Front Sight Analogy and the Front Sight Enhancer

Topics with iron sights come up frequently so this article Ed Hall and I finished yesterday may be helpful. Please let us know if this helps.

https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongmain/frontsightenhancer.html


Norman H. Wong, O.D.

xmastershooter wrote:Topics with iron sights come up frequently so this article Ed Hall and I finished yesterday may be helpful. Please let us know if this helps.

https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongmain/frontsightenhancer.html


Norman H. Wong, O.D.

As usual, outstanding post Norman.
I've been getting frustrated with shooting open sights due to a variety of "old eye issues". I'm going to give these options a go.
Al

Thanks for taking the time and sharing! Curious to see how this will be received by other irons shooters

xmastershooter wrote:Topics with iron sights come up frequently so this article Ed Hall and I finished yesterday may be helpful. Please let us know if this helps.

https://starreloaders.com/edhall/nwongmain/frontsightenhancer.html


Norman H. Wong, O.D.

Interesting. I've recently started playing with putting a strip of silver sharpie down the center of my front sight much like that "thin yellow stripe" image. My theory is that since it extends all the way to the top, rather than the more common gold beats and dots, it is still relevant to sight alignment when sinking the front sight into the black, especially since my light gaps either side of the front sight and the rear sight are not being obscured by the bullseye. Seems to help and also makes my eye less likely to lose focus of the front sight.

Would like to try this, but where to find yellow material with thin red line?

jwax wrote:Would like to try this, but where to find yellow material with thin red line?

In the White House? (Irresistible, sorry..  )

Wow Norman! Home run! Glad to see you’re back.

I used a CPR yellow refrigerator magnet with the red line. Until you find something similar, try yellow paper which is easy to work with so you can appreciate the sight picture immediately.

Red pen, ruler, yellow postit?

Yellow color in Postit is too pale and the paper is thin. The paper shown was from a memo pad. If you have kids, take a look at their supply of color paper. Even the type of double sided tape makes a difference.

Maybe there’s something in regular commercial paper. Like this. Use a color ink jet to print a fine red line and you’d have enough to last and refresh your front sight blade at will.

https://www.amazon.com/Neenah-Astrobrights-Acid-Free-Height-Length/dp/B00006IDQU/ref=pd_lpo_sccl_2/139-3046376-2418839?pd_rd_w=4FQIN&content-id=amzn1.sym.1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_p=1ad2066f-97d2-4731-9356-36b3edf1ae04&pf_rd_r=SGJ66ASVBCRZTBTSP3S3&pd_rd_wg=XzpXt&pd_rd_r=59d693b0-4bc7-4f7b-a846-878e8f7882ca&pd_rd_i=B00006IDQU&psc=1

If you have time to search ..you might look at automotive trim tape (pin stripe).

I really appreciate all of the effort you went into with this Norman.

Personally, I have seen the tendency for most enhancers like a white dot, or other color paint on the front sight to be "washed out" or made almost useless when shooting outdoors under cover in a 'shooting shack'. The inbound light from the target area tends to make a black silhouette of my front sight. Under indoor conditions with bright light on my front sight or uncovered conditions then the "enhancer" becomes visible again.

I am interested to try your idea using a "Yellow Pyramid" shape as this would also give a good visual indicator of "center" and a point to focus on.

As you and I discussed privately. This is probably good for NRA matches but not ISSF. Is there anything in the "As Issued" rules that might prevent this?

Great work. I'm interested to see how it works.
John.

Thank you for sharing Dr. Wong.

If the center line could work in black, an adhesive tape that could be used in a label printer may give you a distinct line and eliminate the need for the double adhesive tape. All you would have to do is to print a letter "I". You could even try other letters such as Y, T, V for different visual cues.
https://shorturl.at/dqsD3

If it has to be in red, here is red on yellow tape:
https://shorturl.at/nBFNS


Thank you very much for the nice article.

samtoast wrote:Thank you for sharing Dr. Wong.

If the center line could work in black, an adhesive tape that could be used in a label printer may give you a distinct line and eliminate the need for the double adhesive tape. All you would have to do is to print a letter "I". You could even try other letters such as Y, T, V for different visual cues.
https://shorturl.at/dqsD3

If it has to be in red, here is red on yellow tape:
https://shorturl.at/nBFNS


Thank you very much for the nice article.

What I've been doing is just using a silver sharpie. Unlike a dot or fiber optic or something, I like that it goes all the way to the top so it's still relevant /easy to determine vertical sight alignment even if it's in the black. I like having it be equal to the black bars either side of it as well. It's something Ive been trying the last week or so as I've switched back to center hold. If I don't get it centered the first time, I go back in and even it up with black sharpie. 

https://www.issf-sports.org/getfile.aspx?mod=docf&pane=1&inst=461&file=ISSF_Pistol-Rules_Book_2023_Approved_Version.pdf

It took some searching, but I found the specific ISSF 8 Pistol Rules regarding sights and what cannot be used on page 363  8.4.1.3

xmastershooter wrote:https://www.issf-sports.org/getfile.aspx?mod=docf&pane=1&inst=461&file=ISSF_Pistol-Rules_Book_2023_Approved_Version.pdf

It took some searching, but I found the specific ISSF 8 Pistol Rules regarding sights and what cannot be used on page 363  8.4.1.3

The way that seems written it seems like theyre mainly talking about something like fluorescent colored paint or something. I don't know if a bit of silver sharpie really counts in that context. Maybe someone here familiar with the equipment control process at air gun matches or knows someone who does equipment control at matches that could clarifiy. I mean theoretically you could achieve the same exact effect by removing the bluing in that particular spot. you could not achieve the effect of a say fluorescent paint or a fiber optic or a light reflector/gold bead like on some old school target revolvers just by removing some bluing.

jareds06 wrote:

xmastershooter wrote:https://www.issf-sports.org/getfile.aspx?mod=docf&pane=1&inst=461&file=ISSF_Pistol-Rules_Book_2023_Approved_Version.pdf

It took some searching, but I found the specific ISSF 8 Pistol Rules regarding sights and what cannot be used on page 363  8.4.1.3

The way that seems written it seems like theyre mainly talking about something like fluorescent colored paint or something. I don't know if a bit of silver sharpie really counts in that context. Maybe someone here familiar with the equipment control process at air gun matches or knows someone who does equipment control at matches that could clarifiy. I mean theoretically you could achieve the same exact effect by removing the bluing in that particular spot. you could not achieve the effect of a say fluorescent paint or a fiber optic or a light reflector/gold bead like on some old school target revolvers just by removing some bluing.

ISSF rules are a bit more firm than precision pistol. For example they have rules regarding the shoes you can and can not wear during a match. I have friends who were given grief about the putty on their grips before.