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 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.

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.