Recently XS Sight Systems has been releasing new products on the accessory side of the business. Last week XS contacted me about a new line of sights made especially for handguns using suppressors.

These new sights are from the 24/7 series and available in standard and tritium insert models. Most suppressor ready sights look overly high and just don’t add anything to the aesthetics of the pistol. These XS sights actually don’t appear overly tall and look good on the 1911 I installed them on. The set sent to me have the larger dot with tritium insert while the rear sight has a vertical line with tritium insert. They have a Novak slide cut.

XS sights are simple to employ and provide the shooter with a fast flash sight picture. The video below gives you an idea of how they are used.

Installation is fairly straightforward. If you have a sight tool the removal of the old sights and installation of the XS sights is much easier. Brownells has several models to choose from. Brownells sight tool.

Brownells Sight Tool

To begin apply a liberal amount of lubricant of your choice around the base of the sight and allow time for it to leech under the old sight. This will make it easier to remove the old sights no matter if you use a sight tool or a hammer and brass punch. Once you leave the lube on for 30 minutes or so place the slide in a padded vise. If you don’t own a set of pads these can also be purchased at Brownells. These are made of hard polymer and not only hold the slide snugly but prevent the slide from being scratched. Using brass punch and gunsmith hammer tap the old sights out from left to right.

Before installing the XS sights check the fit between the sight base and dovetail. If the sights are slightly large use a bit of crocus cloth and remove material from the base of the sight. It may also be necessary to use a triangular file to remove a small amount of material from the slide cut front and rear. Be cautious and remove a very small amount of material and check the fit again. Once you remove too much steel it can’t be replaced!

After installing both front and rear sights head to the range and sight the pistol in then tighten the screws on the rear sight. XS sights come with a polymer sight punch as well as a tube of adhesive. Once you tighten the screws apply some of the supplied adhesive around the base of the sights and allow time for it to also leech under the base of the sight. The package the sights come in have a set of instructions for removal and installation you can refer to.

These new sights work very well in acquiring a good sight picture quickly. You simply dot the “I”. The video above explains and demonstrates the proper sight picture from various distances. At night the Trijicon inserts show up well. I like these sights. I must say my preference would be the small dot rather than the big dot. That’s strictly a shooter preference as both work equally well.

Fresh install with a bit of brass from the punch still showing. A little solvent like Breakthrough will remove any brass left over.

These new sights are available for a variety of other pistols and I’m sure more will be added. The MSRP is $135.00 for the big dot 1911 set. XS Sights Website