I guess I stand corrected, although I don’t see how I would be able to use the rear sight for that purpose on either my Springfield 1911 Loaded or M&P45, because I don’t see how you could find a purchase to hook that rear sight against something. No, I’ve never been in a gunfight.....and I hope never to be in one. But I know enough to know when a sight has been deliberately designed with a step in it for that purpose, and also when it is obvious that a snag-free sight was the goal.montgomery wrote:With all due respect, every single one of those adjustable rear sights can and are used for tactical slide rack and release. Having been in my fair share of gunfights and then some, I can tell you that the rear sight is not used for aiming.The Annoyed Man wrote:That statement is only valid if the rear sight is shaped a certain way. LOTS of rear sights on carry guns are sloped on the front to make the gun more snag-free, and you can’t use the sight to rack the slide. Examples?montgomery wrote:Disagree with paperweight statement. The purpose of the rear sight is to provide the gunfighter a means to rack the slide while holding the grip one handed.
Springfield 1911 TRP
Springfield XD(M) Series
S&W M&P Shield 9mm
Ruger SR9
Ruger American Pistol
That is by no means ALL of them, it’s just a random sampling.
The REAL purpose of the rear sight is to provide the gunfighter the means to aim the gun more accurately. It’s just a handy trick that some guns have a rear sight that is usable to rack the slide. The fact is, if your rear sight is sloped and won’t let you rack the slide, often the front sight will do it, or the muzzle end of the slide, as long as the object you are pressing against will clear the barrel.
History is also on my side of the argument going back to the 1800s. You will not find rear sights on revolvers of that era ...
I also know “front sight front sight front sight” as much as anyone else.....but a rear sight actually is a sighting device, and using it will improve the accuracy of one’s aim. All of the revolvers I’ve ever seen that lacked an accessory rear sight, antique revolvers included, all had a rear sight groove machined into the top strap for the purpose of aligning with the front sight to increase accuracy. Maybe there are some that did not have that groove, but I’ve never seen one. I guess if you’re point shooting and not really using the sights in a deliberate manner, or you’re shooting at close enough ranges that the sights don’t really matter, then you don’t really need a rear sight. But I have deliberately upgraded front and rear sights on several of my pistols, in part to change the rear sight to a configuration that makes a tactical slide rack easier - exactly because the OEM rear sight was not conducive to being used that way.