LAS VEGAS – R4 Evolution, a new company with roots in the Special Forces community, has developed new pistol sights designed for a clearer sight picture and faster shots.
The Optimized Duty Sight, or ODS, features multiple horizontal and vertical alignment points.
The base of the front sight is designed to fill a notch that’s cut out of the bottom of the rear sight, so if your sights aren’t aligned you see daylight. There is a white vertical line at the base of the front sight that lines up with a matching vertical line at the base of the rear sight. And the rear sight is equipped with two horizontal lines near the top that line up with the dot on the front sight.
When lined up, these features are designed to draw attention to the front sight.
The ODS designer, a retired Special Forces sergeant major and cofounder of R4E, describes it as the “crooked-picture-on-the-wall concept. “You walk into the room; you see a crooked picture on the wall, what does your eye automatically want to do? It wants to fix it,” he said at SHOT Show 2014.
The designer didn't want to be named, but he spent 23 years in the Army’s 7th and 3rd Special Forces Groups and also played a key role in the Special Forces Close Quarter Battle/Urban Operations courses and the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, now known as Special Forces Sniper Course.
The ODS also features angle facets on the rear sight to allow the shooter greater target visibility while maintaining sight alignment.
Both front and rear sights are designed with a slight reverse slope to help them bite into belts, steering wheels or any edge for racking the slide.
Besides the new sights, R4E is planning other products, but they are being tight-lipped for now. They maintain that their focus will be to fill capability gaps with original products, priced so they are attainable by the average soldier, police officer or civilian.
“We don’t want to build an AR15 because everybody builds an AR15; we are not trying to reinvent a grid pattern reticle,” said R4E cofounder and retired Special Forces Sgt. 1st Class Chance Giannelli. “We want unique, one-of-a-kind, experienced-based, proven products.” Giannelli also served in 3rd Group and was a former NCOIC at SOTIC.
For now, the ODS is being offered mainly for Glock pistols but will soon be available for all popular makes and models.
“We started with Glock because that is what the operators are carrying … and most police officers carry a Glock 17 or a Glock 19,” the designer said.
Each set of ODS costs about $120 and comes with a front sight tool and an allen wrench for the rear sight set screw.
“A lot of sights don’t come with a tool, and you have to take them to a gunsmith; we wanted it to be one-stop shopping. You buy it; you do it yourself,” he said.
The website will soon feature an installation video, so watch for it. R4E also plans to offer another version of the ODS with a tritium front sight in the near future.
