I recently purchased an XDM 9mm and love the way it shoots. I did not, however, like the 6 o'clock hold for target aquisition since I use this gun for personal defense, not bullseye competition. I researched all of the sights that were out there, and ended up deciding on Speed Sights. There was not a whole lot of info out there, just a few reviews. Hopefully this will help someone who is in my shoes.
These sights are available with Trijicon night sight inserts, which is the option I decided on. They offer an orange or green front sight, rear sights are all white. The basis of this sighting system is quick aquisition using 3 diamonds that you line up. They are NOT cheap at $180 shipped, but this is not something I wanted to cheap out on. The rear sight options are a little confusing, but after consulting with the company, I was directed to purchase the height that replaced the Springfield "G" model rear sights. The website said the sights would ship out after 5 business days, so I called after that time to confirm my order had been shipped. I was advised that they were waiting on the night sight vials to be installed, and it would be a few weeks. I voiced my concerns over the long turnaround time, and was told they would get me the sights ASAP, and even offered to send me a loaner set without night sights to hold me over. It took a total of about 3 weeks since they rushed my order. Call ahead and make sure the sights are in stock before ordering if you are in a time crunch.
So I received my sights in the mail, and immediately opened them. I have to admit, when I first saw them, it was hard to believe that they cost as much as they did. I then took them to my gunsmith, who installed them in about 30 minutes. He complained to me afterward that the sights were aluminum and not steel, and said aluminum "rolls" easier when installing because it is so much softer. They did leave a small mark on the front sight from the installation. This concerns me a little bit down the road if I ever were to drop the gun, the sights seem like they could be damaged fairly easily. There's no evidence that the is the case, just a consideration.
Just playing around with the sights, I like their presentation. Quick and easy aquisition of the front sight. The lime green is easy to see and really stands out. When drawing from my Alien Gear holster, I noticed that the front sight barely clears the holster. I feel an ever so slight drag when drawing, but it may just be the new gun in the new holster. It clears the Springfield paddle holster just fine, but I would be careful with any other holster that allows the end of the barrel to be exposed as it could possibly snag. With any holster, I would check for clearance before buying. In a pitch black room, the 3 dots glow beautifully. My take away from the photos on the website was that the diamonds would be somewhat visible in the dark, but this was not my experience. When I let a little light into the room, the diamonds did become more visible.
Next, I went to the range. These sights impressed me. They performed as advertised... Quick on target, easy aquisition, accurate point of aim shooting. I shoot typical self defense ranges, 3, 5, 7 yards and had no trouble at any range. I was in the bullseye consistently at 7 yards. Follow up shots were easy and quick. I sent the target out to 25 yards just for fun. Offhand I was shooting at a zombie target with an angry zombie about to eat a victim. I fired 5 shots, and 4 of them were zombie-killing headshots. The 5th shot was on paper but was a miss (high and left of zombie). Grouping size was about 6" with the flier, not bad for me at that range (my hands aren't that steady). I'm happy to report that the zombie was killed and the victim was not hit! With my stock sights, I would have been all over the target, probably with a dead victim and injured zombie.
So in conclusion, these sights are quick and accurate. I believe they are worth the heavy price tag. I would prefer steel over aluminum, but there may not be a significant difference. Other than that, make sure it clears your holster and have fun!
PS It's hard to see the front sight glowing in one of the pics. I assure you that it is, it's just hard to see on the camera phone.
These sights are available with Trijicon night sight inserts, which is the option I decided on. They offer an orange or green front sight, rear sights are all white. The basis of this sighting system is quick aquisition using 3 diamonds that you line up. They are NOT cheap at $180 shipped, but this is not something I wanted to cheap out on. The rear sight options are a little confusing, but after consulting with the company, I was directed to purchase the height that replaced the Springfield "G" model rear sights. The website said the sights would ship out after 5 business days, so I called after that time to confirm my order had been shipped. I was advised that they were waiting on the night sight vials to be installed, and it would be a few weeks. I voiced my concerns over the long turnaround time, and was told they would get me the sights ASAP, and even offered to send me a loaner set without night sights to hold me over. It took a total of about 3 weeks since they rushed my order. Call ahead and make sure the sights are in stock before ordering if you are in a time crunch.
So I received my sights in the mail, and immediately opened them. I have to admit, when I first saw them, it was hard to believe that they cost as much as they did. I then took them to my gunsmith, who installed them in about 30 minutes. He complained to me afterward that the sights were aluminum and not steel, and said aluminum "rolls" easier when installing because it is so much softer. They did leave a small mark on the front sight from the installation. This concerns me a little bit down the road if I ever were to drop the gun, the sights seem like they could be damaged fairly easily. There's no evidence that the is the case, just a consideration.
Just playing around with the sights, I like their presentation. Quick and easy aquisition of the front sight. The lime green is easy to see and really stands out. When drawing from my Alien Gear holster, I noticed that the front sight barely clears the holster. I feel an ever so slight drag when drawing, but it may just be the new gun in the new holster. It clears the Springfield paddle holster just fine, but I would be careful with any other holster that allows the end of the barrel to be exposed as it could possibly snag. With any holster, I would check for clearance before buying. In a pitch black room, the 3 dots glow beautifully. My take away from the photos on the website was that the diamonds would be somewhat visible in the dark, but this was not my experience. When I let a little light into the room, the diamonds did become more visible.
Next, I went to the range. These sights impressed me. They performed as advertised... Quick on target, easy aquisition, accurate point of aim shooting. I shoot typical self defense ranges, 3, 5, 7 yards and had no trouble at any range. I was in the bullseye consistently at 7 yards. Follow up shots were easy and quick. I sent the target out to 25 yards just for fun. Offhand I was shooting at a zombie target with an angry zombie about to eat a victim. I fired 5 shots, and 4 of them were zombie-killing headshots. The 5th shot was on paper but was a miss (high and left of zombie). Grouping size was about 6" with the flier, not bad for me at that range (my hands aren't that steady). I'm happy to report that the zombie was killed and the victim was not hit! With my stock sights, I would have been all over the target, probably with a dead victim and injured zombie.
So in conclusion, these sights are quick and accurate. I believe they are worth the heavy price tag. I would prefer steel over aluminum, but there may not be a significant difference. Other than that, make sure it clears your holster and have fun!
PS It's hard to see the front sight glowing in one of the pics. I assure you that it is, it's just hard to see on the camera phone.
