Rusty Odom

September 14, 2023

Review

NORTH FOREST ARMS DUAL PICTURE GLOCK SIGHTS

Rusty Odom

September 14, 2023

Review

On one of our recent Gun & Gear Review podcast shows, we went over the North Forest Arms Dual Picture Bullseye and Precision Glock sights. We all had some questions about how they worked. We compared them to other sights on the market that had big dots and to lever action buckhorn sights. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone so I contacted the manufacturer. It was an instant response back from them. They called me instead of emailing me asking me which sights I wanted. What color, what pistol I was putting it on and even gave me a great background on the company. So within days I had a set in hand.

After a few days I received my new sights and broke out an old Glock 23, that I had converted over to 9mm with a different barrel, spring, and extractor. The sights were easy enough to push in just like any other Glock style sights. The front post comes with several screws for mounting and the rear sight just slides in snuggly into the dovetail. I opted for the orange front with the two dot rear in green.

Let’s talk about the sights themselves. The front is a big orange dot with a green tritium dot in the center. Now here is the cool part. The front sight has a post, knob, finger or wing on top. Call it what you will, but it works. The rear sight is a perfect image of the front but with a hole in the center to line up the big dot. The rear has two tritium dots that when lined up correctly will match the singular green tritium dot in the front.

Now for the cool part of this sighting system, it’s instinctive, naturally fills up in the eyes when you present the pistol. The wing on top of the front lines up with the cut out on the rear. So you have a three dot green, a big orange dot that grabs your eye and when you line up the wing in the cut out, you have a perfect sight picture. I know it sounds like a lot but it is not, it is natural and fills the eye perfectly. You can do close work and longer distances with this sight. It’s like bullseye level shooting with this sight.

I dry fired with the sights for about 30 minutes a day for about a week before I went to the range. Well I didn’t get the first shots with this system, my 15 year old daughter grabbed the gun and a handful of magazines and went to the range in the backyard. She was shooting at 25 yards and making about a 3 inch group right off the bat. After I reloaded all the magazines and set up another target, I was able to do some shooting at 7 yards and back out to 25 yards with no problems. Just line up the dots, cut outs and you’re on. I was able to double tap and transition from target to target with what felt like a natural pointing style.

So to finish up, I really think these sights are a novel idea for those who might have a hard time just being able to acquire three dot sights, or regular sights due to poor vision, glasses, or what have you. They glow in the dark, they are big enough to be quick yet built shapely enough to do precision work. I have to say I like them. Their website pictures did them no justice by just looking at them. You just had to see them in person. If you’re looking for a good set of tritium sights, the North Forest Arms just might be what you’re looking for.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Unique Dual sight picture tritium sights

Target Market:

EDC, Hunters, Competition shooters, & Plinking

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

Tritium sights
Easy to see
Bright front orange dot
Unique design
Easy to install
Quick to acquire

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

White front sight

What others are saying?:

5 out of 5 stars at NorthForestArms

I recently put a set of NFA dual picture sights on my full size 9 mm handgun. This was the 3rd set of sights I’ve put on this handgun. The original sights, then a set of tritium and fiber optic sights from a popular brand, and now these dual picture sights from NFA. I’ve gone to the range a few times with them plus used them in a Tactical Class where a course was set up with various different targets with various scenarios. Once I adjusted to the new sights and how to line them up for either quick or precise target acquisition/shooting I could immediately see a difference in my aim, groupings, and how much faster I could line my sight up to the target from a low ready position and then get the shot off. Very impressed with these sights and can’t wait till they come out with sights for my other handguns.

Link to other reviews:

RTT : Guns & Gear on YouTube

Price point:

MSRP = $149.95

Retail = same

I need it now! Availability:

North Forest Arms

Our Rating:

Pros:

Rugged
Great construction
Good quality

Cons:

I really could not come up with any

Score: 7.00 Good

Chad Wallace

May 1, 2021

Review

XS Minimalist Night Sights

Chad Wallace

May 1, 2021

Review

XS sights released their new Minimalist night sights a few months back. If you haven’t noticed, I am a big fan of their standard style night sights, these are no different. The new Minimalist sights are just that, minimal. The name, however, does not give the sights justice, as they are really much more than minimalist.

XS calls these sights Minimalist because only the front sight has tritium. Tritium is the isotope that causes the dot, in the center of the sight, to glow. The rear sight does not have any tritium, it is a basic style, squared notch, rear sight. I’ll discuss the front and rear sights separately to keep things simple.

The front sight on the XS Minimalist series is really where all the super cool stuff happens. As noted, it holds the tritium so that a dot on the front sight can glow in low, or no light. But XS also put an orange ring of photoluminescence around the tritium dot. This does two things. One, it makes for a great front sight during regular daytime. But two, because it has XS’s “Ember Glow Dot” - photoluminescent, it glows if you hit it with a flashlight. The Ember Glow Dot can also help in situations where a regular tritium only dot will wash out.

After shining flashlight on sight - Daytime

The rear sight, on the XS Minimalist, is not as fancy as the front, but it still has a lot of features. The most notable, is the serrations. These are tiny lines cut horizontally on the face of the rear sight. The serrations cut down on ambient light glare, as well as flashlight glare. This makes it easier to pick up, and see, the front sight. It is also slightly angled downward to help with glare. The other end of the rear sight is squared off to aid in one handed slide manipulations. As initially noted, the rear sight is your standard square notch style.

Total darkness - front sight after “Ember Glow” charged up slightly

The XS Minimalist sights work very well. They worked perfectly on the G43 I mounted them on. The standard post front and square rear is just how I like them. When sighting down them, there is a little bit of light between the edges of the rear and the front sight, just like I prefer. Basically, I get a really good sight picture during the day and during low light. During the day, that orange dot draws your eye straight to it, making target transitions easier, at least they were for me. During low light, you can see the tritium dot glowing green, and it’s pretty bright. Of course, in darkness, all you see is the green dot, which is why you need some sort of light to identify your target. If using a handheld light, it is really easy to light up the Ember Glow Dot, just with the spill from the light. Then you have that glow around the tritium glow, so kind of the best of both low light sighting systems. Since some sort of light is always needed, the blacked out rear doesn’t cause any sort of problem for me. If you are unsure about it, XS makes plenty of other style night sights. But let’s face it, most of our shooting is done in some sort of light. The Minimalist’s are not available in a taller version for use with red dot sights, but after all, they kind of hint to it in the name,

Installation of the Minimalist sights is straightforward. Just push or tap out the old rear and unscrew the old front. Put some of the supplied threadlocker on both front and rear sights. Since they are made from steel, just push in the rear with a punch or sight pusher. Set the front sight in, and then tighten the screw to specification. Then wipe off the excess thread locker and let sit. Then take it to the range and go shoot.

So if you're in the market for a simple night sight option, the XS Minimalist’s might be it. I even like them as just standard sights. The price is good, they are made in the USA, and they come with a “no questions asked” warranty. The warranty is so good, that I lost a front sight once, and they sent me a new one. So definitely go check out the XS Sights product lines.