Are night sights worth it?

[Matt Landfair]

I would like to check my logic with you guys. For the last couple years I have opted to not have night sights installed on my handguns. This seems to go against local LE thinking. My logic is I would not be firing in complete darkness- I have some sort of handheld light or weaponlight installed at all times. That light gives me enough light to see my front sight. Nightsights do not provide anything for me. If anything, see a potential benefit from a fiber optic front sight but tritium isn't necessary.

 

[Grayman]

Matt,

I used to swear by and think of night sights as a requisite for a duty gun... My thinking has changed.

In all of the lowlight work I've done I've yet to rely on my night sights. It is a requisite to ID your target and for that you need a light; however, when you use that light you are going to drown out or negate the need for the night sights depending on where your light source is. I have found a brightly colored front sight post far more useful than the tritium as it actually allows you to pick up the front sight even when your light source is behind the sights (Think neck index). I would imagine fiber optic sights would excell in this situation but I don't have any to test the theory...

I won't say night sights are completely obsolete but I have yet to come up with a situation where they aren't surplanted by the use of normal tactics.

 

[CWM11B]

I concur with your thinking. When I use my handheld light, the night sights wash out and become moot. Same thing when I activate my WML, only with it I seem to get a picture perfect black on black sight picture. Additionally, I am finding that with age (50.5) three green dots are becoming one green blob. I have started using a plain rear and either a fiber optic or single high vis/tritium front. Agencies could probably save a significant chunk of change by doing this. I am not quite sold on FO for duty use yet. I have the Wilson Combat Vicker's model on a G19 and the tube walks out a lot. Have not gotten around to melting it in more, but they seem a little fragile. I'm sure they are being run with success by individuals/units, and it is an option I am going to experiment with more in the future.

 

[jryock]

I like a single tritium dot up front. The WML will wash almost anything out to the point of becoming plain sights. The tritium helps with muzzle position in low light, and it helps to location the gun in the dark when it is on nightstand duty.

A better setup would be a single bead up front with both tritium and fiber optic. The best setup would be a mini red dot.

 

[nate89]

On my 226, the factory installed sight arrangement was the siglight rear night sight, and a truglo TFO. The tfo is pretty slick, and after quite a few thousand rounds it's held up great. The only downside is it decreases your sight radius, but I don't really care. I blacked out the rear dots, and I'm hooked on the front fiber/black rear set-up.

 

[regdudedrtyjob]

I agree with what you and others are saying in this thread. I'm in the process of changing out all my sights to a blacked out rear with fiber optics up front. Night sights just get washed out too much when ID'ing a target with a light.

 

[Austin Black]

I too originally thought night sights were mandatory. Now I run a FO front black rear from warren tactical and I can't go back. If you melt them right the tubes shouldn't move, at least mine don't

 

[AsianJedi]

In my nobody regular guy experience, night sights wash in the dark because of my WML (but then it is no longer dark I guess). They also don't work in low competing light conditions (dim light coming fore and aft of you). If you really want to see a bright front sight in dark or low light conditions, then mount a RDS on your pistol.

 

[RickJames]

I use the Warren Tactical u-notch rear with red FO up front. Like everyone has already pointed out, night sights are useless when used along side any type of handheld or weapon light, and I have found the FO will pick up some of the light, but doesn't glow as brightly as in daylight.

 

[hogarth]

I have night sights on two of my Glocks (26 and 17). Thought I had to have them. I had a set on one of my 19s, but replaced them with Defoors after the class I had with Steve Fisher about a year ago. My accuracy has improved. I add a thin line of fluorescent red/Orange paint to the top two serrations to help zoom me in. My other 19 has an RMR and plain back suppressor sights. I still have another set of Defoors and might put them on my 26.

 

[RPD01]

I used to think, like many others, that they were a must have. Most have been replaced with plain black as the wml just washes them out. I don't see any accuracy differences between plain and tritium but no need to add expense where it's not needed. I would love to run a RMR on my duty blaster but for now it's a non starter with admin.

 

[back spin]

For those with all black sights, do you find issues with aiming on dark colored targets? What about if you put your sights on a suspect with dark clothing?

When I had all black sights on my SIRT pistol I had a hard time picking up my sights when using a black sweatshirt as my target.

 

[RPD01]

For those with all black sights, do you find issues with aiming on dark colored targets? What about if you put your sights on a suspect with dark clothing?

When I had all black sights on my SIRT pistol I had a hard time picking up my sights when using a black sweatshirt as my target.

I paint my front sight fluorescent orange to combat this. A couple of my guys use neon green and that seems to work well too.

 

[rob_s]

I'm a fan of the Trijicon HDs, and all my carry/defensive guns get them. I can stand in my bedroom with the lights out, clearly identify a target in the hallway with the lights on, and clearly see the glow of the front sight.

I don't think the tritium hurts anything in other situations, and I like the big green circle as well.

 

[KMo1205]

I don't on my primary pistol (I use the Warren tactical with the red fiber optic front sight) because I always have a white light on it. However, I do have a single night sight for the front and blank back for my CCW. Though I always carry a handheld light with me, I though I was more likely to use my CCW in a low light setting but unable to conceal a WML as easily.

 

[JekPokins]

I recently made a move away from tritium, and I am very pleased so far. My duty/ competition gun, a Glock 34 now wears a .110 plain black rear with a.115 green FO front (both from Ameriglo) in place ofmy long time favored Ameriglo Pro I-Dots. Somewhat of a poor man's Proctor set-up if you will. I've found that the switch tightened up my accuracy bit and my speed was not affected. Since this pistol is always equipped with anX300, and I always keep a handheld light on me, tritium wasn't doing much for me anyway.

My G19 off duty gun was wearing Ameriglo Greek Lightening (all black) sights, and for the time being I put a .130 front FO sight on to match the Greek rear sight. After playing with the thin front and tighter sight picture I achieved on my 34 however, I'll likely do something similar on the 19 very soon.

 

[Barry in IN]

I thought it wouldn't take too much to come up with a situation where I could see my target but not my sights...but I haven't found it yet. It seems I'm more likely to be able to see my sights clearly but have trouble with the target, and then it's illum time.

The best I can come up with as a "what if" is maybe I illuminated and ID'd a threat, then the light died. That's not much, but the best I could think of. I'd have to be in pure darkness myself also. And it's all kinda negated by having light #2 and light #3 on me.

On my custom-to-my-liking carry gun I have a plain black rear and a gold line front. The black is visible in any fair to decent light, and the gold shows up from dim light on down until it's time for a flashlight.

I've had enough weird sight pictures with night sights also. Sometimes the vials reflect bright light and "change shape", or my eyes are shifting from the tritium to the black to the white ring, or other strange eyeball tricks. I don't think I will miss them if I never have them again.

 

[Mikey011]

Too each their own, I find night sights nice, just for the point of reference on the sight, so more like a easy point of aim to focus on.


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[AT Armor]

Too each their own, I find night sights nice, just for the point of reference on the sight, so more like a easy point of aim to focus on.


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Setting aside cost and personal preference, is there a disadvantage to using at least a front tritium sight vice blacked out/ painted? Removing cost as a factor is a departure from the original question in the thread, but I think it may shed some light on what drives the decision.
The two metrics I can think of are the ability to obtain a sight picture (measured by time) and target hits (measured by group size) in both full and reduced light conditions with a wml or handheld included in the equation. Does one potentially give up an advantage in either of these by keeping tritium on a defensive pistol?
Based on what you gents said about the blacked out / serrated you have experience with it seems the accuracy edge goes to serrated black / or painted sights. Any noticeable advantage or disadvantage between the two when on the timer?

 

[Mikey011]

Setting aside cost and personal preference, is there a disadvantage to using at least a front tritium sight vice blacked out/ painted? Removing cost as a factor is a departure from the original question in the thread, but I think it may shed some light on what drives the decision.
The two metrics I can think of are the ability to obtain a sight picture (measured by time) and target hits (measured by group size) in both full and reduced light conditions with a wml or handheld included in the equation. Does one potentially give up an advantage in either of these by keeping tritium on a defensive pistol?
Based on what you gents said about the blacked out / serrated you have experience with it seems the accuracy edge goes to serrated black / or painted sights. Any noticeable advantage or disadvantage between the two when on the timer?

For me I find it faster. Is it the most accurate, no.
Most gun fights happen close and fast, so night signs are important for a duty gun for me.


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