Which Sights?

Tactical, combat, military, law enforcement and home defense use of a Remington 870 shotgun.
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mspohn
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Which Sights?

Post by mspohn » Tue Oct 13, 2015 4:56 pm

I know this is entirely subjective, but which sights are generally preferred, Single bead or ghost rings? I have always liked the ghost rings, but the XS big dot has intrigued me.

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Holmes375
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by Holmes375 » Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:34 pm

I have the XS Big Dots on my 870 and quite like them. Have them on a number of handguns as well. Very fast to acquire and work nicely with dynamic targets.

Very bright in total darkness and work quite well even in dusky light. Many tritium sights fail to provide a good sight picture in dusky light but the Big Dot profile itself combined with the wide shallow V rear sight are easy to pick up.

The Big Dot system is really just a modernized tactical version of the age old express sights used for hunting dangerous game where fast acquisition under low light was often the rule of the day.

And welcome to the forum :)

mspohn
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by mspohn » Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:56 pm

do you have just the bid dot front sight, or a big dot set on your shotgun?

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Holmes375
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by Holmes375 » Tue Oct 13, 2015 7:10 pm

I have the set - tritium front & rear. My barrel is fitted with the Remington rifle sight bases. Quite honestly, I find a front-only tritium set up just fine. For close quarters minute-of-bad-guy that big bright front sight placed on the target is going to do the job. On a couple of my handguns I run a front tritium and plain black rear. During close quarter training in dark and dim light I experience no loss of efficacy on target but I do notice less mental distraction by not having an illuminated rear sight.

I really should run a dark/dim session with the shotgun while having the rear sight capsule covered with tape. I bet I'd score just as well at typical defensive distances.

Rob62
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by Rob62 » Wed Oct 14, 2015 8:31 pm

I have owned 870's with just about every sighting combination possible.

For basic close in work a single big silver colored bead, or the XS24/7 "Dot" front is hard to beat.

Right now I own three 870's

One has a vent rib barrel with plain silver colored factory bead front - basic hunting configured shotgun.

My second one has conventional factory iron sights on it with the factory rear and front inserts being replaced with XS 24/7 night sights. But I like the small dot front vs the big dot front much better. This is a 14" factory SBS.

And my last one is another SBS that has a basic silver bead front. (But I have at least two other barrels I can put on this)

Which one do I prefer - heck if I know ?! I go round and round with myself about this all the time. It really is a coin toss, and depends on what task I am doing at that very moment. For example, if I was clearing a building (rooms) and there were only combatants inside that building then I would use the single (Night Sight 24/7) "Dot" front bead only barrel. If I were doing something which may require me to take a fairly precision shot with a slug then I would use the Iron Sight configured 870.

I don't want to come across as a shill for XS/Ashley Outdoors. I am not affiliated with them in any way, and paid full retail prices for everything I own by them. But I really do like their sights. All I know for sure is that having a night sight bead front on a 870 is an excellent option for a gun that is more than your run of the mill hunting shotgun..

Regards,

Rob

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Synchronizor
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by Synchronizor » Mon Nov 02, 2015 6:24 am

I agree with the general consensus here, a single front bead is a very effective choice for home defense. Shoulder the gun, put the bead on the target, and pull the trigger. With a consistent cheek weld, the shot goes to the same place every time - or at least near enough for HD ranges. If you need to shoot a little farther out, you can use the flat area on top of the receiver as a rudimentary rear element, and reasonably make accurate-enough shots out to 50 yards or so. Other sighting systems will be more precise at 50 yards, and effective out to longer ranges, but you won't gain much - if any - practical accuracy at across-the-room distances; and even with practice they're going to take a little longer to line up & get on target, especially if you're stressed or in a dark environment.

sven
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by sven » Mon Nov 02, 2015 4:25 pm

I`ve tried to shoot grouses with my 870 police 18"imp cyl bead sight, and a Benelli M4 with cylinder choke ghostring at 25-35 yards.

Found out the Benelli was helping me to get a faster and more correct target acquisition than a single bead. The 870 didn`t gave me much killed birds, maybe I`m a bit unfamiliar with bead sights without barrel rib.

Just for references.

xk49
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by xk49 » Fri Nov 06, 2015 8:17 pm

Check out the "See All" open sight. It may seem gimmicky, but works awesome. With the correct cheek riser, target acquisition is almost instantaneous when bring up the gun.

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UltimateGuns
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Re: Which Sights?

Post by UltimateGuns » Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:08 am

For home defense, I prefer to keep it simple. I use the XS Big Dot tritium bead sight. I just glued it on with JB Weld. I think it's perfect for this application.

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