Blackout rear sights: simpler is better

We spend a ton of time talking about slide-mounted red dots, but the reality is that a huge portion of everyday carry guns still run traditional iron sights. There is absolutely nothing wrong with relying on irons for personal protection. But if you are still running the factory plastic sights that came in the box, you are actively making things harder on yourself.

Most manufacturers ship their handguns with basic three-dot sights. The idea seems logical on paper: line up the three glowing dots, and you hit your target. But human eyes don't naturally process information that way under stress. When you push the gun out quickly, your eye has to work overtime to figure out which of the three identical dots is the front sight and which two belong to the rear. It creates visual clutter, and in a defensive scenario, visual clutter costs you time.

The most practical iron sight upgrade you can make is moving to a high-contrast front sight paired with a completely blacked-out rear sight. Your eyes are naturally drawn to bright, contrasting colors. By blacking out the rear notch, you eliminate the visual confusion entirely. When you press the gun out, your eye instantly finds the bright front dot and naturally drops it into the dark, empty space of the rear notch.

Photo credit: Wilson Combat

I’ve swapped almost all of my iron-sighted carry guns over to this style. Lately, my setup relies on the AmeriGlo Hackathorn Sights. They feature a stark, serrated black rear sight that absorbs glare, paired with a bright orange front ring surrounding a tritium vial for low-light visibility. It is incredibly fast to pick up against almost any background.

Pushing out and finding your sights quickly takes some practice. Dry fire is the best way to get used to a new sight picture at home. Just remember to clear the room of live ammo, double-check your chamber, and pick a safe backstop before you start practicing your draw. When we take it to the live range to run speed drills, we make sure the environment is strictly adults-only. It allows everyone to focus entirely on safe handling, keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, and ensuring our trigger fingers stay indexed on the frame until we actually decide to shoot.

If you're going to swap your sights, make sure you use a proper sight pusher so you don't mar the slide or crack the tritium vials. I usually order my sights and my gunsmithing tools directly from Brownells. It’s just easier to go through a company that supports the community rather than rolling the dice on random online marketplaces. If you find yourself hunting for that front dot at the range, do yourself a favor: ditch the three-dot setup, black out the rear, and watch your speed improve.