Sight Design

[Borderline]

Hi All!  I'm new here and new to shooting in general.  A buddy got me interested a couple months ago and action shooting looks interesting and challenging.  I'm in the process of buying a 75BD that I will pick up tomorrow after my 240 hour waiting period.  Seriously, they actually put what time I could pick up the gun.  So anyway, I have a lot to learn and I hope you guys are up for the challenge too.

So my first question is about the sights on the gun.  I understand the relationship between the front sights and rear, but I see different widths of front sights and varying widths of slots on the rear sights.  Some have the slot very close to the width of the front sight and some rear sights have the slot a lot wider. I hear that some are better for quick target acquisition and some are better for precise shooting.  So what is what?

Can anyone recommend some good reference material to read.  I've been on other forums and over the years have seen the same questions and most of the time the same answers over and over again.  I don't want to be a pain. 

I will post some photos once I get my CZ!

Thanks!

[SPO1SHADOW]

Both Cajun Gun Works and CZ Custom have sights that you cannot go wrong with. CGW's EZ 9/40 sight set is about as perfect as you will find for competition if you are looking for a set of fixed sights. If you don't like a deep notch CZ Custom offers a great competition rear sight that is hard to beat, fixed or adjustable. I like .125" rear notch and the narrow front fiber optic sight but you will probably have to purchase a few sets to find what is best for you. Sights are a very personal thing so some searching and experimenting will be your best bet. Any of the aftermarket sights are better for competing that the factory sights. One thing to keep in mind is that Dawson Precision makes a wonderful front FO sight that you can buy in different heights and widths to fine tune any rear you might like but they only make rear sights to fit the SP01, P01, Shadow, .22 conversion or P07/P09 guns. They DO NOT make rear sights that fit CZ 75, 75B or BD guns no matter how you read their advertising. The .125 rear notch sights are great with the .90, .100 or .110 width front sights but again you will need to experiment to find the one that is right for you. Some like the green FO and others swear by the red, it's all in what you like. I hope this will be helpful for you.

[Borderline]

Thanks Sp01shadow.  The gun I'm buying already has a fiber optic front sight and a very narrow rear sight slot.  I was just wondering if this sight style was better for fast target acquisition or for precision shooting.  What features would make it better for one and not the other? 

[SoCal]

Some find the narrow front sight allows quicker sight acquisition and a wider front sight is better for target shooting.  There are a number of u-tube videos that explain this in greater depth.
And the CZ pistols do well in either sport but I prefer the action side of things as well.

[SPO1SHADOW]

Thanks Sp01shadow.  The gun I'm buying already has a fiber optic front sight and a very narrow rear sight slot.  I was just wondering if this sight style was better for fast target acquisition or for precision shooting.  What features would make it better for one and not the other?

A .125 front and rear is great for precise shooting, you will probably want something in between. Like a .125 rear notch and a .100 wide front sight. This gives you the best of both. Plenty of light on each side of the front but no so much you cannot do precision shooting. Who made the sights that were installed on the gun? Does it have a factory rear with an FO front?

[Earl Keese]

 "One thing to keep in mind is that Dawson Precision makes a wonderful front FO sight that you can buy in different heights and widths to fine tune any rear you might like but they only make rear sights to fit the SP01, P01, Shadow, .22 conversion or P07/P09 guns. They DO NOT make rear sights that fit CZ 75, 75B or BD guns no matter how you read their advertising."
SP01SHADOW, what is different about fitting to the 75B slide vs the SP-01? I've noticed that you use the CZC rear sight on your 75's.

[SPO1SHADOW]

The depth of the dovetail on the 75 is deeper into the slide. A sight made specific for the SP01 will not slide over the sight rib on a standard CZ 75. The only sight Dawson makes for a 75/75B is the one that CGW's sells, all others they make will not fit the deeper dovetail without taking a lot of metal off  the sight or removing the sight rib completely off of the slide behind the dovetail.
I installed a CZ Custom Tactical fixed rear on a Pre-B last week and had to remove some metal so the slide did not touch underneath the overhang of the sight and also had to use a 5.5 mm front instead of the 6.5 that is called for to zero the gun but the CZC sight is doable while the Dawson sight is not. Even when you remove enough metal to get the Dawson rear on the front sight is so short the sight picture is all screwed up, even with the .250 tall Dawson rear. All of the modern CZ's use a .384 wide notch in the dovetail, the difference is in the sight cut on the slide and the depth of the dovetail.
I might also add that I have never had a problem with the CGW's EZ 9/40, the rear sight in David's sight set will clear the sight rib on the Pre-B's or any other gun I have installed them on. That is one of the reasons I install so many of them, there is no extra work and the sight picture is amazing.

[Earl Keese]

Great info, thanks!