Flush Fit, No Fuss:
XS Sights Minimalist OR &
Optic Plate Bundle
After 15 years of shooting with dots on my duty and personal carry pistols, I am always willing to try something that will make the installation and set-up process easier. When that something comes from a business I am already familiar with — from years of buying and using their products — it is all the better. And when they are made in America, it’s a no-brainer.
Enter XS Sights with their Minimalist OR and optic plate bundle.
All of the parts included from XS: front and rear sights, mounting plates, screws, and the torx bit.
. XS Sights includes two types of threadlocker for the installation.
XS Sights has designed mounting plates that replace the OEM (factory) model and paired it with a set of back-up iron sights that will work with the optic. The iron sights are both matte black with horizontal serrations, which is my preference for back-up sights. I neither want nor need high visibility inserts there.
After the package arrived, I saw the box had a QR code for the installation video. Whew! No need to search through YouTube videos that might not have the right info. The video was straightforward and easy to follow.
One of the first things you notice on the packaging is the QR code for the easy-to-follow installation video.
In addition to the plate, there were front and rear sights, six screws for the plates and optics, as well as two different types of Vibra-TITE threadlocker.
I removed the existing optic and plate from my Gen 4 GLOCK 19, then took the existing sights off the slide. Next, it was time to clean and degrease the slide, along with everything from XS.
Installation
Next up was dry fitting everything to the slide. My first observation, unlike many OEM optic plates, XS’s fit flush in the cut. There was no gap, visible or otherwise, between the slide and the plate’s base.
Once I saw that everything fit together as designed, I removed them from the slide and de-greased them. After all the parts had dried and been wiped down, I applied the blue threadlocker per the install video. The installation went smoothly. Both screws holding the plate to the slide were witness marked with a paint pen.
Matte black serrated front sight installs like every other GLOCK front sight.
Once the plate was mounted and the screws are torqued, witness marks are added.
For an optic, I went with a Trijicon RMR-HD that I picked up over the holidays. Installing that was painless as well, especially since I didn’t drop anymore screws.
The hardest part about installing the XS iron sights was finding the front sight screw when I dropped it on my garage floor. Since I did not have XS Sights’ sight tool, I put the rear sight in with a punch and hammer. Their front sight uses the same screw as GLOCK, so GLOCK’s tool handled that task easily.
The Trijicon RMR-HD completely installed on the XS plate and witnessed marked.
Everything is installed on the slide – the plate and the optic as well as the rear sight.
Performance
Unlike some of the OEM plates out there, the XS MOS optic plate was still flush with the slide after the assembly was completed.
So, how did it work on the range?
Erick Gelhaus shot a compensated GLOCK G19 with the RMR-HD after the whole process.
Really well. No issues with loosening, no loss of the front or rear iron sights. The combination of back-up irons, the plate’s height, and the optic’s body did not result in any blockage of the window. And yet, the backup sights were still visible.
My one complaint? It’s simple: they don’t make them for the M&P.
Like the front sight, the rear sight is matte black and serrated to minimize any glare.
Your view looking through the optic with the iron sights. They are low enough that they do not interfere.
Final Thought
Early in this article, I mentioned having used XS Sights’ products for years. That includes both their small and big dot pistol sights on 1911A1s and M&Ps. My lever action rifle has their scout rail on it and one shotgun has their Big Dot pedestal bead.
And, they have the same kit for those using Aimpoint’s Acro P2 optic.
For more information on the XS Sights Minimalist OR and optic plate bundle, visit XSSights.com.
