The XS Express 24/7 big dot sights are something most shooters have seen, but been cautious of. That was my case for the longest time. I saw them, liked them, but wasn’t convinced. I reserved doubts because the design is not exactly normal. Besides normal night sights were working well for me anyway. I also checked them out, but never pulled the trigger. The XS Big Dot sights just looked odd.
Then I was in need of a good set of combat sights for my newest handgun. I got lucky and found a CZ RAMI 2075 for an excellent price and scooped it up. The only problem was that CZ decided to put a nice set of adjustable sights on a sub compact pistol. I don’t know why, but for a handgun designed for concealed carry they are a poor choice. They also had some sharp corners and I have the skin of a delicate flower.
Off with the sites. I finally decided I’d give the XS sights a try. It turns out the CZ 75 and CZ 2075 use completely different sights. Also, CZ 2075 doesn’t have a massive selection of sights available. Browsing their website I was surprised they make sights for some of the more esoteric, underrated guns on the market. This includes the Steyr M9 and M40, Bulgarian Makarovs, and pretty much every FN pistol.
XS Big Dot Sights Overview
XS Big dot sights are quite unique. The rear sight is an extremely shallow V. It lacks a notch like traditional pistol iron sights. In the center of the rear sight is a tritium lamp that runs up and down vertically. The front sight is even odder. It’s a larger than average and completely round. When I say large I mean almost comically too big. It features a large white circle that surrounds a smaller tritium lamp. The white circle is used for daylight shooting and of course the tritium lamp is used for night shooting.
Installation
Installation varies per firearm since sighting systems are different everywhere. So I can only speak for installation on the CZ 2075 RAMI. The hardest part was getting the front sight to move off the slide. Holy crap was it a pain to force that bad by off. A vise, a pad to protect it, and some careful blows with a mallet and a punch. The rear sight was much, much easier to remove.
Installing the actual sights was easy. The kit comes with everything you need to install the sights. The manual says you may have to file and fit the sights. However, I didn’t find that to be the case. They slid on with just a little encouragement, and then they were locked down with the included Loc Tite.
On the Range
The idea behind this larger front sight is an easier to acquire front sight. This reduces the time it takes from drawing the weapon to getting on target and pulling the trigger. They are designed for concealed carry and close quarter’s combat. These are not target sights, they are combat sights. They are not designed for shooting small groups, but for hitting man sized targets in vital areas.
Admittedly I failed at this. Every time I brought the sights to bear I was thrown off a bit. I was so trained and used to standard three dot sights I kept trying to place the big dot in a non-existent notch.
First and foremost I hadn’t thought how different sights would affect how I shoot. I had to retrain myself to learn to use these sites quickly and effectively. That did take time and ammunition. Hey, time on the range is far from wasted. To properly use these sites you line up the vertical lamp on the rear sight with the big front sight. You dot the i with these sites to use them properly. If you can’t see the lamp you simply place the big dot in the low point on of the V. The front sight still hovers slightly above the V, but it’s an easy aim point.
Trigger Time
Once you get the idea behind the sights and some trigger time to learn how the sites work they become pretty easy to use. Dare I say fast? I certainly see the benefits of having that massive front site. It’s so easy to see, and once it’s on target you pull the trigger you’ll hit your target. You may miss the exact center of the chest, but you’ll hit the chest.
At close range, ten yards and closer the difference isn’t really noticeable. When you start putting range between you and the target is where you notice a big change. At 15 to 25 yards you can rapidly engage a human sized target pretty easily. Now my shots weren’t making 3-inch groups, but they were placed in the chest.
Now beyond 25 yards you start to lose some of the effects. That big front sight becomes kind of an issue. It covers the target a little too much and makes the target difficult to see. Especially when it comes to aiming for the chest.
At night the XS big dot sights are remarkably easy to see. Both the front and rear sight glow brightly. The idea of that large front sight does work, and the front sight press technique is made for these sights. While the front sight is larger it doesn’t get in the way of holstering or drawing and works with the holsters I carry the RAMI with.
Final Notes
Overall the XS Big dot sights are a solid set. They are an excellent choice for concealed carry and are pretty easy to use. The biggest problem is learning how to use them, and retraining yourself on them. If you can do that, I would surely suggest them if you are looking for a pair o night sights that just happen to function wonderfully in the day.
