What is Sight Alignment?

Why is Sight Alignment Important?

Sight alignment is how we determine if the barrel of the firearm is lined up with our aiming point/ sight picture of the target. To determine when you are ready to shoot, you need to know that you are on target and having the visual confirmation of your sights being aligned is extremely important to make sure you are using your firearm safely and effectively. The first rule of firearm safety is always keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. So making sure you are on target is the first step of every safe shot. 

Iron Sights

Most firearms come stock with iron sights. Iron sights have two rear sight posts and one front sight post. To have the proper sight alignment with the iron sights, you will raise the handgun to be level with your eyes. Once the firearm has been brought up to eye level, look through the gap between the two rear posts. The front post should be level with the two rear posts and centered. The gap between the left and right side of the front sight should be even on each side. Another way instructors like to phrase this is as follows: let the same amount of light in on each side of the post. 

Where you hold your iron sights relative to the target depends on the manufacturer. If you are in doubt, read your owner's manual or check the manufacturer's website.

There are two common methods manufacturers used to sight the handguns in. The 6 o’clock hold is as the sights are level and lined up, they will be held with the bullseye fully visible, and the three sight posts will be lined up below the target at 6 o’clock. In other words, bullseye will be centered above the front sight so that the entire circle is visible.

The second most common sight alignment with iron sights is the center hold. If you are aiming at a bullseye, this is where the iron sights will cut the bullseye in half, and you will only be able to see the top half of the bullseye above the sights. For  Sight Alignment and Sight Picture diagrams you can follow the link! 

Some sight manufacturers have created their own variations of sights to help with sight alignment. One of the most common options has white dots on each post. That way you can raise the firearm to eye level and line up the three dots instead of focusing entirely on the sight posts. Sight acquisition is usually faster with the white dots. Making sure you can line up your sight picture quickly can be extremely important in situations where you need to get up and on target in a limited amount of time.

If you are using your firearm for personal defense, it is important to note that some firearms have night sights. The night sights are usually infused with Tritium. Which means they do not need any light in order to be visible. Tritium does dim over time, so if you notice that your sights are dimmer than they used to be, it may be time for new sights. Overall they say it should take between 6-10 years before you start to notice the difference in performance of Tritium night sights. 

Other Variations

There are some companies that have gotten creative and although it looks similar to irons, they are used due to potential advantages. XS provides sights where the rear sight is shaped like a V. At the point of the V, they have a vertical line and instead of a front post, they have a front dot. Again, this variation was created to help try and save time during your sight acquisition. The dot is held over the center of the target. This is also known as a center mass hold. They understood that some shooters have a hard time seeing the front post and created the dot for better visuals. The goal of their sight picture is to dot the i. If you are looking for new sights for your firearm, just be aware that there are options and you should test them out if you have the chance. What works best for you might not work best for other shooters.

Mounted Optics

Red dots are taking the shooting world by storm. They only have one point of reference for the shooter. If the dot is on target, you are on target. And although this is a simple set up, it can take a few sessions to adjust to looking through a window to find the dot.  And one of the hardest parts of a red dot, is keeping the dot on target while you pull the trigger. It can be easy to think that you are staying on target because acquiring the sight picture is so easy compared to the other options. 

How to Maintain a Consistent Sight Picture

Once you understand how the sighting system works on your firearm, you can work on making sure that you maintain a consistent sight picture as you’re shooting. Every time you take a shot, you want to quickly analyze your site picture and make sure your sights are aligned the same way every time.

Step one to making this a habit is to dry fire. Your dry firing will be able to help you see how well your sights remain on target throughout the entire trigger press.

As you press the trigger, you will be able to see how your sight picture changes as you move the firearm. Try to keep the sights lined up throughout the entire press. If you find that your sights are coming off target, reset the trigger and try again. As you try again, take more time to smoothly and consistently pull the trigger back. One way to know if you are pulling the trigger too fast at first is if you don’t understand or can’t remember which direction the muzzle moved off target. This is also known as calling your shots. Slow down until you can call your shots and as you get the hang of it, you can speed your trigger press up.

If you are practicing sight alignment with a red dot, choose a small bullseye target. As you are pulling the trigger, try to keep the red dot within the circle during the entire trigger press. If you pull the dot out of the circle, note which direction the dot moved and then try again. 

After you have finished dry firing, you can go to the range and shoot with your live ammo. The dry firing gives you the foundation of the skills to work with so once you move onto live fire, you’re adding in the recoil management. Keep your focus on maintaining your sight alignment throughout the entire trigger press. A common mistake can be pushing forward or anticipating the recoil of the firearm. This is when you push the firearm down before you are finished pressing the trigger, so your shot hits low of your aim point.

Always remember that your sight picture is extremely important because wherever your sights are aligned, is where your shot will hit. (Given that your sights are sighted accurately.)

Training with Technology

Consistency is key. Tracking your training can help you understand what parts of firearm training you need to focus on. Some tools that can help you keep track of everything are the MantisX and the Laser Academy systems. 

The MantisX is great for tracking your sight picture because it tracks the movement of your firearm during each shot. The MantisX will be able to call your shots and walk you through where you are pulling your shot and where your sight picture is landing at the end of your trigger press. The app has a section to track all of your history, so you can see how you have improved from the start of your training to present time.

Laser Academy has videos integrated into the app that can help you with understanding the correct sight picture. You will also be able to see the point of impact for each shot you take during your dry fire practice. This can be helpful because you will be able to monitor if the shots you called were accurate to the results you are seeing “on paper”.

Either tool can be used to help you understand how your sight alignment works and affects your shooting in the short and long term!