(Editor’s Note: In this piece, from April 9, 2009, Tiger took a question from a subscriber, Jason C. His response appears below in this installment of Skill Set Classics.)

What style of sights do you find works best for the 1911 and Glock platform? There are so many options these days I was wondering what your thoughts were. Jason C.

There are three major issues to consider when equipping yourself with a pistol for fighting – you need a weapon that fits your hand, a good crisp trigger, and sights that you can see. Each of these things will be different for each individual. Glocks are great weapons - my wife carries one - but they don’t fit my hands very well, even with a grip reduction. You can get used to any trigger, but a smooth trigger press, with a crisp break will help you shoot better. When it comes to sights, you need sights that will work for your eyes. What works for your buddy may not suit you, and as we age what worked for us when we were thirty probably won’t serve us well when we’re sixty.

When I first got into training I used Novak sights, with tritium inserts. Now that I’m fifty the narrow front sight is getting harder to see, especially in low-light situations, so I’m currently in the process of switching over to XS dot front sights. XS offers two versions of these sights, a large and small dot, and they have them for about any weapon you can think of.

Are tritium sights essential? If it’s so dark you can’t see the sights, then you probably can’t identify your target either, which means you’ll need a flashlight. If you’re using a flashlight to locate and identify threats you’ll probably be able to see your sights. When there is enough ambient light to I.D. your threat, you should be able to see the sights. Or, the situation develops quickly at extremely close distances, which means tritium sights won’t really matter. Don’t get me wrong, tritium sights are nice to have, just remember they don’t help with identifying the threat. And with most tritium sights you’ll have to modify your sight picture to place the bullet where it needs to go, so this will take plenty of practice to familiarize yourself with the modified sight picture under low-light conditions.

Ultimately, as with all other gear choices, you need to choose gear that works for you. Then remember there is no guarantee you’ll be fighting with your gear. Even if you have a light and tritium sights on your weapon, you still need to know how to use a hand-held light and standard iron sights. You want to be able to fight with any weapon that you may ‘acquire’ during the fight. Don’t let any gear become a crutch for you. And keep in mind that gear won’t compensate for a lack of skill. So equip yourself with the gear that works for you, and practice accordingly, but be ready to fight with anything.

-- Tiger McKee