Triangle Tactical Podcast and Blog on Guns, Gear, and Competition Shooting
In my quest for the perfect defensive/competition pistol sights, I recently came across the Ameriglo GL-405PRA rear sight. I’ve been running the Ameriglo GL-433 sights for about a year now, and I really like them, but I’ve been intrigued with U-notch rear sights for some time, as the few times I’ve used them, I felt that they were very fast. I contacted Ameriglo, about this, and they were kind enough to send me a GL-405PRA rear sight which is the same as the GL-433 rear sight, except that it is not serrated, and it has a U-notch instead of the square notch on the GL-433.
GL-405PRA Rear Sight:
I received the new sights the day before I headed out to the Trace Armory Group/Carolina Shooters Club Gunfighter Class, and I made sure to install them before heading to the class. My first impression was that the sight was fast, just from doing some dry fire drills, but they really shined during the class where I was able to fire about 250 rounds through my Glock 19 with these sights installed.
What I found when shooting with these sights was that the U-notch helped my eyes to focus at the top edge of the sights, making the front sight very fast to pick up, and line up precisely within the notch of the rear sight. I’ve read different theories about how this works, and the general consensus is that our eyes tend to focus on a sharp edge or corner first, so eliminating the sharp edges and corners from the bottom of the notch seems to force my eyes to focus on the top of the front sight, allowing me to quickly line it up with the rear sight.
Both pairs of sights I have received from Ameriglo have installed easily with a punch, and neither required any sanding, which is a great thing. I like to install rear sights with a little red Loctite in the dovetail. I’ve found that the Loctite acts as a lubricant while installing the rear sight, then sets and helps to hold it in place, but still allows the rear sight to be removed with a standard sight pusher.
The Ameriglo GL-433 sights can be found on the Ameriglo Special Combinations section of their website. Currently they are not offering the GL-405PRA (U-notch) rear sight in combination with the GL-212-OR-C front sight, but they can both be purchased separately.
The GL-405PRA rear sight can be found here, and the GL-212-OR-C front sight can be found here.
I’m really a huge fan of these sights. The best recommendation I can make for them is to tell you that my concealed carry pistol is wearing them, which is the pistol that I trust with my life. My only gripe is that they are not offered as a pair! I have also found Ameriglo’s customer service to be great, with quick responses to my questions, and fast shipping. This is an A+ combination for me.
Hey, just wanted to share some info. After reading your article(great job by the way), I really decided I like this setup. Wanted u-shaped notch with no inserts or dots for the rear. I unfortunately did not see a similar rear to fit a M&P. I ended up calling them just to be sure & they do have one. They said it was brand new and not on the website yet. I got mine ordered today, can't wait. So if you need one for a M&P, the model # is SW-108-PR.
Awesome! Glad they set you up! Make sure to let us know how you like them, I'm very much in live with mine.
Ok, I bit. My G19 is sportin' these bad boys now… I must say, my eye picks them up very well. Can't wait to try it out…
Awesome, glad you like them! Great sights.
just ordered a set for my new G17 Gen 4 that I got for IDPA and the like.
got mine installed ready to shoot something, 🙂
How high are the GL-405PRA rear sights? Will they work with a Truglo TFO .195 front blade? Or, will this cause 12 o'clock vertical stringing?
I believe they are the same height as the factory Glock sights, I'm not familiar enough with the TFO's to give you a straight answer. Ameriglo has a nifty sight calculator that you may be able to plug in some numbers and figure it out… Hope this helps.