Point of Aim questions

[Vtwin]

Hey all,

Reading over the manual it says that all XD's are setup with 6 O'clock rather than the Point of Aim sights from the factory.

Is there away I can get these setup as Point of Aim rather than the 6 O'clock sight picture from the factory without getting raped for the changes?

Thanks!

[invssgt]

If you hunt around you can usually find a load that shoots pretty close to POA; for instance, our .40's are right on the button with Rem/UMC 180 JHP. Aside from that you could install a lower rear sight.

[Houndawg75]

If you don't mind I would like to hijack your post and ask another question. What exactly is the purpose behind a 6 o'clock sight picture. It kinda seems silly to me to make a gun that intentionally shoots high. Don't get me wrong I love my new XD-40, but I don't understand the reasoning behind 6'oclock sighting. Is this common with other handgun makers too?

[Bird_Dog0347]

I think they make them 6 o'clock so that after you get your sights lined up, you have a larger, possibly clearer, "total" picture of the target.
Of course, I might be wrong, it is the only logical explanation I could make myself believe. Thus my totally "gun" uneducated eplanation is to see the entire target before you destroy it.

[semi]

The manual says 6 o'clock, and that's how i started shooting mine. However, using the WWB 9mm ammo, i quickly found out that doing so was shooting low. I started using POA at 25 feet and it is closer to that actually then it is at 6. I would shoot it and see where yours lines up.

[ttheobald]

Originally Posted by Houndawg75

If you don't mind I would like to hijack your post and ask another question. What exactly is the purpose behind a 6 o'clock sight picture. It kinda seems silly to me to make a gun that intentionally shoots high. Don't get me wrong I love my new XD-40, but I don't understand the reasoning behind 6'oclock sighting. Is this common with other handgun makers too?

If your target is obscured (say, by a sight post), then you have less information about what you are shooting at than if your target is not obscured.

Iron sights, in my book, simply provide a point-of-reference, and once you adjust to where your gun puts the shot relative to the sights, it doesn't really matter much whether it's 6 o'clock or right-on.

Dunno how common / uncommon this is.

T

[XD 40 mike]

I found blacking out my stock white dots has made it easier for me. Untill I can buy some aftermarket target sights anyways.

[mcone]

Originally Posted by Houndawg75

If you don't mind I would like to hijack your post and ask another question. What exactly is the purpose behind a 6 o'clock sight picture. It kinda seems silly to me to make a gun that intentionally shoots high. Don't get me wrong I love my new XD-40, but I don't understand the reasoning behind 6'oclock sighting. Is this common with other handgun makers too?

Personally, superimposing the front sight on the point of impact is less desirable than being able to set my point of impact on top of the front sight. A better picture of the target is the goal. Shooting at 35 feet, the top of the front sight just rests under the bullseye. That's a bit different than using crosshairs in a scope, where they usually do superimpose the point of impact - but don't really disturb my seeing the target.

-Mike

[WARHEAD'Z]

Point of aim, especially when referenced with non-adjustable sights, has most to do with the trajectory of the round and the distance it must travel before it strike the target.
Imagine a straight dotted line running from your eye, past your sights, to the target you have just fired at. After the bullet leaves the barrel, it doesn't travel in a perfectly staight line. Instead if will rise in elevation several inches in its path before dropping back into the line of aim. After it travels a few more feet, it will then begin to lose velocity and drop off below the line of aim. Many factors can effect this path of trajectory. These include rifling of the barrel, length of the barrel, wind or motion of the firearm when it is fired, bullet speed as it leaves the barrel and of course distance traveled to the target. Point of aim then becomes inherent and specific to each individual firearm. You need to practice, practive and practice firing the gun with one specific type and weight of ammunition at specific known distances, until you know its characteristics to YOUR gun. This is how you will know where you need to place your point of aim which should vary as distance to the target changes.
Here's an example of what I am refering to: In the Marine Corps, our basic M-16 rifle rifle course was set up at 200, 300 and 500 meter distances. Although considering the fact that the M-16 has adjustable windage and elevation, the rifle still needs to be sighted in differently at each target distance. This is due to the path of trajectory which rises 6 inches above line of aim at 200 meters, levels out at 300 meters, then falls 6 inches below line of aim at 500 meters. Base point of aim for a target is as follows: 6 o'clock (or waist level) at 200 meters, center mass at 300 meters and at 500 meters the neck and shoulder line will be point of aim. The 300 meter line of trajectory when the bullet enters into the line of aim is referred to as battle sight zero. That is where we were trained to reference sight adjustments from when needed.
Since a round fired from a pistol obviously would not travel 500 meters, this would have to be scaled down to find your correct battle sight zero. (Providing you have adjustable sights. If not then aim high then aim low until you zero in.)

HOPE THIS HELPS

[JD McDorce]

In keeping with the trajectory theory, yet using slightly different terminology, the following link gives some insight regarding the benefit of 6 o'clock at 25 yards: http://www.chuckhawks.com/handgun_trajectory_table.htm