XS Suppressor Height Sights - Glock 19 Follow Up -The Firearm Blog

Put me solidly in the “shoot through the can” group of suppressed pistol shooters. A group that swears they are just as accurate with standard-height sights even with an obscured sight picture. And it’s true, it’s perfectly doable – lining up your sights is 90% of the battle when placing shots on target. But it doesn’t have to be the only way to shoot suppressed.

So, searching for a better way, I literally jumped at the chance to do a follow-up review to Phil’s XS Suppressor Height Sight 1911 installation and review a few weeks ago. And as my first set of dedicated tall sights, I am very impressed.

Since Phil covered proper installation and setup of the XS system, let’s skip all the way to the good stuff: Shooting. It’s almost turkey season, so I picked out a 12″ steel turkey target at 15 yards for testing.

Before we get to the suppressor-specific discussions, while I consider this an unbiased review, I have to admit that I have been a longtime fan of the XS Big Dot lineup. Between the large and bright front sight and the “Dot-The-I” sight picture, the whole system is one of my favorites. After easily nailing that turkey from 15 yards, I moved out to the 50 and hit that target nine out of ten times. And while I’d like to credit my sharp-shooter, world-class, super-precision shooting techniques (that’s sarcasm folks) the XS Big Dot makes those shots seem pretty easy.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19.

Glock 17 with OEM Trijicon night sights (left) next to a Glock 19 with XS Suppressor Height sights (right)

After following the instructions on the XS web page and YouTube videos (love the mustache) and the details in Phil’s article, installation of my set was a breeze. My Glock 19 is a third generation with a pressed-in front sight so I was a little nervous that I was going to mess something up during the removal process. But a couple of generous taps with a brass punch and the front sight popped without issue. Using the included polymer punch and little penetrating oil, my rear sight slid out with only a few taps.

The XS rear sight slid into place without the need for any modification or force – a fact I was thankful for since i was worried my layer of Cerakote would require light sanding or filing to the sight base dovetail.

How much higher are the XS sights from stock? In an unscientific measurement, the rear sights were slightly less than 0.2″ higher than the OEM.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19. OEM Rear sight.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19. XS Rear Sight.

And in a nod to consistency, the front XS sight is also just lightly less than 0.2″ taller than the original post.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19. OEM front sight height.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19. XS Front sight.

I used two suppressors two test the sight picture of the XS system: a SilencerCo Octane 45 HD with an outer diameter (OD) of 1.37″ and a “Form 1” suppressor I built myself with an OD of 1.5″.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19.

With the Octane, the sight picture is perfect and unobscured. Both the rear XS sight and the front XS Big Dot rise above the the suppressor body to give a clean view of the target.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19.

Even using my Form 1 can with the larger OD, the mount/booster assembly (made by Liberty Suppressors for their Mystic 9mm silencer) barely blocks any of the XS sight picture. Getting quick, well placed shots was much smoother than the standard factory option. I intentionally built a shorter but wider can, so I was surprised that the taller XS sights cleared my setup at all.

XS Suppressor Height Big Dot Sights for the Glock 19.

The only downsides I can see to taller sights are that holster choices may be somewhat limited and the taller sights may be more prone to snags on clothing or gear. Although my test Glock 19 isn’t a carry gun, it did fit snugly into my Raven Concealment holster.

XS Sight Systems is an excellent company that stands behind their products. Even if you were like me and saw no need for taller sights when shooting suppressed, it’s well worth your time to give the XS Suppressor Height Sight system a shot. Pun intended.