Stock plastic Glock sights

**DDB** · 02-10-2021, 18:36

Thank you for all the responses. I think the advice regarding the training before the sights is sensible and I will be following it.
As soon as I’m finishing writing exams I’ll be seeking out that formal training!

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**Wesley** · 02-10-2021, 22:50

Originally Posted by janfred

So, basically, the GLOCK is a 90% complete gun with temporary sights to make it usable? Not something I would look for when buying for self-defence.

Well, the strategy seems to be working judging by all the fans...

Yes, I think that is the case for possibly the following reasons;

1. There is such a wide array of sights available, by putting “placeholder” sights on the gun, you give the user the chance to put whichever sights he prefers, on the gun.

2. It avoids unnecessary cost for a part that will likely be changed anyway, thereby also keeping the gun priced more competitively.

I guess everyone’s perspective is different. What conclusions do you come to by assessing the gun to have lesser quality sights as standard? You argue it as a negative, in my mind it is a positive. Perhaps even forward thinking…

Even with kak sights, Glock is counted amongst the BEST fighting guns out there.

**janfred** · 03-10-2021, 05:26

Basically, when I buy a pistol I expect the unit to function for its whole life expectancy with stock OEM parts. The only things I should have to replace are consumables like springs and barrel as part of the maintenance regime.

Having to replace essential parts is a checkmark in the against column.

Unless we have it all wrong and the stock plastic sights are actually good enough for normal use.

**Davidc** · 03-10-2021, 06:13

Originally Posted by janfred

Basically, when I buy a pistol I expect the unit to function for its whole life expectancy with stock OEM parts. The only things I should have to replace are consumables like springs and barrel as part of the maintenance regime.

Having to replace essential parts is a checkmark in the against column.

Unless we have it all wrong and the stock plastic sights are actually good enough for normal use.

They work and will last, you seem to miss the point.

Most people that shoot often or use their pistol for EDC will replace their sights for something better/different at some point and a lot of them do it early on.

My M&P got the Pro competition sights before it left the shop as it was for IPSC. My G19 got Trijicon HD XR sights the day I picked it up. My wife’s G19 got GLOCK nights sights the day we bought it.

There are guys still using the stock sights and for them it’s ok.

Very few of the guys I shoot with have stock sights on their pistols, be it GLOCK, CZ, 1911 or whatever.

After market sights are available for ALL popular pistols so don’t kid yourself into thinking it’s only “crappy” GLOCK sights being replaced. Or maybe it just another way to go about GLOCK bashing?

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**carleng** · 03-10-2021, 07:51

Originally Posted by Davidc

They work and will last, you seem to miss the point.

Most people that shoot often or use their pistol for EDC will replace their sights for something better/different at some point and a lot of them do it early on.

My M&P got the Pro competition sights before it left the shop as it was for IPSC. My G19 got Trijicon HD XR sights the day I picked it up. My wife’s G19 got GLOCK nights sights the day we bought it.

There are guys still using the stock sights and for them it’s ok.

Very few of the guys I shoot with have stock sights on their pistols, be it GLOCK, CZ, 1911 or whatever.

After market sights are available for ALL popular pistols so don’t kid yourself into thinking it’s only “crappy” GLOCK sights being replaced. Or maybe it just another way to go about GLOCK bashing?

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I think there is an element of Glock-bashing going on.

What people seem to forget is that tritium sights are expensive. If they came as standard on the Glock, the price will definitely go up. And Glock did not come to be a dominant player in the SA market by being expensive. They did it by delivering a good product at a relatively affordable price.

And the plastic sights aren't bad at all. I used mine for about the first year. The only mod I made was to use a permanent marker to black out the rear sight. This increased the contrast between the front and rear sight, helping with faster sight acquisition. I finally replaced them with aftermarket tritium sights because I wanted something that is illuminated.

Also, the argument that the sights are "plastic" is a bit daft. As any engineer can tell you, you get plastic and then you get plastic. These aren't made with the same stuff as your mom's tupperware, no matter how many memes make the claim.

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**Grobbie** · 03-10-2021, 08:13

Originally Posted by janfred

Basically, when I buy a pistol I expect the unit to function for its whole life expectancy with stock OEM parts. The only things I should have to replace are consumables like springs and barrel as part of the maintenance regime.

Having to replace essential parts is a checkmark in the against column.

Unless we have it all wrong and the stock plastic sights are actually good enough for normal use.

Yes, you have it all wrong.

And yes, the stock plastic sights are not good enough, well at least for a fighting gun.

You are also wrong about the barrel. The barrel should not be needed to replace. Well at least in a very very long time. 100k plus rounds. For me that have 3 glocks, 17,19 and 34 and I shoot about 5k through them combined a year that would last 60 years.

Your ignorance is showing a little bit.

What would constitute normal use?

How you intend to use the gun will determine what sights you put on. It is actually a very personal and very important item to set up on your gun. With so many options why would you complain of having to upgrade it?

For a sport gun maybe you need fiber. Or defensive setup tritium. Then you have thinner front post tritium, higher suppressor sights or you would want to go the optic route.

Glocks do work and your fanboys comment shows your distaste in anybody that likes them.

2 things can be true at the same time.

I love my Glocks. The guns are fairly affordable, the mags are interchangeable. They are very reliable. I can get spares and fix it myself. As a fighting gun I would rate it as one of the best.

Yet I do love HK, S&W, CZ, Sig and more. But for whatever reasons they just don’t fit into my needs or within my affordability. And there are many.

And with our licensing these are important considerations.

If I was shooting IPSC my needs and preferences would change.

But then again I am sitting behind a keyboard and I might not even own a gun let alone shoot it well enough to comment about it.

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**griffin** · 03-10-2021, 08:17

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with standard G sights.
They work, they will stand up to normal EDC carry and basic EDC training. If you constantly doing belt or boot manipulating over long periods I doubt any stock pistol sight would survive.

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**Cockroach** · 03-10-2021, 08:32

The only handguns of mine that have the factory sights on them are the cowboy guns.

Yes, the Glock slot fillers work. But once you start needing a little refinement at distance, they work less well. But the same is true of the P07/9 sights.

**KK20** · 03-10-2021, 08:36

Originally Posted by prepare2win

It's not just about sight picture. Arno was using my spare G17 on a combatives training course here in Durban, and the plastic rear sight ripped off the gun during a one handed malfunction drill, a la racking the slide by hooking it on your belt.

Arno breaks anything :)

**janfred** · 03-10-2021, 14:58

To clarify; are the sights good enough for normal use or not? I'm getting conflicting answers here. My definition of "normal" is EDC to and from work with 250 shots a month practice.

Personally I think they are, but I do not shoot competition.

And yes, a barrel is a consumable to be replaced as and when required. No need to get attached to it.

And no, I have no problem with GLOCK apart from my opinion that they look ugly. They work as required. What puts them above the rest, in SA at least, is the spares availability. It was not me who said their plastic sights are temporary slot-fillers that need to be replaced as a matter of course.

Also, at no point does GLOCK state anywhere that they fit cheap sights as placeholders, so they obviously see the stock sights as good enough.