In the realm of handguns, there are two dominant fields of thought waging war against each other: iron sights versus micro red dots. Purists or traditional shooters want to live and die by iron sights. Its the way its always been, they are reliable, and “everyone understands them.” But do they?… People who prefer micro red dots are typically of a younger generation. More techy, liking new age progress, faster sight acquisition, and their thoughts were molded by video games long before they could legally purchase a firearm. The industry as a whole is trending towards red dots on handguns of all types – semi-auto pistols, revolvers, etc – but where is the middle ground?… You’re a 30-something, middle-aged shooter like myself who was raised on irons yet you want to embrace the future. HIVIZ Shooting Systems may have the answer with their new FastDot H3 iron sights. Today, we are going to take a look at the HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 sights to see how they perform. Let’s dive in!
HIVIZ Coverage on AllOutdoor & TheFirearmBlog
- HIVIZ Shooting Systems Announces Revolutionary New Sight, FastDot H3
- HIVIZ Shooting Systems Debuts NEW FastDot H3 – Single Dot Shooting
- New HIVIZ Sights at the 2018 SHOT Show
- HIVIZ Luminous LitePipes: Small Tweak for Better Results
- New HIVIZ Sights For Ruger 10/22
Specifications – HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3
The HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 iron sights is not unique because of its utilization of fiber optic to enhance the brightness for the shooter (although that’s a wonderful attribute). What makes these sights one-of-a-kind is what your sight picture looks like once properly aligned. When your front sight is properly aligned in front of your rear sight, the front vanishes from your sight picture making for a vibrantly glowing sight; reminiscent of a red dot.
- Fast Sight Acquisition
- Easy Sight Alignment
- Positive Sight Feedback
- Improved visibility around sight picture
- 24-hour Illumination
- A low-profile design, compatible with standard holsters
If the iron sights are ever so slightly misaligned, then you will see both the front and rear sight as expected giving you the visual indicator to better your grip and aim. The HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 iron sights currently come in 4 different models which fit dozens of handguns on the market today. All of those along with their associated MSRPs can be read below as presented by HIVIZ Shooting Systems:
- Glock 9mm/.40 S&W/.375 Sig | GLFD21 | MSRP $175
- Glock 9mm/.40 S&W/.375 Sig | GLMFD21 | MSRP $175
- S&W M&P Compact/M&P Full-Size/M&P Shield/M&P Shield Plus (All Cartridges) | MPFD21 | MSRP $175
- Does not fit: Optic-Ready models, M&P Shield 9EZ, or M&P Shield EZ 380
- SIG P320 9mm | SG320FD21 | MSRP $175
- Fixed Sights only; Non-Optic Ready Models
Laramie, Wyoming – January 15th, 2024 – HIVIZ® Shooting Systems, the premier manufacturer of high quality tritium/fiber-optic and fiber-optic sights for shotguns, handguns and rifles, is thrilled to announce their latest innovation—the FastDot H3®.
HIVIZ has raised the bar for firearm enthusiasts, by introducing a reliable sight that is bright, easy to acquire and fast when you need it most.
The FastDot H3 provides the user with faster sight acquisition out of the holster and positive sight alignment feedback through conventional sight alignment. Instead of a traditional blade centered in a notch, this sight uses a circle within a circle. As the user brings the front sight into alignment with the rear, the front red sight disappears behind the rear sight leaving behind a glowing green circle to alert the user of positive alignment.
“Since 1996, HIVIZ has sought to improve the art of shooting through simple, yet innovative products for rifles, pistols and shotguns,” said HIVIZ President and Founder, Phil Howe. “With the popularity of red dot sights increasing over the last decade we saw an opportunity to use our expertise in iron sights and bridge the gap between traditional iron sights and red dot sights. That’s when the FastDot H3 sight set was developed. This sight set offers the simplicity of a red dot sight system while eliminating the bulk, it doesn’t require batteries and allows for faster sight acquisition right out of the holster. It is quickly becoming a favorite among many who require simplicity and speed from their sight sets!”
The FastDot H3 is built to enhance the experience for any shooter– beginner or expert. With tritium/fiber-optic front and rear sights, the FastDot H3 provides 24-hour illumination for a bright and visible sight picture and easy acquisition right out of the holster day or night. Shooters can be prepared to confidently align, aim and manufacture precise shot placement in any light or high stress environment.
Field Use – HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3
When it came to installing the HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 sights they installed like any other Glock sights. You could simply drift in the rear sight with a moderate amount of resistance which a sight press could easily defeat. The front sight was screwed in from the bottom (inside) the slide by using a 3/16″ hex nut. As long as you had a proper 3/16″ hex nut tool, this was no problem at all.
For this review, I deployed a Glock 19 Gen5 9mm handgun. Across all generations and vintages of Glocks, as long as you don’t have an M.O.S. (Modular Optic Sight ready) model, the sights in this review will fit your 9mm, .40 S&W, and/or .357 SIG Glock handgun. The rear sight of the HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 is pretty large, but still fit this Glock 19 perfectly and there was no overhang present on the slide.
After the install was complete, how did these shoot?… Overall, if you were leisurely shooting, like slow-fire bullseye, these sights were very easy to aim and engage targets with. If you engaged in a faster style of shooting like 3-Gun, IDPA, USPSA, etc, then there was absolutely a learning curve or some time would be need behind these sights before it becomes a natural presentation for you.
A lot of the handgun shooting that I engage in is defensive or something reminiscent of 3-Gun style competitions. As a result, you want to shoot fast and be accurate. So, I definitely felt like these sights are something truly new and requires time behind them to get intimately acquainted with the learning curve. All that being said, if anyone wants to dip their toes in the water of red dots yet they don’t own a red dot, this would be a great set of irons for that type of transition. They are tremendously bright, create a similar sight picture, and once you get the hang of them, it will teach you to point your handgun in a similar manner.
Final Thoughts – HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3
So, what are my final thoughts on the HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 iron sights?… Overall, they are similarly priced to other quality iron sights on the market today. If you are someone with slight vision impairments, these are probably the brightest iron sights I have ever tested. Moreover, if you are looking to make the transition to a micro red dot at some point, the sight picture that the FastDot H3 creates is extremely similar to the sight picture of a micro red dot. Going into this review, I did not know what to expect because these sights – on face value – do look odd, but I came away impressed in the end.
In closing, I want to say thank you to HIVIZ Shooting Systems for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 for a Glock 19 Gen5 9mm. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the HIVIZ Shooting Systems FastDot H3 is something worth spending your money on? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
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