Texas-based XS Sights recently launched its first-ever pair of fiber-optic iron sights, designed for Glock pistols. Fiber-optic sights in general are already well-known in the competitive shooting world, but the “eye-grabbing” qualities of these sights are getting noticed outside of action-pistol matches more than ever before. As such, this new XS Sights fiber-optic set and the solid sight picture it provides works well in any iron-sighted shooting scenario—including competition.
XS Fiber-Optic Sights Overview
The XS Sights Fiber-Optic Glock sight kit is compatible with Glock pistols across every generation, including guns with optics and the factory MOS system. Rear sights are available for either full-size slides or “slimline” slides (Glock G43, G42, G48, etc.). Design-wise, these new kits take after the company’s Minimalist and R3D sights. Installation is straightforward, and I used the XS Sights Inline Sight Pusher to install my pair on a 9 mm fifth-generation Glock G34 MOS. With an overall 0.005-inch offset on the rear sight, this pair should work well with most Glock pistols shooting standard ammunition.
Front Sight
The front sight in the XS Sights Glock set is optimized to allow the fiber-optic rod to gather light from every direction. Its design is more “open” than the typical fiber-optic front sight, and the rod sits at an angle. This “wide-open” design allows for better light-gathering, making the rod easy to see across all visible daylight conditions. Even in the brightest, sunniest conditions, the sight is still “daylight bright” without washing out.
The front sight stands at 0.215-inch tall and 0.125-inch wide, while the fiber-optic insert measures 0.060-inch in diameter. At full extension in front of my face, the diameter of the fiber-optic rod roughly corresponds to being 7.3-MOA wide. A bright green rod is installed by default from the factory, but XS Sights also includes a red fiber-optic rod as a spare or for those who prefer it.
Rear Sight
Because the XS Sights Glock Fiber-Optic set is designed to work with optics and MOS-cut slides, the base of the rear sight is only as wide as its dovetail, without taking up any more space in front of it, like most aftermarket rear sights.
Height-wise, the rear sight measures 0.220-inch tall. Its rear face is serrated but otherwise plain and has a wide, square notch measuring 0.145-inch. Additionally, the wide notch provides a very “visually comfortable” sight picture.
XS Fiber-Optic Sights On The Firing Line
Besides dry-firing indoors and outdoors at home (and drawing from the holster and trying to get a sight picture), I conducted some close-distance and longer distance shooting exercises to get a good feel for shooting with these sights. I also wanted to observe the relationship between these sights’ front and rear heights (0.215-inch and 0.220-inch, 0.005-inch offset) for point of aim and point of impact with a “standard velocity” 9 mm load. I primarily used a 125-grain coated lead 9 mm round-nose handload with a charge of 4.2 grains of Titegroup, which clocked 1,154 f.p.s. at the muzzle of my Glock G34. With that velocity and a power factor of 145, I’d say these are quite “standard.”
From five yards, I shot both the Dot Torture Drill and the Casino Drill. At this distance, my rounds definitely “shot to the sights” with holes punching dead center. Dot Torture worked well for close-distance deliberate shooting, while the Casino Drill focuses on speed and transitions. At speed, it wasn’t difficult to track the sights on the slide during recoil at all, thanks to that bright fiber-optic rod. Having the sights dead-on at five yards is key, given the sheer number of tests and drills that shooters work on from the five-yard line.
Equally important was evaluating the point of aim and point of impact relationship at 25 yards, so I shot some NRA B-8 targets, freestyle and untimed. For this portion, I fired factory loaded standard velocity Federal 147-grain flat-point, Fiocchi 115-grain jacketed hollow-point and Hornady 124-grain jacketed hollow-point cartridges. Both the lighter Fiocchi and Hornady loads were able to print close to the middle of the B-8 target with a good center-hold. Following conventional wisdom, I used a six o’clock hold to get the heavier and slower Federal American Eagle AE9FP bullets to print in the black. I was impressed with my own 20-round group, and while this is more indicative of a relationship between the cartridge and the handgun itself, the XS Sights also played a part by virtue of helping the shooter align the gun with the target.
Thoughts And Takeaways
I have experience with some of the best fiber-optic sight sets on the market from different companies, and the XS offering should work well, too. I say “should” because at this point in time, my round count through them isn’t terribly high. It’s accepted that fiber-optic rods are “consumable” and to be replaced, but I am curious about how the unique design of the XS front sight and its rod will hold up over longer (and reasonable) periods of time. Likewise, I wish I could tell how well the front sight would last under normal everyday-carry conditions, but these sights just hit the market. As for the build, the quality anyone would expect from XS Sights is there.
After shooting and dry firing with them, I really liked them because the rear sight notch is wide and easy to look through, which aids with target-focused shooting. At 0.125-inch wide, the front sight blade is neither too thin nor too thick. Equally important, the 0.060-inch wide fiber-optic insert (again, roughly equal to 7.3 MOA) is extremely easy to work with across all shooting and lighting conditions, be it precise or fast shooting. The way the rod sits on its “front sight cradle” and gathers light allows shooters to fire with a strong target-focus and using it as a “pseudo-dot.” With MSRP at $69.99, the XS Sights Fiber-Optic Glock Sight set is also competitively priced. The only thing better would be for XS Sights to start offering fiber optics on other guns. Learn more at xssights.com.
