Gun Sight 101

My S & W M&P45

Focusing on the fundamentals of an ordinary gun sight will help you shoot straight.

Like any sport or skill, we sometimes need to get back to the basics regarding technique and re-focus on the fundamentals – especially when we’re ‘drifting off our target’.

In this instance, how to simply line up your gun sight and shoot straight…

EQUAL HEIGHT / EQUAL LIGHT

 
1. Focus your dominant eye on the front gun sight.

2. Center the front sight air gaps between the left & right dots of the rear gun sight.

3. Line up the front & rear sights for ‘equal height’ (line up the dots).

 
Focus your dominant eye on the front gun site, while being fully aware of the slightly blurry rear sight and the slightly blurry target itself in the background.

As basic as it may sound (and be), the fact is that in order to shoot straight at your intended target, you must pay attention to properly lining up the gun sight dots. Any slight misalignment WILL cause the bullet to travel either left, right, high, or low. The shorter the barrel of the gun, the effects of any sight misalignment will result in an even more exaggerated miss. And naturally, the further away the target, the more these effects will exaggerate.

 
Gun sight alignment will cause a miss to the left.

 
Gun sight alignment will cause a miss too high.

 
Tip: When firing, “smooth trigger control straight to the rear”.
Tip: Practice!

I know that it’s all pretty basic, but often times getting back to the basics and focusing on the fundamentals helps us improve or re-establish a skill.