School me on night sights

[SnWnMe]

It's for my Glock 29SF (gen 3).

Trijicon?

Tru Glo?

Something else?

Should I go with multi colored lamps or all green?

[CaliforniaCowboy]

I really want to put some great night sights on my shield as well. I don't know sht about them. Kind of expensive to just try different ones out. Also not sure about putting them on myself, Maybe have a smith do it? I assume there will be some adjustments needing to be made after installing to get aim true again?

[SnWnMe]

I really want to put some great night sights on my shield as well. I don't know sht about them. Kind of expensive to just try different ones out. Also not sure about putting them on myself, Maybe have a smith do it? I assume there will be some adjustments needing to be made after installing to get aim true again?

On a Glock you put it on a vise and drift the old RS out with a nylon punch. Then you drift the new one in with the same nylon punch and try to center it. The front sight comes in two varieties, one needs a 3/16" driver and the other is just yanked straight out with pliers.

[iFrantic Kecleon]

I have trijicon night sights on all my guns. I read that the light does go out eventually so keep in mind you will need replacing if you decide tritium based sights. They can be rejuvenated as well so you don't have to replace the sight again. I hear fiber optic has a longer life span and if you get the right fiber optic sight you can easily replace the fiber optic inserts with the string and just cut to size. Not quite sure how the process goes for replacing lamps on tritium though! I chose tritium based because during the day you get a white Dot and night time gives you the glow color whereas fiber optics will remain the same color regardless of lighting.

[squeeze]

I have trijicon night sights on all my guns. I read that the light does go out eventually so keep in mind you will need replacing if you decide tritium based sights. They can be rejuvenated as well so you don't have to replace the sight again. I hear fiber optic has a longer life span and if you get the right fiber optic sight you can easily replace the fiber optic inserts with the string and just cut to size. Not quite sure how the process goes for replacing lamps on tritium though! I chose tritium based because during the day you get a white Dot and night time gives you the glow color whereas fiber optics will remain the same color regardless of lighting.

Tritium radiation diminishes to such a low level that at about 10-12 years they have to be replaced. Cannot be "rejuvenated". Fiber optics have no life span. They are a colored translucent plastic rod. At night, without light, fiber optic color will be black.

[thetruecheese]

phosphorescent paint?

[DB>]

Glow in the dark paint has to be "charged", not terribly effective when you have to shine a bright flashlight on your "night sights" before using them... (AKA, you will lose your night vision, if you don't get yourself killed in the process). Glow in the dark paint is for amusement or toys...

Proper night sights have radioactive tritium (like some analog watches used to have so you could see them in the dark). Supposedly last 10-12 years before the radioactive material dims beyond useful brightness.

Manufacturers (at least some) recommend pressing NS into place (AKA a pro job), as the vials inside the sights can be broken by rough handling (or hammering on them with a punch?). And yes, you have to sight them in when installing. I've installed a few sets without any problems, but it's not always an "easy DIY" job.

There are some "TFO" sights that have Tritium elements combined with Fiber Optic elements so they "light up" with ambient light in daytime conditions, and glow in the dark as the Tritium vials illuminate the FO elements at night.

If it's dark enough to see the night sights, you possibly will be struggling to see what you are contemplating shooting, not sure whether this is a plus, but should be a consideration in whatever shooting scenario you're contemplating.

I've got NS on several firearms, some "factory", others aftermarket. They make sense to maybe give a little advantage in certain situations (IMO), but you have to decide if it's worth it to you or not.

[SnWnMe]

I have trijicon night sights on all my guns. I read that the light does go out eventually so keep in mind you will need replacing if you decide tritium based sights. They can be rejuvenated as well so you don't have to replace the sight again. I hear fiber optic has a longer life span and if you get the right fiber optic sight you can easily replace the fiber optic inserts with the string and just cut to size. Not quite sure how the process goes for replacing lamps on tritium though! I chose tritium based because during the day you get a white Dot and night time gives you the glow color whereas fiber optics will remain the same color regardless of lighting.

I am leaning towards Trijicon as well. My AR has an old Trijicon Reflex sight that still has useful illumination.

[rodralig]

From my experience...

I have TruGlo TFX Pro on my HD/SD/CCW pistols because it had the best of both worlds, ie., Fibre Optics and Tritium. And compared to Trijicons, at a cheaper cost. However, as my skills improve, I find that precision shots are quite difficult because of the fatter front sight. Additionally, during daylight shooting (which, obviously, happens "rarely" in a self-defense situation, etc.) - I find that the two BIG green dots on the rear sight tad interferes with target acquisition.

Hence, once, I got something from $$$ saved - I got my Trijicon HD XR ("XR" because it uses a thinner front sight for precision shots) for my G19.3. Additionally, the less conspicuous rear sight address the lag in target acquisition with the TFX. So far, I am satisfied with it...

One of my pistols, a 1911, comes stock with Trijicon HD. In one action shooting/practical shooting night match, I find that once I attached a WML (at least 800-lumens) - the light "washes" out the sights!!! Again, making for slower target acquisition.

In summary, with further experimentation, in my case - I find that if I will be having a WML, then it will be a red fiber optic front with blacked out rears. If it will be a stand-alone pistol (like a CCW), then it will be the HD XR.

UPDATE: Something to consider, though, is that if the situation presents itself that you need to TOTALLY rely JUST on your night sights, say because you don't have a WML or a flashlight - then it may be probable that it is TOO dark that one cannot be ABSOLUTELY sure of your target (target identification). Not suggested for civilians...


_

[SnWnMe]

From my experience...

I have TruGlo TFX Pro on my HD/SD/CCW pistols because it had the best of both worlds, ie., Fibre Optics and Tritium. And compared to Trijicons, at a cheaper cost. However, as my skills improve, I find that precision shots are quite difficult because of the fatter front sight. Additionally, during daylight shooting (which, obviously, happens "rarely" in a self-defense situation, etc.) - I find that the two BIG green dots on the rear sight tad interferes with target acquisition.

Hence, once, I got something from $$$ saved - I got my Trijicon HD XR ("XR" because it uses a thinner front sight for precision shots) for my G19.3. Additionally, the less conspicuous rear sight address the lag in target acquisition with the TFX. So far, I am satisfied with it...

One of my pistols, a 1911, comes stock with Trijicon HD. In one action shooting/practical shooting night match, I find that once I attached a WML (at least 800-lumens) - the light "washes" out the sights!!! Again, making for slower target acquisition.

In summary, with further experimentation, in my case - I find that if I will be having a WML, then it will be a red fiber optic front with blacked out rears. If it will be a stand-alone pistol (like a CCW), then it will be the HD XR.


_

I was reading about the XR and yeah the thinner blade has merit in my mind especially given the way I snap shoot.

[JohnnieBoy]

I have been using Meprolight night sights on a few of my guns with good results. I accrue cc points from a few of my business cards, so I shop on websites that take points. I've gotten Mepro's for as low as $60 - $70 f & r.

[champu]

I had gotten used to three-dot sights when taking my pistol courses, so I went with Trijicon “bright and tough” which is sort of a direct replacement when I switched to night sights on my home defense gun.

On another gun I went with the HD XR sights just to try them. They have a similar lamp set up (three green dots) but for daylight it’s a bright orange front sight and black u-notch in the rear which I think is way easier to pick up. If I had to do it over I would have just gone with these across the board from the get go.

As mentioned, you’ll probably want a light on the gun too, which will tend to wash out a tritium lamp sight picture when it’s on, but the rest of the time they make a huge difference.

[Romeo_alpha01]

After doing a low light/no light segment during a training class I found that the weapon light ended up being more effective.

Hk45C - Trijicon HDs + Insight X2L
P99AS - Trijicon HDs
Jericho 941 - Insight M6X

Between all the setups, I found it overall easier to manage the Jericho. The washing out of my sights didn’t really hinder my ability to be accurate, and the extra confidence of IDing targets really helped me transition between targets and regain good sight picture.

The P99AS I found a little difficult because at speed sometimes it was easy to misalign the green dots, putting my front dot far left or far right.

The HK45C sight picture faded out once I clicked the WML on. Really added confusion to a stressful situation, as at times I wanted to depend on my sights but I could barely focus on them. Once I focused on Target ID first with the light instinctively I treated my sights as normal and superimposed the sights as needed.

I imagine training on what you have for awhile would allow you to figure if NS is a must for you. A light seems to make more sense however since you can readily switch them to different weapons in your inventory.

[H3nchman]

I have Ameriglow Spartan opertater sights on my shield. I like them and they work just fine. No need to buy expensive sights for your carry gun imo. I got the version with the red front sight. They are tritium. Similar to the trijicon hds.

[theLBC]

i prefer blacked out rear dots, so my focus isn't taken off the front sight unless it is actually dark. jmo.