 yards. Sometime people blame the sights when it is actually their technique. Just make sure which it is before you adjust.
So true :)

I've come across more than one person who complained about every gun they buy the sights are sighted in wrong and they all shoot left. lol!
 
Many times I have shot a gun someone has been complaining about the sights on and done a 3 " group on centre at 10 yards. Sometime people blame the sights when it is actually their technique. Just make sure which it is before you adjust.

I do my best to blame the gun the best I can, but the fixed sight phenomenon is real from what I can tell when I can shoot like this with a gun that's sighted in.

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Darn, you missed??????????????I there is a fellow at my old club and he shoots a 41 smith and I shot a Hi standard victor and Ham. 215
Bullseye, if we changed guns , would almost be off the paper.
I picked up a minty sig P220 45 2 tome, and a P225 9mm and they both had test targets with them.
 
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