10 Best 1911 Sights [Reviewed 2024]

What are the best sights for the 1911? That is like asking which child your favorite is? And the answer is always, you are. OK, let us dive into this arena and see where it takes us today.

When we talk about 1911 sights, we need to set a parameter or two due to this subject matter's length and depth. We will only cover open-iron style sights and leave the reflex and holographic sights for another day. So, all the MOA adjustable green-dot or red dot "scopes" will have to wait a while longer to get on the page, do not worry; everyone loves them, and we will bring that article soon.

Alright! So, first thing since we are talking about the best sights for the 1911, you are going to replace the scrap iron front sight and a rear sight that came from the surplus style pistol and replace it with high quality, low-light loving, bullseye killing daily treat right off amazon.

And you should. With all the gun manufacturers moving from boring and ineffective iron sights to Tritium Night Sights as a stock item, do not get left out in the cold or a bad situation with poor light conditions.

My personal favorite is sights that take advantage of the fiber optic enhancements. With a clean white dot or green dot on the front sight ad two red dots on the rear handgun sight, getting an excellent aiming point quickly is a breeze.

Some on the market improve on that if you can imagine such a thing. They have the fiber optic sights, with tritium night sights inserted down the fiber optic "thread," or "capsule" I believe they call them; it looks like a little hot glue gun sticks to me.

Best 1911 Sights [Top 10 Sights For 1911]

1. LPA TPU Fully Adjustable Read White Outline

So let us start with the folks that want to stay close to stock but want some adjustability. Look no further than the LPA TPU. Now I did say stay close to stock, and this option is fantastic. The Rear Sight is not a white dot on each side of the groove, it is a box outline like Glock uses, and I really like it for non-glow in the dark iron sights. 

These sights are steel, not iron; that is just an old term still kicked around. The main point is they do not use plastic anywhere on this sight set for your 1911 handgun.

If your 1911 handgun has the mil-spec style sight mounts, this sight set is right up your alley. If you have another style of sight cuts, you probably have sight cuts for a Novak Style sight, just look at the manufacturer website or sales page on amazon and find the ones for your handgun.

Chances are, if they make one style mounting, they make others, all others. Most modern manufacturers even have the reflex or red dot optics that need a CNC cut to fit the mounting plate, so take some time and look around.

2. Springfield Armory

From Springfield Armory, we have a set of Fiber Optic style sight sets. They call this style Lite Wave due to the fancy light tube construction, and it is really cool to look at as well. Right up front, I must state that this front fiber optic sight is offered by Springfield but made by a company called HiViz. HiViz has been around for quite some time, and they keep making new and incredible sights.

This is not a sight set, as it is only the front sight, and this sight will not fit GI or Mil-Spec handguns as it is a dovetail fit that must be pushed in by a gunsmith with a sight pusher, or if you are careful and confident, you can tap it in place with a nylon punch and a small hammer.

The light tube is a fiber optic tube, and this sight will come with three colors for your preference and even if you chose to change the colors for different shooting environments.

When you look down the slide, you will see either the red dot, green dot, or white dot, making the most sense if you use this setup with an adjustable rear sight, like the one from LPA TPU. What a great design that will be. Easy to find front sight for self defense sights and full-on target or bullseye shooting with a perfectly adjustable rear sight.

3. TFX Tritium and Fiber Optic Xtreme Handgun Sight

Hot damn! What could be better? TruGlo makes these, and if you have read much in the gun world, lots of people use TruGlo. They make just about one of everything, and these are just awesome to read about; then there is the TruGlo issue with QA. 

So, it is a buyer beware kind of a problem. TruGlo is pretty good at making things suitable, and for the most part, the issue with this sight set is the light capsule will come loose. If that is the case, and you get some, shake loose, put in some other ones, maybe get the "whitling knife" out, and carve down a set of light capsules to fit super snug.

The front sight uses Swiss Tritium around the light capsule, so the white dot and green dot on the front sight post really grab your eye and make the aiming point jump right out at you. With the Novak STYLE, let me say that again, STYLE cut on the slide; these will fit, some gunsmithing will be needed, and if you put a file on these, you own them forever.

So the great news is, the TFX light capsule tubes are very well protected, shock resistant, and chemical resistant. The serrated rear sight on the lower half, like a target sight, and the Novak cut's low-profile style helps keep this large sight as close to the barrel axis as possible, and that is amazing.

The rounded rear sight makes it pleasant and snag-free on your clothing if you chose to conceal carry, or exceptionally durable set up if you decided to wear it while working or riding some ATVs, whatever is your choice of things to do outside.

4. Kensight DAS 1911 Defense Adjustable Rear Night Sight

That name is a mouthful, geez! For the folks looking for a rear night sight that is fully adjustable for target or bullseye shooting, this one may be your ticket. These rear pistol sights sit slightly higher, so you need to make sure your front sight sits high enough to match and make it all work right. If you plan to use a suppressor later, this is a thing to really think hard about.

The adjustments are positive click on its windage and elevation adjustment. For the scope lover, there is nothing in the way of MOA adjustments here. It is shoot, figure, adjust, figure some more, then the language gets a bit blue, and eventually, you hit the X in the middle every time.

The tritium is from Trijicon, and the tritium bars are inserted from the side and captured, not adhesive, and may dislodge later. The durability and build quality on this sight are pretty amazing. The rear night sight tritium is arranged in the Unertl "U" shape, like many pros, law enforcement, and military folks enjoy.

The sight base will fit Colt, Kimber 1911, and Springfield, so any maker that cuts the slide the same will work.

5. Meprolight Colt Tru-Dot Night Sights Set

Used by law enforcement and the military for years, this set of night sights is the brightest available today. Meprolight has been unequaled in the night sights world for many years, and they just keep getting better.

If you are in mind to put an optic on your handgun and can get yourself to install a Picatinny rail on the top of the slide, look at the reflex sight options made by Meprolight. Buy this high-quality, durability-made optic, not the name on the box that you throw away.

The Meprolight night sights set has its white dots during the day or bright light, and in the dark, the green dots are glowing like crazy.

6. Trijicon 3 Dot Front And Rear Sight Set

The original night sights, the Trijicon 3 dot front, and the rear night sight set. Everyone that has been invested in the gun world, especially the handgun world, and even more drilled down the Colt 1911 world knows Trijicon is the toughest, most durable, and brightest (for what they do) on the market.

Trijicon makes a bold statement, "our sights will increase low light shooting accuracy by as much as five times"! Now, that does not speak to their product improving our ability to shoot, but sight acquisition and bright and accurate aiming points will do that part.

Trijicon puts their tritium inside an aluminum tube and then suspends it in a silicone ring when they place it in the sights. The standard white dot, three-dot sights will always glow, and to make it work even better when your eye is directly behind the rear night sight, Trijicon places a sapphire cap over the tritium, like a brake light lens, makes it directed to your eyeballs, and focused. The crystals will also protect the tritium from solvents and puncture when cleaning and breakdown, and assembling.

7. Fusion 1911 Colt Mil-Spec Blade sights

Fusion makes some great aftermarket stuff and some stock style stuff as well, and this option right here is precisely that, stock style three white dot blades that fit and look like originals and still have the three-dot white dots to assist those of us with aging eyes.

If your 1911 build, Springfield, Ruger, Colt, Rock Island, whoever, if it has 70 series style milling work on the slide to install the sights, you can go wrong with this sight set for the original look and feel. If snagging on clothing when you draw your Colt Officer model from concealed carry may be a thing for you, loo into some of the original style sights, but get the three white dots, you will thank me for it.

8. Trijicon Fiber Optic Sight Set

Another offering from Trijicon, this time no tritium for night sights or glowing red dots, in the dark, this one is for daylight, target shooting, or bullseye shooting.

The front sight is a thin sight, with a red fiber optic capsule, and the rear sight is a subdued and serrated Novak cut sight. What this combo is made for is to take advantage of a long-distance bullseye shooter.

You can get a better aiming point and sight picture when you can see all the way around the front sight. Then you will have the very best opportunity to put lead right in that ten-ring bullseye by ensuring your sights are lined up perfectly when the light all the way around is precisely even.

9. Kensight LPA TRT 1911 Sight White Dot

In the custom 1911 builder world, we have many requests for the adjustable rear sight, and this offering from Kensight is one of the best. They are made from Chrom Moly, as one piece, or as one piece as adjustable gets, haha.

When you look at the Kensight, you can see the large adjusters for windage and elevation, and as I have said in the article before, not the MOA type of adjustment, but rear sight adjustment. The slide on your 1911 handgun will need gunsmithing or machining to accept the adjustable sight. 

The standard handgun or 1911 more correctly handgun rear sight will not fit a stock gun. It's a simple process, and if you have patience, time and an excellent set of files, and more patience, you can do it yourself. Just remember, file, then measure, then file again, and you should end with sandpaper, then steel wool, so you take off just barely enough to get this dovetail and bottom to fit like it is waterproof.

Go to this link, and look at that rear sight; it has the two white dots, painted with arctic white or whatever color Kensight calls "super freaking white" white dots. The back of the rear sight is serrated to break any mirage or glare, and your eye will look right at the rear notch, then align that front sight, take your time, practice the patience you learned with a file for 200,000 passes across the top of the slide, and take that shot.

If you are one to enjoy more action gunning or point shooting and all that, this is a waste of your money; look towards that captured TruGlo option that is more of a fit for that world. These are bullseye shooting target sights to the very core.

10. Fusion Colt 1911 Fully Fiber Optic

Because I tend to do things entirely backward at times, I put my personal favorite, the top of my list at the end. Why would I do such a thing, so you can look at everything out there, then see what I chose and why I chose it.

Fusion is an excellent 100% made in the USA company. They make everything in their shop, machine the entire part, and can gunsmith it for you if you send your gun to them, legal of course, or you can purchase a built to your menu of options custom 1911.

OK, enough fanboy over the company, let us talk about the sights; after all, that is what we are all here to do today. The fusion fiber optic sights are low profile, so snagging on clothes for concealed carry is less of a chance, and they are also full view fiber optic red-dot or dots on the back; and green dot on the front.

This will let you know which sight you are looking at when everything turns terrible, and hunting for the aiming point with the front sight post, can not get better.

When you look at this sight, you can see it is entirely windage and elevation adjustable, plus the rear sight will "lock" into the dovetail with screws as well. Fusion sights won't move around, no matter what crazy acrobatic you put your handgun through on the range.

Highest quality, super rugged, and durable, I can not say enough about the Fusion / LPA sights. Someone may ask, why no tritium for your top choice? I can answer that in my way of thinking, and this only applies to me. 

If I can't see the target clear enough with open sights or enhanced by a little light through the fiber optic capsules, how do I identify the target well enough to pull the trigger and send 180 grains of 10mm screaming toward what I "think" is the target?

Now for something everyone will like, I am hoping. How to make fiber optics work like tritium? I did say LIKE tritium, put a flashlight on the gun if it has a rail. Not a Picatinny rail, even though you may get one to fit on some firearms, the rail from a tactical frame. 

O-Light makes a slim, frame-hugging fingertip activated light that will not only make the fiber optics glow like a headlight but identify your target and anything between you and the target, like a kid in a theater, etc.

If you want to see a review of this magical light, look at GreenLight Shooting YouTube review, he kills it.  Why do I say magical when I talk about this light?  O-Light is small, as rugged as they claim, and affordable.  

You will have to look into some more holsters for your handgun to do the on a gun than off gun light set up; it is my preferred option to have, for days and places that I feel a little more help is needed. You get what I am saying.

Summary

Just to make sure all the regular questions are answered, here is a quick look at the FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to choose your 1911 sights?

This answer is vague due to the enormous field this question covers, but here we go. The sight choices must fit the "job" that your 1911 does the most. What does that mean exactly? You do not buy self-defense sights for a target gun; now, do you have a gunsmith install adjustable windage sights for a daily concealed carry gun. 

The one unifying feature of all aftermarket sights to make them worth the money for the sight sets is to get your application of sights sets in the night sight sets. It is very few and far between shooters that night sights are not the answer. Some folks will not think about night sights, mainly target shooters, but many enjoy the advantages night sights bring to the gun.

Do I need adjustable sights for my 1911?

If you can afford the adjustable sights, get them. You will eventually get good enough shooting the "slab side" that soon, especially if you are a sandbag and bench shooter, that finesse with the sights will prove unbelievably valuable. 

If you cannot easily afford adjustable iron sights, just get the night sights, and call it good. It is easy to tap a rear sight with a wooden or rubber tapping hammer, move the sights fractions of an inch (or millimeter), and call it good.

Competition of Self-Defense Sights?

That question is also its answer. Competition sights are only good for competition. Self Defense sights can shoot competition until you start shooting many yards away and need every hit in the X ring. However, black, substantial blade sights in a dark theater or alley are never as good as the self-defense sights in the same situation.

Good Shooting!

Related Guides:

• Best Pistol Laser Sights
• Best Glock Sights
• Best Night Sights For Glock 26

References

Featured Image Graham Baates