Another from John Farnam, this time discussing how times are changing and how people with pistols in a self-defense situation may be required to make longer-distance shots, say out to 50 yards.

John mainly discusses the growing trend for compact pocket pistols:

With the currently-exploding market in “concealed-carry” pistols, manufacturers are focused on producing small guns. Many such pistols, though otherwise perfectly functional, have short slides and, thus, short sight-radiuses. While suitable as back-up pistols, these short guns, with their limited range, need to be re-evaluated with the foregoing in mind.

As a main, carry pistol, a four-inch (or longer) sight radius is now a critical feature, if we are going to have the range capability that is likely to be acutely necessary for first-responders. Our sincere affection for small pistols must thus be tempered with the necessity of honestly confronting these new challenges.

And granted, the majority of self-defense shootings happen at a distance from 0 to 5 yards. But while that may be the statistical majority, you just know your day will be the exception.

This is one of the main reasons I stopped using XS Sights’ 24/7 Express Big Dot sights on my carry gun. Can you get precise hits out to 25 or 50 yards with those sights? Well, I guess it depends upon your definition of precision. For instance, there’s video of James Yeager hitting pepper poppers at long distance. So yes you can hit stuff, but the question that video doesn’t answer is where on the popper did the bullet hit? Maybe you didn’t mean to shoot him in the leg, but that may be where it hits and what good is that? I recall one day while I had XS Sights on my gun being at a Jason’s Deli having lunch with Daughter. We were sitting about as far away from the order line/cashier as possible, certainly over 25 yards. I wondered to myself if I’d be able to hit someone at that distance and I thought no I wouldn’t. Granted, it’s probably more commentary on me than the sights, but the reality is that big dot front sight is huge and these sights are meant for fast and dirty acquisition, not precision. Yes they say to do a 6 o’clock hold at that distance but spending a good deal of time on the range trying to do it their way and I still would find it hard to hit the A-Zone in the head of an IPSC target at even lesser distances. If you can do it, great, you’re obviously better than me. I switched to a set of Dawson Precision sights (0.100″ red fiber front, fixed black rear) and have been most happy, including the ability to be far more precise at longer distances while still being fast at close distances.