XS

XS Sights DIY sight pusher

 I have always needed a sight pusher to install handgun iron sights. The old brass punch and hammer system was getting old. When XS Sights told me they were coming out with some sight pushers, I was all in. XS came out with two different styles, both for Glock style pistol slides. They are the “DIY” and the “Gunsmith” version. The DIY sight pusher is what I received. It’s a no frills sight pusher, but gets the job done with ease.

  XS DIY sight pusher is a convenient way to install Glock sights. It also works to remove the old ones. The DIY sight pusher isn’t very large at all, it fit’s on a workbench or table top with ease. It’s under 6” long and 2” wide. The size makes it super convenient for throwing in your range bag. That way if you need to adjust your sight at the range, it’s really easy to do so. The pusher tool has a screw on the end which is used to push on a brass piece using the provided allen wrench. This brass piece is what pushes the sight in. Then there is an open channel where your pistol slide fits. Also included is a plastic wedge to hold the slide up tight against the tool. A Glock style front sight tool is also included. 

  A cool thing about these XS sight pushers is that you can also get them in a kit. The XS kit includes the sight pusher and a set of XS R3D night sights. This is actually the kit they sent out. The R3D’s are not a tall sight, so they are not for use with red dots or suppressors. So I rounded up a normal slide and went to work installing them. The R3D front sight has an orange ring around a tritium insert. The rear is blacked out with just 2 tritium dots on both sides of the notch. This gives you a 3 dot sight picture in low light and a very fast regular sight picture under normal conditions. I can’t say enough good things about the XS tritium sights.

  I was really impressed with how the DIY sight pusher worked. I took my slide, set it up against the pusher surface. Lining up the sight with the center of the brass pusher piece. I slid in the plastic wedge until it was snug. Then took the allen wrench and started turning the screw. Put some oil on the screw threads before each use so it won’t bind up. The old sight pushed out with ease. So I backed the screw back out and removed the slide. I then took the new R3D rear sight, pushed it into the dovetail, by hand, as far as it would go. Then re-installed the slide in the pusher as before. Turned the screw and watched the new sight push in with ease. Once the sight was visually centered, I stopped. To tell if the sight is in the center of the slide, just turn the slide around in the tool and look at the reference marks. They are on the brass pusher, as well as the frame of the pusher itself. Once the same marks line up, with the slide in the tool on both sides, you know the sight is centered. The DIY pusher also works with an optic mounted on your slide. The only difference is that you have to use the edge of the brass pusher instead of the center. 

  The XS DIY sight pusher has really good instructions. They are included as a hard copy, but are also available online. I like the hard copy because I can reference it, if needed, on my workbench, without having to pick up my phone. Being that the DIY sight pusher is an open top design, it also makes it much easier to see what is actually going on with the sight install. On a side note. Even though it is for Glock style sights and slides, I did find it to work on my Sig P320 rear sight. So it may or may not work on other handgun manufacturer slides.

  XS Sights did a pretty good job with the DIY sight pusher. I don’t think I will probably wear it out in my lifetime. If you change a lot of sights, it’s worth the money. If you change even more sights, look into the Gunsmith version for only a few bucks more. The DIY sight pusher made easy quick work out of changing sights. Go take a look at the DIY pusher over at XS Sights.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Do It Yourself sight pusher for Glock style slides

Target Market:

Those who frequently change sights

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Tool Life Span: 50 – 100 Installations

  • Kit includes semi-professional sight pusher and steel Glock front sight tool

  • Fits all Glock OEM and Aftermarket slides

  • Glock MOS Compatible – Install sights with optic mounted on pistol

  • Non-marring brass bit prevents scratching sights or slides

  • Built-in Centering Scale – 1/16” scale

  • Bolt Thread Pitch: 1/16” – 1.5 Bolt rotations equals 1/16” of travel

  • Weight: 1.4 lbs.

  • Sight Tool Dimensions (LxWxH): 5.5" x 1.75" x 1.5"

  • Designed and Manufactured in Fort Worth, TX

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Gunsmith version

What others are saying?:

Nothing found

Link to other reviews:

Shoot On 

Price point:

MSRP = $150.00 

     Bundle with XS sights = $254.99

Retail = $150.00

I need it now! Availability:

XS Sights

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Super easy to use

  • Can get as a kit with sights

  • Size makes it useful anywhere

Cons:

  • Price if only doing one or two installs

  • Only for use on Glock style slides

Score: 7.50 Good

Favorite Link:  Kaiser US 

XS Minimalist Night Sights

  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.

Normal - Daytime

After shining flashlight on sight - Daytime

Low Light

  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. 

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Minimalist Night Sights

Target Market:

Those wanting only a tritium dot on the front sight

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Tritium Powered Front Sight

  • Bright orange High-Contrast Front Sight

  • Ember Glow Dot - Photoluminescent dot absorb ambient light and glows in low light

  • Serrated anti-glare rear sight

  • Blacked-out Rear sight

  • Rear Sight Overhang and slight angle- Reduces rear sight glare in bright light for greater sight definition

  • Rear Sight Ledge for ease of use

  • Thread locker included

  • CNC Steel

  • Fits standard holster options

  • Made in USA

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

None, but plenty of other Night Sight options

What others are saying?:

5 stars on Amazon

 Quality at a reasonable price

Quality Sights at a fraction of the price. These sights are the best sights I’ve seen under 100 dollars.

Link to other reviews:

Mr GunsnGear youtube

Price point:

MSRP = $59.99

Retail = $59.99 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

Amazon or XS sights

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Photoluminecent dot

  • Serrated rear sight

  • Squared off front, of rear sight, for easier manipulation

  • Price

  • Made in USA

Cons:

  • Front sight width can be too wide for some people

  • No taller option for use with red dot sights (at least in the Minimalist version)

Score: 8.50 Great

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Favorite Link:  Walker NERO

XS RAM Night Sights

  XS Sights has added another type of night sight to their lineup. These new sights are called RAM sights. RAM stands for Radioactive Material. Since they are Tritium night sights, the name is appropriate. XS offered to send me a set after seeing the F8 sight review, and I eagerly accepted.

  The RAM sights are a semi-standard 3 dot system. I say “semi-standard”, because they are equipped with XS’s Glow Dot Technology. This technology allows the ring around the front sight to glow. I chose the green ring this time, since the F8’s, I reviewed previously, have the orange ring. The front sight ring absorbs ambient light through photoluminescence and then glows. If you shine a bright flashlight on the front sight, it glows really bright for about 10 minutes, and then slowly returns to the normal color. I like the Glow Dot feature, mainly because in some lighting situations, tritium can wash out and you are left with just a standard sighting configuration. The Glow Dot helps me pick up the front sight in those conditions.

Low light, no glow

Glowing front sight after shining flashlight on it. Notice that it glows so bright there is actually a reflection off the slide.

  As with all XS sights, the RAM’s use tritium inserts. The tritium will glow green for years. In fact, XS warranties them for 10 years, not just on the tritium, but also the sights. When I compared these to other tritium sights, they seem to glow just as bright, which is quite bright. The 3 dot sight system has 3 dots, wow, imagine that! Each dot is a tritium vial. Two in the rear sight, one on each side of the notch. Then one in the middle of the front sight. In low light, one just puts the three dots in a horizontal line and the sights are “lined” up. The front sight also has the Glow Dot feature around the tritium dot. The rear is all blacked out except for the tritium dots.

Front sight, immediately after shining light on it. Notice it is so bright that it reflects off of the slide.

Front sight glow, a couple of minutes after shining light on it.

  Besides being “night sights”, the RAM’s make good daylight sights too. The RAM’s use a front sight width of 0.145” and a square rear notch of 0.170”. This gives me a real good, fairly precise, sight picture. When looking down the sights, this combination gives me light on both sides of the front blade, which I really like for more precise shooting. Having that big green dot on the front sight makes it really easy to see and pick up on your target (think fast sight acquisition). It’s almost like having a fiber optic front sight. Let’s just say the daytime sight picture works really good for me. 

  Since the RAM sights sent to me were for a Glock, I installed them on a Freedom Flag products slide. In fact, the slide I used was the same one I had previously mounted XS’s F8 sights on. Installation was straight forward. A front sight tool and threadlocker was provided in the package. The front sight fit snugly, as did the rear. If you don’t think you can install the sights yourself, XS can do it for a small fee.

  In my opinion, the RAM sights are really designed for a carry gun. They are very durable. The front edge of the rear sight is straight up and down. This allows for easier slide manipulation with one hand. The back edge of the rear sight is also angled inward, from top to bottom. This is done to help reduce glare off of the sight. A pretty smart addition. 

  XS sights did a great job with the RAM’s. I am excited that they are bringing out more of the “standard” style of night sights. The only bad thing to be said, is that they don’t offer the RAM’s in a tall version to be used with a mini red dot or suppressor. Go give XS sights a look, their new options are just awesome.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Night Sights 

Target Market:

Those wanting 3 dot night sights on their handgun

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Tritium Powered Front & Rear Sight

  • High-Contrast Color Front Sight - Available in bright orange or green

  • Ember Glow Dot - Photoluminescent dot absorb ambient light and glows in low light

  • Rear Sight Overhang - Reduces rear sight glare in bright light

  • Anti-Reflective Rear Tritium Lens

  • Rear Sight Ledge - Aids in one-handed slide manipulations

  • CNC Steel - Extremely durable for duty use

  • 10 Year Warranty - No Questions Asked Night Sight Warranty

  • 0.145” Front Sight width

  • 0.170 Rear Notch Width

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Orange Front sight

Link to other reviews:

The Firearm Blog

Price point:

MSRP = $109.99

Retail = $99.99 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

XS Sights or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Bright Tritium

  • Green Glow Dot

  • Made in USA

  • Easily seen front sight

  • Everything included in package (front sight tool, thread locker)

Cons:

  • No “tall” option

  • Tritium washes out (a fault of all tritium sights)

Score: 8.50 Great

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Favorite Link:   Freedom Flag Products

XS F8 Night Sights

  XS Sights is known for their fast acquisition Big Dot sights. XS has come out with a more conventional night sight called the F8. These F8 sights combine the fastness of the “big dot” with the sight picture of a standard sight. When they first came out about a year ago, I was on the list for a review sample.

  First thing one notices on the F8’s is the big orange dot front sight. Inside this orange ring is a green tritium dot. The orange ring makes it extremely easy to pick up the front sight with the eye. Besides the glow from the tritium, the F8’s orange dot is photoluminescent and can be “charged” up with a flashlight, or other bright light. The white glow, from charging the front sight, lasts a few minutes. I even charged the dot up when just using my handheld flashlight, while dry firing with both the light and pistol. It just happened to get enough spill over to illuminate the dot. The tritium is also very bright, but more on that later.

  The rear sight uses the standard square notch style. This pairs nicely with the front sight. XS uses what they call a “wide notch rear”. This wider notch allows for more light on each side of the post, aiding in quicker pick up of the front sight. I really like this style of system. I tend to like narrower front posts and a wider rear. The F8 rear does this, but with a wider front post. More light on each side of the front sight picture is faster for me also. The tritium is a single dot below the notch of the rear sight. This is to give a dot over dot sight picture, or figure eight, as some call it. This is where the “8” in F8 comes into play. The rear sight is also very square shaped, with a slight angled overhang on the back side. Angling the rear sight slightly helps to reduce glare in certain lighting conditions. The squared shape also gives plenty of real estate for one handed slide manipulation. Another thing that is nice about the rear sight, it is all black with only the one tritium insert.

  I installed these on an aftermarket G17 slide. Installation was straight forward enough. XS provides a front sight tool and threadlocker in the box. The front sight was a little loose in the oval hole. I would have like it tighter. So what happens when you overtighten a screw, it breaks off in the first few rounds. XS has one of the best warranties in the business. I emailed them, and a few days later a new front sight showed up. Free of charge. So I followed the instructions perfectly for the new installation. A few months later, and hundreds of rounds, at a match, the front sight breaks off again. I emailed XS and even sent a video of when the sight fell off. I offered to buy a new one, NOPE. They sent me a shipping label to send the slide in for them to install the front sight! I have had no problems with the front sight since. They get a 10/10 for customer service. Now onto the rear. I coated the dovetail with XS’s threadlocker, slid the sight in, and tightened down the 2 set screws. I was done, and it hasn’t ever moved on me.

Low light, no photoluminescence

After shining flashlight on front sight (photoluminescent glow)

  As a combined sight set, the F8’s really shine. They are slightly taller than most factory sights, which I like. But not so tall that they can be called suppressor sights. The front is 0.280” tall, and the rear is 0.300” tall. The tritium is super bright. I just love the sight picture I get. Everything needed for installation is in the package (threadlocker, sight tool, allen wrench). The height, along with the bright orange front, really does make them easy to get on target fast.

  If you hadn’t guessed by now, I like these sights. XS Sights did a fantastic job with the F8’s. If you are in the market for some night sights, or just a really good sight, definitely go check out the F8’s. The warranty is also fantastic!

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame:

Night sights with photoluminescent front sight

Target Market:

People wanting fast, easy to see sights

FNBs (Features & Benefits of this product):

  • Tritium

  • Orange color front ring around tritium

  • Glow dot front sight

  • 0.160” front sight blade width

  • Wide, square notch rear sight

  • Rear sight ledge

  • 10 year warranty

  • Figure eight sight picture

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?

Other handgun models

What others are saying?:

Imaposer on Amazon 5/5 stars

My favorite pistol sights of all time!

I absolutely LOVE these sights! I installed a set on my G19 last year. After using them a bit I decided that they were the best sights I'd even used on a defensive type handgun. Yes, they are larger than most. And for my eyes that along with the orange front sight ring makes them very fast to acquire. I've used XS Big Dots for years... since they were called Ashley Express Sights if that tells you anything. And while I always found them fast to acquire a flash sight picture with, I never felt that they offered much precision. Especially in terms of elevation. With the F8 on the other hand, I think they're just as fast. Maybe even faster since the more traditional sight picture gives me a very quick reference of elevation as well as equal light. While the Big Dot is quick to pick up, I often found myself losing time trying to get the front centered in the shallow rear trough and trying to get the front dot at just the right height above it... Just didn't work as well as the theory would suggest. For me at least.

A secondary thing that I like, other than the speed and visibility of these sights, is the rear sight. The height combined with the profile of the leading edge makes these the easiest sight I've ever used to do one handed manipulations with. I can easily run the slide on my belt, boot heel, table top, edge of a door jamb, and just about any solid surface I can press the rear sight against. And much more securely than any other I've used. Speed of acquisition and precision is obviously the primary focus of sights for me, but this is an added bonus, IMO.

This review is for the second set of these that I've purchased as since using them on the G19 I decided to put them on my new G43. And now I've considering replacing the Big Dots on a couple of other pistols, and an almost brand new set of Truglo TFX Pros on another, with these as well. Yes! I like these that much! And currently there's nothing else on the market I'd even consider buying.

Link to other reviews:

GunDigest

Price point:

MSRP = $142.00

Retail = $127.80 on Amazon

I need it now! Availability:

XS Sights or Amazon

Our Rating:

Pros:

  • Easy to pick up front sight

  • Good sight picture

  • Sight “Glow”

  • Bright Tritium

  • Excellent Warranty

  • Everything needed is in the package (Allen wrench, loctite, front sight tool)

Cons:

  • Wide front blade

  • Tritium washes out (a fault of all tritium sights)

  • Loose fit on front sight

Score: 8.5 Great

9.5 for customer service

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Favorite Link:  Freedom Flag Products




XS Xpress Threat Interdiction Sights

XS-TI-Sight-2.jpg

XS TI Sight 2

By Steve Remy

These sights are primarily designed for shooters who compete in matches and need general accuracy at a maximum range of 25 yards. They are used to provide an alternative aiming platform when a magnified optic is mounted to the top rail of a rifle, considering magnification would make sub-25 yard shots difficult. The tritium front sight allows for sight acquisition in low light conditions which was a nice touch.

Out of the package these sights are built very solid and have a very nice fit and finish. XS also includes everything you need for a successful installation, except for a flathead screwdriver. This includes the sights themselves, a sight adjustment tool, a small allen wrench, a small tube of thread locker, and printed instructions. As instructed, I installed the sights to allow as long of a sight distance as possible between the front and rear sight.

Here is where things start to get ugly. By design these sights are very low profile which was the manufacturer’s effort to ensure they don’t snag on anything. The consequence to this design is that the sights rest extremely close to the bore of the rifle which doesn’t allow most people to use the sights without raising the buttstock nearly above their shoulder, thus losing their shoulder pocket and cheek weld. I tried every way of holding the rifle I could but I could never seem to easily acquire the sights and still have a decent backstop for the recoil of the rifle. I had five other experienced shooters attempt to use the sights and everyone provided the same feedback that they were too low profile for easy acquisition and use. Considering they didn’t work for me or any of the other five shooters, I would bet the majority of purchasers would be disappointed with these sights, unfortunately. A search of other reviews confirms that I was not in the minority of people who had these problems. I believe it would take a considerable amount of practice to effectively use these sights properly.

There is a little bit of silver lining to this dark cloud though, in the form of XS’ customer service. I phoned their customer service line to ask about the low profile design and ensure installation was done properly. First and foremost, I was never on hold waiting for my call to be answered; it was answered immediately by someone who knew what they were talking about. I spoke with an individual (name withheld to protect the innocent) who was courteous, friendly, and extremely helpful. He explained why the sights were designed to be low profile and admitted the sight design didn’t always work for everyone. He then proceeded to give me a laundry list of things I could do to try and make the sights work for me, which was much appreciated. He mentioned it would be helpful to break my cheek weld and bring the buttstock higher on my shoulder (which I had previously tried), and stated the low recoil of a .223/5.56 would allow for this. This tactic may work for some but it was still mighty uncomfortable for me. He also mentioned trying to roll the rifle to the 10 o’clock position instead of the 3 o’clock position they were mounted in. Having also tried this at the range, it was too awkward of a position for me, but it may work for others. The representative stated that XS had considered making a version of the sights with a higher profile so it could be used by more shooters, but admitted it wouldn’t be any time in the near future.XS TI Sight 1

Overall these sights were a slight disappointment. XS’ good-willed attempt to build a low profile sight that doesn’t snag seems to have backfired somewhat by greatly limiting the number of shooters who can successfully contort themselves to use these sights. XS’ saving grace in this review was their awesome customer service who won’t leave you on hold and provides numerous potential solutions to your problems. If you absolutely must have these sights, at the very least purchase them from a place that has a good return policy in case they don’t work for you. These sights aren’t for me but I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase their other products based on their great customer service. It seems as though good customer service is hard to find these days so I must certainly give XS kudos for their success in this area.

Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points

Claim to Fame: Angle mounted sights designed for CQB situations and 3-gun rifle competitions.

Target Market: Competitive shooters who have a magnified optic mounted at the 12 o’clock position.

FNBs: (Features & Benefits of this product)

  • Low-profile design.
  • Tritium front sight.
  • Reversible for left and right handed shooters.
  • Windage and elevation adjustments.

What other aesthetic options or finishes are available?  Aluminum construction with a matte black finish.

What others are saying?  2 out of 5 star overall reviews from Brownell’s customers.

Price point:

I need it now! Availability: Available in-stock at most online retailers, including Brownells.

Our Rating: + Solid construction. + Easy installation. + Great packaging with all necessary tools. + Excellent customer service.

- Too low profile for most people’s shooting styles. - Price is too high for something that likely only works for a small minority of shooters.

Score: 6.565

Steve’s links: Contact Steve: steve@firearmsradio.tv Firearms Radio Network