TargetTalk

I've got a Walther FP free pistol, electronic trigger and quite a heavy beast. It has the factory front sight - 3mm thick. The rear sight notch is narrow and lets very little light past the sides. Is this normal or unusual? I would appreciate knowing what others have for their respective widths. Should I go to the proportions seen on air pistol sights? Thanks in anticipation.....

What is the best proportions for you? I tried tight gaps and it was good in good conditions, but noticed that in harder conditions it was easier for me to release a good executed shot with a wider gap. The best outcome of this for me, is better contrast at front sight.

I suggest you read Nygord on this matter. I believe he addresses it quite nicely. Light at the time on the range, age, acuity of your vision all impact on the optimal choice at the time. Most pistols come with sets of sights so the image can be varied to suit the shooter and occasion.

The rule of thumb I have used is to get the front sight width as close to the width of the target as possable.

Then for me the distance from the top of the front sight to the target is more than the light you see on the sides of the front sight by about 2-3x. I know some people use the same spacing for all 3 spots. I am not sure this is very important. You do not want your front sight to swim in the rear sight and have all kinds of space. You also do not want it so tight you can not hold it in the rear sight. This gets to the comment about your ability. You should be able to hold the front sight in the rear sight.

I would start with a set up that allows you to keep the sights aligned such that you never loose the front sight. When you get better you can tighten this up if you feel you might benifit from it. Years ago a friend of mine was on the national team and he had a very little space on the sides of the front sight.

There is no correct answer just lots of ideas what other people use and what works for them best.

Just to "me too" on Chris' comment.

The most important thing on any technique issue is to focus on exactly what you are trying to accomplish (the desired outcome).

So what's the desired outcome for determining your "best" sight widths?

1) You can keep the front sight in laser-sharp focus; and
2) You can keep the front and rear sights precisely aligned

Short answer: whatever widths help you do that is "better" whatever widths make it harder to do that is "worse."

O.K. then, in general-

A wider front sight (up to where the sight is too wide to "see" in relation to rear notch) is "Better" in that you have a solid surface to focus on. Typically as long as you are staying away from a "thin" front sight you are o.k. Perceived width of target or a little less is generally usefull.

Sufficient light on either side of the front blade (up to where you lose the inability to align the sights) is "Better" in that you can more easily achive initially and maintain over time a clear, sharp focus. It is also amazing at how wide your rear sights can be, and still allow your eye to manage very precise alignment.

Nygord's excellent advice uses the followign rule of thumb:

- Front blade equal in perceived width to size of distraction bull;
- Hold 1/3 - 1/2 that distance below the bottom edge of the meat of the distraction bull; and
- Allow the same amount of light (1/3 - 1/2 the width of front sight) on either side of the front sight

Oddly enough, as you get smaller/narrower/tighter than these recommendations yoiru ability to maintain precise alignment actually goes DOWN, not UP, as one would expect!

The best way to give yourself a dose of the chicken finger is to keep narrow Foucault slits on either side of the front post (thin enough to break up the light into its component spectra! Sorry for the geek joke).

Again, it's all about trade-offs and finding your own personal "Sweet Spot." But it's important (as you experiment around) to understand what those tradeoffs really are, and what the desired outcomes are as well.

Steve Swartz