Lining up pistol night sights... Fast.

[CandG]

Curious how other people train for this. When it's pitch black, and all you can see are the 3 dots and the target, what technique do you use to line them up on the target as fast as possible?

What I've been doing is this: point the pistol with the muzzle intentionally high, so the single dot is well above the other two. Then, I (relatively slowly) drop the muzzle to line up the 3 dots, never losing sight of any of the 3 during the process.

The concern is that when drawing, if I only see the rear dots, I might not be able to quickly adjust my aim if I don't even know where my front dot is.

Just curious if there's a better technique I should know.

Also, a related side question, would a differently-colored front dot help at all? All my night sights are currently same-color front and rear. Cheers!

[rivraton]

Laser...

[CandG]

Laser...

I do have a lasermax in one of my pistols, I do love it but I've lately grown more fond of my pistols with night sights, I'm not sure why. Maybe because they're "always on"

[SarcoBlaster]

How are you identifying your target if it's pitch black and all you can see are the tritium vials on your sights?

I'd suggest investing in a quality handheld or weapon-mounted light. Once you turn the light on to ID your target, your sights will be silhouetted and it won't matter if they're plain, tritium, fiber optic, etc.

[tanks]

Curious how other people train for this. When it's pitch black, and all you can see are the 3 dots and the target, what technique do you use to line them up on the target as fast as possible?..

Train yourself so the gun comes up with the sights already aligned when you draw.

[SAD338]

As someone already said, why would you be aiming at something that you haven't illuminated and identified? That is how those 'I shot my kid because I thought he was a burglar' accidents happen.

[LCU1670]

4 safety rules.

[200Apples]

Train yourself so the gun comes up with the sights already aligned when you draw.

+1

Now do this from laying in your bed. From laying on either side of your body, and with a strong side presentation and then a weak side presentation. It's a lot different than when standing vertical.

And let's say there happens to be sufficient ambient light (but still dark enough where night sights are a distinct advantage) to determine your target hostile... three dot night sights might be faster to align if the front sight were a different color than the rear sight dots, when having to present your weapon from a weak side "draw", for example. Might be pretty easy to have the front sight all the way over instead of centered when your sights are all three the same color.

/ponderin'

[russ69]

If you are going to put a sight on the target, make it the front sight.

[fiddletown]

Train yourself so the gun comes up with the sights already aligned when you draw.

Yes.

+1

Now do this from laying in your bed. From laying on either side of your body, and with a strong side presentation and then a weak side presentation. It's a lot different than when standing vertical....

Yes, again.

This is called developing your natural point of aim.

And that ties in with the flash sight picture as described by Greg Morrison (Morrison, Gregory, The Modern Technique of the Pistol, Gunsite Press, 1991, pp 87 - 88, emphasis added):

With practice, a consistent firing platform and firing stroke align the sights effortlessly. This index to the target eventually becomes an instantaneous confirmation of the sight-picture.

.......There is good reason for sights: one needs them to align the barrel with the target reliably....

[BennyAdeline]

My night sight on my HD pistol is a Trijicon RMR. I’ve practiced enough that I index the weapon in line with my dominant eye and can see the dot every time. I never have to stop looking directly at the area my target is in. If I need to illuminate, I can activate my light with my support thumb.

Single plane focus and threat focus are really cool!

[CandG]

How are you identifying your target if it's pitch black and all you can see are the tritium vials on your sights?

I'd suggest investing in a quality handheld or weapon-mounted light. Once you turn the light on to ID your target, your sights will be silhouetted and it won't matter if they're plain, tritium, fiber optic, etc.

If it's pitch black, then yes I absolutely agree.

But in "low-light" (like a room with a nightlight in it) you could see pretty easily if your eyes are adjusted to the darkness, such as when you wake up in the middle of the night.

Like how you can easily navigate your kitchen to get a glass of water at 3am using only the glow from the microwave's clock. Pretty easy to make out a face under those conditions, but it's still hard to see the sights.

[CandG]

That is my "night sight" on my shotgun, and I love it! But sadly my handguns don't have it.

[redcliff]

If you are going to put a sight on the target, make it the front sight.

QFT

This is why I prefer just a front sight dot (I like hybrid tritium/flourescent ones) on my carry pistols. Weapon lights are great if you can handle their size (some new ones are admirably small) and get them turned on in time. It would be interesting to know if police officers, when faced with needing to draw their weapon to return fire, actually find themselves manipulating the light switch or if they just return fire at the muzzle flashes and turn the light on later.

[HighWildFree]

Much like skeet shooting I don't aim using sights.