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You are here: Home / Walther PPS Sights

Walther PPS Sights

Walther PPS Front Sight

Page Navigation

  • Meprolight
  • Trijicon
  • Walther
  • XS Sight Systems
  • Sight Installation
  • Lasers
    • Crimson Trace
    • LaserLyte
    • LaserMax
    • Streamlight
    • Disclosure

The aftermarket sight options for the Walther PPS are not as robust as they are for other pistols. Few companies – in fact, only four including Walther itself – offer any iron sight options for the compact pistol. The good news is that those companies are considered some of the best.

I confirmed all of the following information regarding what fits properly. Additionally, I’ve included my experiences with the different units presented here.

If you know of another sight option that I failed to include, please leave a note in the comment section below. As time permits, I will update this article to include the new information. The goal is to provide you with the best possible resource for PPS sight options.

Meprolight

Meprolight Sights for PPS

Well respected around the world for building top notch iron sights and electro-optical sights, Meprolight supports the Walther PPS with a set of its leading Tru-Dot night sights. While the tritium used in these sights are said to be brighter than that in the Trijicon sights (below,) a number of people advise they are difficult to install.

Walther uses a roll pin in the base of the stock rear sight to apply tension and hold it in place. Other non-Walther sights use more traditional methods, but the Meprolight model uses the same pin. For many people this is not a big deal, a few people have complained that this makes the rear sight very difficult to install.

Trijicon

Trijicon is one of the best known names in the firearms industry. The company makes top end scopes, optical sights and iron sights. For the Walther PPS, the company makes two different sight options: the Bright & Tough and the HD Night Sights.

Trijicon Bright And Tough

The Bright & Tough line of sights is the traditional line of three-dot night sights Trijicon has made for years. The sights use a metal body with a self-illuminating tritium vial inserted in them. Each vial is outlined by a thin white line to make a three-dot style sight set.

I’ve used Bright & Tough sights on my police service pistols for years, and always found them to work well. They are not what I consider ideal, but they are certainly rugged and will not fail.

Trijicon HD sights yellow

For a self-defense or duty firearm, I much prefer the Trijicon HD Night Sights. These sights are every bit as durable as the Bright & Tough line, but with an improved configuration that makes them easier to use in actual combat.

Trijicon knows that the first person to put accurate hits on target is the most likely to win the encounter. Being able to superimpose the front sight over the target quickly is the most successful way of making that happen. So, with the HD Night Sights, Trijicon created a sight set that helps bring the eyes’ focus to the front sight.

Trijicon HD orange

The front sight uses a large and bright orange or yellow (your choice) photoluminescent outline around a bright tritium vial. Even under stress, the large and bright sight helps break tunnel vision and get on the target rapidly.

Trijicon uses a wide U-notch rear sight to help the shooter quickly find the front sight. Also, the rear sight is specifically designed with a hook-like shape to enhance your ability to use it as a tool to manipulate the slide one-handed.

Walther

Walther Sights

As one might expect, Walther does offer a sight upgrade for their own pistol. While inexpensive – only $51 – the sights are only a marginal upgrade, and may not appeal to many shooters.

Unlike true night sights that use tritium to self-power, these sights use a phosphorescent paint that absorbs light in bright conditions. In the dark, the paint glows for a short period of time. Unless you know you are going to need to use the gun ahead of time and “charge” the sights with a flashlight, they may not be bright and glowing when you need them.

Another drawback to these sights is the rear sight has a sloped leading edge. This precludes their use in a one-handed, emergency slide manipulation.

XS Sight Systems

XS Sights Big Dot

The PPS is a self-defense gun designed for concealed carry and as a backup gun for patrol cops. Outside of practice time on the range, its most likely use is when you are being attacked. When this happens, the body’s natural alarm response kicks in and seeing small sights becomes very difficult due to the physiological changes.

XS Sight Systems developed a possible solution to the problem of finding your sights quickly under stress: the Big Dot 24/7 Express Sights.

The Big Dot system uses a bright and large front sight that is easily seen by the eye and then combines it with a shallow rear notch. This allows the shooter to get on target very fast. Both the front and rear sights have tritium inserts so they can be used in all lighting conditions.

While the sights work well under stress, for those of us with aging eyes, that big dot can be a real help when doing a little practice at the range as well.

For what it is worth, I’ve met a number of the people at XS Sight Systems and found them to be good natured, upstanding people who seem to really care about their customers.

Sight Installation

Replacing the sights on the PPS is relatively easy and doesn’t need any specialized tools. Basic hand tools are all you need, and most gun owners will likely have them already. The tools needed include:

  • small, flat head screw driver
  • non-marring punch
  • light to medium weight hammer
  • degreaser
  • a thread locker (if not included with the sight kit purchased)

XS Sights was good enough to put together an installation video that details the entire process:

While the above video is specifically for the XS Sight Systems product, kits from the other companies should install in a similar manner.

Lasers

As an alternative to a night sight upgrade, you can outfit your PPS with a laser. Since the pistol is small, not every rail mounted laser will work. However, I’ve done the research and determined that the following units will work with the Walther PPS handgun in both 9mm and .40 S&W.

Crimson Trace

Crimson Trace Rail Master

Crimson Trace offers a number of light and laser options for the PPS. I have confirmed with the company that the following are designed to work with the Walther pistol:

  • CMR-201 Rail Master – tap activated red laser
  • CMR-202 Rail Master – 100 lumen white light
  • CMR-203 Rail Master – tap activated green laser
  • CMR-204 Rail Master Pro – green laser and white light combination unit
  • CMR-205 Rail Master Pro – red laser and white light combination unit
  • CMR-206 Rail Master Universal – tap activated green laser

LaserLyte

LaserLyte makes budget-priced laser products. One of those is the Lyte Ryder, which is a “universal” laser. What this means is the kit comes with two sizes of housing: one for compact guns like the PPS and a second for larger handguns. The laser module can then be swapped to whichever housing you need.

LaserMax

LaserMax

LaserMax has been making aiming lasers for decades, and the company supports the Walther PPS pistol through a series of compact units that mount on the accessory rail of the gun. The units that will work on the Walther are:

  • Genesis – compact green laser with rechargeable battery
  • LMS Micro (aka Uni-Max Micro Red) – lightweight red laser
  • Micro II – lightweight green laser with ambidextrous switch

Streamlight

Walther PPS with Streamlight TLR-4

Streamlight makes a pair of light and laser units called the TLR-4. One comes with a red laser and the other with a green laser. I own both units, and I have tested both of them on the PPS. While I prefer the green laser unit because of the better visibility of the laser, both models worked extremely well on the gun. The addition of the white light for target identification is exceptionally useful as well.

Disclosure

GunsHolstersAndGear.com is an independent, for-profit website. I do not charge readers a dime to access the information I provide.

Some of the links on this page and site are affiliate links to companies like Amazon and Palmetto State Armory. These links take you to the products mentioned in the article. Should you decide to purchase something from one of those companies, I make a small commission.

The links do not change your purchase price. I do not get to see what any individual purchases.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. sabre76 says

    December 15, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    Great discussion of PPS sight options! Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Beestingza says

    January 2, 2016 at 9:06 am

    Thank you!

    Reply
  3. American Voter says

    February 23, 2016 at 6:26 pm

    GREAT information – just what I needed. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Richard says

      February 23, 2016 at 9:19 pm

      You are very welcome. I’m glad it is helpful!

      Richard

      Reply
  4. John Payne says

    April 24, 2016 at 12:32 am

    I appreciate your article and would like to comment on the Meprolight Tru Dot set. I ordered these from Amazon and took them to a gunsmith to have installed but didn’t fire the gun for a couple of months. First time at the range I couldn’t hit s***! After close inspection, I saw that the front sight had a 6 on it and the original had a 4. New one is too long so every shot is way low. I just now rechecked the packaging and it says they are for the PPS. Now it is too late to return to Amazon.

    Reply
  5. Michael Baey says

    May 1, 2016 at 4:16 pm

    As to the fitting of any of the lasers, my PPS does not have a Picatinny or Weaver rail. Will they all fit, and if not, which do. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Silverado says

      June 16, 2016 at 3:06 am

      The M2 version which was released last January 2016 has no rail for the mounting of lights, lasers etc etc while the original PPS released in 2007 and still available today has that rail you’re asking about. I think Walther designers thought that on such a small-ish pistol a rail for accessories wasn’t really needed. Too bad they don’t have the Crimson Trace system that’s “built in” as an option as they’d probably sell quite a few of those…

      Reply
  6. Silverado says

    June 16, 2016 at 2:57 am

    Dawson Precision dot com makes some great aftermarket sights for the Walther PPS M2 as well with a set of their fiber optic sights listed on their website for under $90…

    Reply
  7. 2ndAmendment Rules says

    September 18, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    what about a laser for the pps m2? that doesn’t have a rail.

    Reply
  8. C. Peterson says

    February 27, 2019 at 3:45 pm

    My new PPS doesn’t have a rail. Is there a laser sight that can be fitted to it? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      February 27, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Hi,

      It sounds like you have the PPS M2 – one of my favorite compact 9mm pistols. For my money, the best laser available is the Crimson Trace LG-482G. It attaches to the front of the trigger guard and has the activation switch under your grip for easy activation.

      The “G” model has a green laser which is much brighter to the eye and is daylight visible. The standard LG-482 (no G) is a red laser. The red isn’t useable in bright light, but it is a little cheaper.

      The best pricing I’ve found on them is at Optics Planet (click here.)

      The red model is about $152 and for about a dollar more you also get a BladeTech holster with it (must be a limited time deal for that price). The green model is about $190 with the option to add the BladeTech for about $30.

      I’ve got the same Crimson Trace (in green) with the BladeTech on my Smith & Wesson Shield pistol. I like it a lot and have had very good experiences with it.

      I hope this helps.

      Richard

      Reply
  9. John Nader says

    March 2, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    I have the XS Big Dot express type sights on my original PPS, which has a rail. I’m delighted with them, but the tritium is useful only when it is quite dark.
    That’s why I’m looking at a lazer, but a good kydex holster to fit the gun w/ lazer is not easy to find. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  10. Corey Logsdon says

    February 6, 2020 at 7:59 am

    Was hoping to put a compact reflex sight on my pps m1 .40. Is this a possibility?

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      February 6, 2020 at 12:22 pm

      Hi Corey,

      I believe L&M Precision GunWorks was machining PPS slides for a red dot/reflex sight. I don’t know if they are still offering this service or what they charge. You might want to give them a shout. https://www.landmprecisiongunworks.com/

      I hope this helps.

      -Richard

      Reply

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