Iron sight philosophy

[twiceassigned]

How common are so-called “combat sight” holds on modern handguns? I love Sig P22X series guns for their functions but having seen the M17 “combat sight picture” at work, I think it’s deficient compared to a more traditional “target” hold or even the way normal M4/M16 sights work.
Are there good options for tactically oriented replacement sights that allow you to define a set point in space and at least see part of it vs covering everything up with your gun and wondering what you’re shooting at? The Steyr M1/M9 trapezoid sights come to mind but I can’t imagine they’re available for other guns.
Are all “three dot” arrangements a combat hold or a target hold? When did this start?
Thoughts?
Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise!

 

[mtngunr]

I really don't know what is going on with sights and philosophy/theory today, except that it seems rather lowbrow when I constantly read comments/reviews/complaints that the shooter was having trouble aiming because the dots were hard to see, and them shooting at 7yds.

Hard to imagine them for a shooting companion trying to tag shotgun hulls or clays fragments on the 50yd berm or knocking over drink bottles at 50 and 100yds.

The sight picture I have always used is to have bullets hitting right at top of sight, with bullet holes ideally half hidden by front sight...ideally...theoretically...

which is as far as I ever deal with theory, my standard to do whatever it takes to hit the target, large or small, near or far, which sometimes involves gun/ammo combinations of front sight a bit high or low or left or right, practice with the gun/ammo combo being primary to develop consistant picture (and hold and squeeze and release), consistancy the key to accuracy whether going slow or fast.

Will also add that constant practice leading to consistancy in everything leads also to gun pretty much aimed for "combat" shooting, front sight already THERE and any "aiming" only a slightest refinement.

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

I’m not exactly sure about all the sight info. But I can tell you that bullet weight has a big effect on point of aim/point of impact

If you ever have a pistol with fixed sights shooting high or low, try a variety of different loads until you find one that hits closest to where you want

 

[mtngunr]

As for fixed sight guns, or those with only drift adjustable rear, they generally are made for "standard" loads of certain weights and velocities, best bet to first try loads for which it made rather than for hyper velocity devestators or heavyweight super duper penetrators.

Most (not all, by any means) will then shoot close enough...people are amazingly adaptive creatures, and often the body subconsciously adapts to gun/ammo combo in order to hit without conscious change of anything which can be pinned down, and with enough practice, a gun which seemed to be "off" then starts behaving. And then there are the conscious adjustments to sight picture and/or sights. But until truly familiar with the gun, adjusting anything is often only an exercise in tail chasing if lacking consistancy developed only through practice, and a lot of it.

The folk who brag of "EDC rotation" rarely are good shooters....there is much merit to the old, "Beware the man with only one gun because he probably knows how to use it."