The FastDot H3<\/strong><\/p>\nThe FastDot H3 is basically a set of iron sights available for Glocks , S&W M&Ps and Shield pistols and SIG P320s, but it works a lot differently than other iron sighting systems, including other systems that Hi Viz offers. Typically with any sighting system you line up the front sight with a groove, notch or some kind of aiming point on the rear sight. Sometimes there are dots or lines involved, and sometimes some tritium or fiber optic rods to enhance things but generally they work pretty similarly. The FastDot does not.<\/p>\n
The front sight on the FastDot isn\u2019t that much different than many modern front sights; it consists of a fiber optic front post and there\u2019s the option of having a tritium insert as well. Good stuff, but nothing unusual. The rear sight is where things get interesting.<\/p>\n
When you look at the rear sight you\u2019d expect to see a notch of some sort, but you won\u2019t find it. Instead you\u2019ll see a single good sized dot protruding from the sight, mounted dead center. If you think it looks like it would obscure the front sight, you\u2019d be right; it does. And that\u2019s just what it\u2019s intended to do.<\/p>\nIf you can see red from the front sight on any side of the green rear, then you know you are not aligned properly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe concept on the FastDot is that you stack the dots in line with each other. Not on top of each other, like the \u201cdot the I\u201d tyle sights but you literally want the front sight directly in front of the rear dot, to the point where you can\u2019t see the front sight at all. If you catch any of the front dot creeping around the rear you aren\u2019t lined up correctly. Think of it like an Eclipse.<\/p>\nWhen your sights are properly aligned, you will see a solid green dot, with no traces of red.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe rear sight should get between the shooter\u2019s eye and the front sight, obscuring it entirely. When it does you know the front and rear are in line and your sights are lined up on target. When you have a proper sight picture, all you see is one dot, just like if you were looking through a red dot sight.<\/p>\n
So why would this be desirable compared to a traditional notch and front post, or 3-dot type setup? Speed is the main thing. Rather than your eye trying to findp the front post, and line it up in a notch in the rear or with a couple of other dots, all you\u2019re looking for is a single dot. Similar to using a red-dot sight on a pistol.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll be honest, it took me some getting used to, which is why I was glad I got to try it on the range, with someone there to explain it to me. It\u2019s simple to use, but if you\u2019re used to using traditional iron sights you need to \u201cuntrain\u201d yourself. I initially spent too much time squinting down the sights trying to get things just so, rather than just bringing the sights up to eye level and letting things fall into place naturally.<\/p>\n
Interestingly enough my buddy, who was with me at the range, adapted to the FastDot much easier than I did. It\u2019s notable that he has a lot less trigger time behind a pistol than I do. He didn\u2019t have the traditional sight picture as ingrained in his brain as me, and adapted very quickly to the system. He was getting hits on steel much quicker, and more accurately, than me. He had it down within the first magazine out of the gun. It took me a couple mags and some coaching, but it\u2019s one of those things that once you \u201csee\u201d it, it\u2019s an \u201cAha\u201d moment, and then you have it.<\/p>\n
I still think it\u2019s something that needs regular practice, just like using a red dot. You practice your draw, bring the gun on target and acquire your sight picture. This can easily be done at home with dry fire practice, or even just drawing and bringing the pistol up to eye level.<\/p>\n
Installation<\/strong><\/p>\nI had a chance to try out a set of FastDot\u2019s at home after the show. They come in a basic clam shell package with some simple instructions. You need a Glock front sight tool which HiViz sells if you don\u2019t have one, and a way to put the rear sight on. I have sight pusher that I used, but I\u2019ve also tapped rear sights in with brass punches before. I even did some adjustments with a punch once I had the rear sir sight on place after checking it. Of course you can always take them to a gunsmith if you don\u2019t have the tools yourself, or bribe your buddy who does with some pizza or a 6 pack.<\/p>\n
I will add a note on fit. The front and rear sight bases on the FastDot system are somewhat long. If you have a pistol with an optics cut the rear sight is going to overlap the cut cover plate. If you\u2019re using the FastDot sight anyway, you probably aren\u2019t planning on running an optic so it shouldn\u2019t matter, but it\u2019s worth noting. There is a version for the Glock MOS pistols though that places the rear sight further back to accommodate this. So far that\u2019s only for the Glock though.<\/p>\n
Similarly if you have a slide with a port or lightening cut behind the front sight, like my aftermarket 17L slide, the front sight base may hang over that gap. I ended up mounting my sights on a relatively factory profile aftermarket slide on a Poly80 build that I did a couple years ago. It was one of the few slides I had without an optics plate. It\u2019s a 17 sized gun though so was a good test platform for the FastDot anyway.<\/p>\n
Once installed I had a chance to work with the FastDot\u2019s around the house with practice presentation and dry firing, as well as on a couple range trips.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Follow On Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\nDo I think the FastDot sights are as precise as a good set of target irons? I do not, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a fair comparison. You aren\u2019t going to use these for slow, precise target shooting. But as a combat sight, they excel, if you put a little bit of time into them. It\u2019s different set up, but if you can get past that they fast, and work well.<\/p>\n
If we go back to my opening comment about wanting a red dot, without the disadvantages, there are a number of things to consider. You get the easy to use \u201cdrop the dot on target and fire\u201d benefit of a red dot, but without the bulk, without needing a special mount, and all while being able to use a regular holster. If you\u2019re upgrading a gun you carry now, you don\u2019t have to buy new holsters for it like you would in many cases if you go to a red dot. You also don\u2019t need to get your slide milled if it isn\u2019t optics ready either. The other benefit is the cost of the sight itself. MSRP for the tritium fiber optic units is $179.00. That\u2019s on par with other good tritium sight sets on the market, but considerably less than a duty rated red dot sight. And you never have to buy batteries for it.<\/p>\n
The HiViz FastDot H3<\/a> is a solid system all the way around, if you\u2019re willing to spend some training time with it, just like any other new platform. I think it\u2019s actually a great system for newer shooters since lining up the dots seems to be easier to explain, and actually do, then explaining and mastering a proper notch and post sight picture. My sample size is small, but when demonstrating it to a few novice shooters they seemed to grasp it and get on target faster with the FastDot than the factory Glock sights. They don\u2019t have anything to unlearn and the learning curve for them is easy. Older, curmudgeonly guys like me have to work past how we \u201cknow\u201d things work to realize that there are still innovations in how we shoot, and that not all of them have to be expensive or complicated. FastDot sights are definitely one of those.<\/p>\nHiViz FastDot H3 Specs:<\/strong><\/p>\n\nLow Profile sight set<\/li>\n Fits: All Glock pistols in 9mm, 40 S&W, and .357 Sig.<\/li>\n Sight visibility in all light conditions<\/li>\n Ultra bright encapsulated Tritium<\/li>\n All steel construction<\/li>\n Fits standard holsters<\/li>\n Patented technology<\/li>\n MSRP $175<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
\nNext Post Coming Soon…\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Next Post Coming Soon…\u25b6 Do you want the speed of a dot sight without the bulk, the batteries and the chance of mechanical failure? Well then the Hi Viz FastDot H3 Tritium and Fiber Optic system might be just what you\u2019re looking for. Industry Day at the Range takes place a day before the SHOT […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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