Installing a set of XS Sights DXT2 Big Dot Night Sites on my CZ 75B made perfect sense for a couple of reasons. First, they are awesome sights for day or night use, competition or defense. Second, I’m an idiot and dropped my CZ on the factory rear sight, breaking a tritium vial. So it was due for an upgrade. And I’ve really taken a liking to the XS Sights Big Dot‘s speed for my informal competition amongst friends. Any edge I can get, I’ll take.
XS Sights DXT2 Big Dot Night Sights for CZ
Despite this being a two-piece set, the standout here is that front Big Dot sight. It’s a whopping 0.188″ in size and actually consists of two separate glowing components. The outer ring is a proprietary photoluminescent glow dot. That’s the stuff that glows when exposed to light. It’s convex, for extra surface area, which also allows it to absorb more light. Inside that is a tritium dot, which glows all the time. Combined, they make a very bright, easy-to-see front sight, in daylight or low light. While I chose the yellow for better low-light performance, their orange option is more visible during the day. Either way, they are both plenty bright and visible.
The rear sight is an extremely shallow V shape, with a central, vertical tritium vial. Lining them up just requires that the user “dot the i”, making them fast and intuitive. Unlike the factory CZ rear sight, this one has a distinct vertical ledge, so you can rack it on a belt or something with a solid enough surface. This is a nice touch, should you find yourself needing to manipulate your pistol with one hand. Both front and rear sights are CNC machined from steel, not aluminum, which is one of the reasons SX Sights can offer a ten-year warranty.
Installation of the XS Sights DXT2 Big Dot Night Sights for the CZ 75B
While installation can be done at home with basic tools, it’s not a “drop-in” with the CZ. Read the instructions here before ordering, to see if you’re up to it. After clearing the pistol and removing the slide, I went to work. Knocking out the roll pin for the front sight made it easy enough to remove. The XS Sights DXT2 Big Dot front sight took a fair amount of filing to get it to fit though. Removing some material from the bottom, a tiny bit at a time, wasn’t labor intensive so much as time intensive. With the goal of getting a good fit, it pays to go slow and not overdo it, because you can’t undo removing too much metal. Once it fit, I filed a notch across the bottom for the roll pin and tapped the pin back in place.
Out back, loosen the set screw, and drift the rear sight out. Scrub that dovetail really well before installing the new sight. Mine didn’t require removing any material for a good fit, which was nice. This is where things get a little tricky. Although the rear sight has two tiny set screws, they won’t keep it in place on their own. Ideally, now would be the time to fire a few test shots and zero the rear sight. Once the zero is set, apply some of the included red thread-lock to both sides of the base of the sight, letting it work its way under. Give it ten minutes, remove any excess with a cotton swab, and after three hours, it’s ready to go. XS Sights does suggest applying light oil to the steel sights to prevent potential rust, which isn’t much of an issue in dry Utah. Florida Man should heed this advice though.
At the range
This isn’t my first set of XS Sights, but it is my first set on a CZ 75. As a full-size steel 9mm pistol, the weight is substantial, but also minimizes recoil, keeping it on target. So being able to re-acquire my sight picture quickly contributes to my overall speed on follow-up shots. With a lighter pistol, I feel that recovering from recoil slows me more than sight acquisition. Double taps on steel are a breeze with this combination, as are transitions from one target to another. That shallow V shape allows a wider field of view, and the sights never obscure the target. Overall, a definite improvement compared to the stock sights.
Indoors, low light
Variations of CZ’s 75 series pistols are in use by the military, law enforcement, and competitors around the world. So although most of my shooting is recreational, that doesn’t mean I’ll overlook the defensive aspect of a good pistol. In a home defense situation, lighting is usually less than ideal. After running through a few scenarios in my home, I’ve come to a conclusion. If there is enough light to identify my target, there is more than enough light to use the XS Sights DXT2 Big Dot Night Sights quickly. While I hope to never need to use them under these circumstances, I’m satisfied that they will not let me down.
Check the prices of XS Sights at Opticsplanet.com
Check the prices of XS Sights at Amazon.com
Conclusion
Although I’ve been around for more than half a century, I don’t think that XS Sights are just for older people with imperfect vision. Teaching new shooters to “dot the i” is faster than a traditional three-dot setup. Regardless of age or eyesight, it’s a very intuitive system. If you haven’t had a chance to try it out, I suggest you seek out a friend or gun shop/range that has some. Once you’ve used them, you’ll probably want more than one set. If not, XS Sights offers similarly high-visibly sights in a more traditional three-dot design. That’s a win/win. They’ve actually got sights for a wide range of firearms. The XS Sights range of CZ sites covers the striker and hammer-fired pistols, and run from $138 to $155, depending on the model.
As always, I‘d like to thank XS Sights for providng their DXT2 Big Dot Night Sights for my testing and evaluation. I could have just reached out to CZ for a replacement rear sight, but this is a definite upgrade. Check them out, and the rest of the XS Sights line, at xssights.com.