Product Review: XS Big Dot Night Sight RV-0001N-3

I’m on a roll today so I guess I’ll throw something in my “Gear Reviews” category with a brief review of the XS Big Dot Tritium Front Night Sight for my Ruger SP-101 2.25 inch (what a mouthful).  This sight is actually designed for J-framed Smiths as well, but in my case, I use it on my SP101, so your mileage may vary.

XS Big Dot installed on a Ruger SP101

Let me start off by saying that the tritium insert is from Trijicon.  My preference in night sights has always leaned towards Meprolight, rather than Trijicon.   The tritium inserts Meprolight uses just seem bigger and brighter.  So I first bought the Meprolight front night sight for the SP101… mistake.  It was a royal pain in the backside to install: filing, fitting, filing, fitting… repeat 100x.  Once it was installed it completely jacked up my sight picture.  Can’t have any of that non-sense going on, so I got rid of it and purchased the XS Big Dot.  Installation of the XS sight also required filing, fitting and drilling (don’t try this at home if you’re squeamish, just find a gunsmith) but the process was much easier, because the sight was more properly fitted for the slot to begin with.

When they say “Big Dot”, they mean it.  The picture doesn’t do it justice.  If you need to take a precision shot at 100 yards with a snubbie (which can be done), this isn’t the sight for you.  The dot is quite massive and will probably cover what you’re shooting at, but for CQB and self-defense, target acquisition is lightning fast.  As far as sight picture goes, just line up the tritium dot with the top of the rear sight trench and you’re good to go with 158 grain rounds, POA=POI.

The XS Big Dot is a huge improvement over the factory front blade sight.  I like fiber optic for daytime work, but they don’t work worth a damn in dim light or darkness.  The XS sight is definitely an excellent choice for a self-defense oriented revolver because of its acquisition speed in the daytime and the tritium for low light situations.

Edit: I’m adding a photo of the sight picture you get from the Big Dot, which was taken in April 2015.

Ruger SP101 2.25″, XS Big Dot Night Sight, Bobbed Hammer