Sorely needing to upgrade the stock sights on my G17 frankengun, I got the warm and fuzzies during my install of XS Sights 24/7 Big Dot Xpress tritium sight set. Popping off the old plastic aiming nubs took just as long as getting these new beauties on. Early this week I finally had to chance to run a few hundred rounds past XS’ sight set, here’s how that went.
I don’t like changing out sights, as a general rule. Even with the chance that the new sights will give better performance, in the short-term it feels like I’m losing all those reps I put into those old sights. Nothing lasts forever though, so in went the new big dot front and small vertical line rear blocks. Wow am I glad I made the move. Even on the first few practice draws I could tell how easily my eye was drawn to the large front dot. The rear vertical line is likewise excellent at assisting the shooter in pulling the dot-over-line into alignment.
Before I get to the radioactive portion of the review, I’ll mention that even those the sight set I received for testing was standard height, the big white dot made it easier to shoot with a suppressor than when using the stock sights. Sure, the suppressor height sights that XS offers would be ideal, but I didn’t get those to test and I’ll take inadvertent improvements where I can get them.
A review on tritium sights wouldn’t be complete without a mention of night performance. The glow in the dark factor here is high, the vials of radioactive tritium within XS’ products are provided by well reputed master and commander of the arcane substance, Trijicon. The glow is nice and clear, not muddled or dim as I’ve seen before on other manufacturers sights. Lining up the sights after a fast draw is easy with the dot-on-top-of-line setup. To coin a phrase found on XS’ website, simply “dot-the-I” in the dark and you’re ready to go.
While moving on from old sights might not be something I’m fond of, in the case of XS Sights and their Big Dot Xpress set I’m very satisfied that I did. This has been one of the most worthwhile upgrades done to this gun. The set as reviewed runs $137 on XS’s website.
