Opinons on night sights

[stenz]

I am considering get night sights for my XD. Its a duty weapon and currently has a TLR-1s on it.

What are some opinions for or against getting night sights. I have been thinking about getting the Truglo- TFO sights for awhile but wanted to hear some opinions before I drop the coin.

Thanks!

[kwando]

I am not a LEO and don't shoot as much as I want. But my carry guns all have TFOs. Awesome in daylight because of the fiber optic. And you have the tritium in pure darkness. I always have a white light on me or on the bed side gun though.

I have not had experience with others

[hurley842002]

I have no opinions against night sights. I feel all defensive handguns should have them. My current carry (G26) came with the TFO's and my original plan was to swap them out ASAP, but I'd never used them so I kept them, figured I'd give them a chance. I finally got a chance to try them out, and I think I'll replace them. For one they are just too large for my taste, which brings me to my main concern. On a G26 sized pistol they take away valuable sight radius, by at least a half inch. You may not have an issue with sight radius, as they would be going on a longer slide, but that is my issue with them.

I plan to install either the Trijicon HD's or the Ameriglo Hackathorne's. The Ameriglo's I've used, the HD's I have not.

[BuffCyclist]

I LOVE my Trijicon HD Orange dot sights on my M&P40c. They are extremely bright at night, but also very easy to pick up that orange dot in the daytime.

[thvigil11]

I feel that the three dot sights are hard to aquire if they are all the same color. The green rear/ yellow or orange front, work better. Personally I prefer the two dot sights. Stack the dots and you're good to go.

[Mick-Boy]

Ive gotten away from night sights in the last few years. My carry gun now has black sights (Dawson adjustables). I figure: If I can't see the outline of the sights, how am I identifying my target?

[mtnrider]

I have night sights on my XDm9. To be honest I don't like them. Would much rather have standard or a Truglo fiber type on the front.
Night sights are great in the pitch black but 99.999% of my shooting is in the daytime and they are not as good in the daylight. For night time I use a rail mounted light so it defeats the purpose of the night sights. If it is dark enough where the night sights stand out you really can't identify your target and I am not going to shoot not being able to identify what I am shooting at (unless it is firing back at me of course)

.

[mtnrider]

. I figure: If I can't see the outline of the sights, how am I identifying my target?

You beat me to it..

[BuffCyclist]

I figure: If I can't see the outline of the sights, how am I identifying my target?

Not that i disagree with this, in home break ins, this is valid. However, walking in a parking lot or somewhere else that is dark and you get migged, you kind of know who your target is. If they're mugging you, identifying them isn't that necessary. However, the flip side to that is that if they're mugging you, you won't be using your sights anyways since they're so close.

Stand alone night sights aren't a replacement to target identification with a flash light. So if you don't already, you might want to get a good quality flashlight to carry as well.

[Colorado Osprey]

It's been a few years since I was LEO. I have used Trijicon and Meprolite. Even had a set mounted on a patrol carbine.
Personally I think both are of equal quality and it is a coin flip on which is better of these two.
There really weren't any fiber optic sights back then... so no personal experience in a duty gun.

Night sights are a requirement on a duty weapon. There shouldn't even be a debate. Some duty rigs don't allow for weapon mounted lights.
Different debate but I would never use a weapon mounted light.- You are asking someone to shoot back at you, right where it would do most harm.
Of course you have a hand held, but how many times have you had to do a search with your weapon out and didn't need your flash light, but then peered into a dark place where potential danger lurked? It is a common practice from everyone I knew. Of course you still have your light to illuminate, but how often did you not want to give away your position by illuminating with a flash light? Again, common practice.
Lastly, how many times have you had your subject in the light, either by the car lights or under other illumination, but there wasn't enough illumination to get an accurate sight picture due to lack of light.

Long story short.. there is no excuse in a duty gun to NOT have night sights. You are more likely than all daily carry(CCW) types to actually use your firearm and most likely at night or in low light.
Like all the bag of goodies available to you, use them all. They all have a place and a use.

[Mick-Boy]

Alright, I don't want to get off into the weeds on WMLs but I'd reverse your statement. I'd say weapon mounted lights should be a must on a duty gun. There shouldn't even be a debate. If you don't have a holster that will accommodate one, buy it.

If you like night sights, go nuts. There are a lot of quality options on the market. My wife has night sights on her carry gun. I'm not against them. I just don't think they're a "must have" on any gun.

[Irving]

I vote against night sights. If I am going against a luminescent super villian whose power is super night vision, the minute backwash of the night sights could illuminate my face and give me away. I just can't take that chance.

I won't even get into the situation of going up against of twin telepathics with one standing behind me, peeping my sight picture and mentally broadcasting my shots to his brother so he can use the quick reflex, twitch muscles in his neck to dodge all my headshots.

Night sights? No thanks.

[kidicarus13]

I'm not anti-night sights but I also believe this...
If I can't see the outline of the sights, how am I identifying my target?. I'm also not a fan of adjustable sights on a non-competition pistols. Once your pistol shoots POA you should never need to adjust your sights again. Different ammo brands and weights have never changed the POA that much for me. To get your pistol to shoot POA you should be able to adjust your standard sights for windage and/or purchase a new front site for elevation. Adjustable sites just have more parts to fail.

I am a big believer in weapon mounted lights. If I were to purchase night sights I would recommend different colors for the front and rear for contrast. I also like Straight-8 style sights as opposed to standard 3-dot sights, they are faster on target for me but your results may vary.

[rustycrusty]

+1 for the trijicon HD sights. I prefer the black rear sight with no white dots around the tritium at the rear.

I would say having a light is a good idea- weapon mounted or not.

There are plenty of situations dealing with lighting differences that bode well for a person with night sights.

I like the HD sights because the front is so large and bright it is immediately caught by peripheral vision on the extension from the draw. The faster you find your front sight, the faster you can put it over the target.

I have also encountered light transitions that necessitate night sights. -standing in a dark room looking out into brighter one. Could I find the sights without tritium illumination... Yes... Slowly- but if you carry aren't you already in the mindset of stacking the odds in your favor?

go the extra mile and spend on some night sights- at least an illuminated front sight.

The only downside I have experienced with night sights is with running TFO sights. I loved the front sight, but the rears were bright enough to distract me from the front and confuse me as to which I should focus on even with the front being a different color than the rear. I don't like anything but a blackout rear for daylight shooting, and for night I would like my rears subdued in comparison to the front.

[stenz]

Lots of good opinions so far. I appreciate your time and input.

[hatidua]

Heinie Straight-8 night sights (these sights are less than a year old, still bright) viewed while TLR1 turned on:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/nightsights_zps0f50f66a.jpg

[MarkCO]

This is an article I wrote about 10 years ago. I would alter a bit here and there re-reading it...

Night sights, as promoted by gun-writers and manufacturers, are a crutch for poor shooting, poor tactics and lack of practice for the vast majority of shooters.
If a person consistently does their dry-fire practice and trains, the use of night sights can be a hindrance. I have shot a LOT of night shoot courses, inside totally dark buildings and outside under starlight, moonlight, and in dimly lit environments. If your draw and grip are instinctive, when your eyes are focused on the target, you will hit it well inside of 10 yards. When I shoot a match, I don't consciously see my sights inside of about 7-10 yards. On a first shot inside of 7 yards, my pistol does not even enter my sight plane before I fire the first shot. Why wait when you know you can hit accurately!
Rear night sights actually slow me down. The brighter (more and closer) rear sights fix your vision on the rear sight decreasing accuracy. And yes I have tested this with myself and other shooters. AND I have discussed it at length with 2 eye doctors that shoot and one that does not. The spacing of the night sights (3 dot) are wider than the instantaneous cone of perfect focus. This makes your eyes move side to side some to get a perfect alignment. Most do not even realize they do it. Looking through the eye docs machine, you can see the eyes twitch with 3 dot night sights. With blade sights or single front dots, this does not occur.
What I recommend to my students is to practice a lot without night sights and get their mechanics down so that they are instinctive.Now (for why I only want half of the bill) I do subscribe to the "better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them" theory. I recommend a small front night sight for carry. This offers the benefits: 1. can see the gun on the floor, in the nightstand etc. 2. Shooting from the shadows 3. Shooting from abnormal shooting stance/grip 4. There is an index to alleviate second guessing, Without the drawbacks: 1. Eyes fixed to rear sight which often results in poor peripheral vision and poor target ID. 2. Slower sighted shot since focus will be on rear sight.
There are a LOT of parameters that go into shooting. I teach my students the grip, the draw, aim, movement and then ask them to do all 4 at once, they can't without practice. Same goes for shooting in low or no light. We have to understand all the parameters, how we will be reacting to stress, how our eyes work, tactical considerations, etc.I have what I think is the best of all worlds on my G27, the Tri-Lux H3. It is a single front dot, en-circled by red fiber optics. In bright light, you have a nice red ring, in medium light, you end up with a nice, but not distracting conventional sight picture. In low and no light, you have a nice front dot. The Heinie straight 8s are also very good. Some of the dot the "I" systems are compact enough the be effective. Big dots and 3 dot systems are definitely slower and introduce detractions to sighting and speed in most low and no light conditions.I forgot to add this part...If you don't train, don't practice, or don't know what you are doing, night sights can be a real benefit. (or why lots of cops like them)
I just want people to think through what they are doing in defense situations, how they equip themselves, and how they set up their defense guns. I am VERY opposed to any suggestion that is uni-lateral. I am opposed to the teaching/training philosophy at most of the big trainings orgs as well.
Although I have trained LEOs and Federal Officers, I am 100% civilian. Maybe 10% of trainers are in the same boat. But, as such, I teach preparation, thought, individual decision making along with the shooting. This is not the same as what LEOs get trained, and necessarily so, they have a duty to be offensive in their tactics at times. Civilians have a duty to survive and assist other innocents in survival.
It is very unfortunate that you can not practice live fire in low and no light...But here is what I do in addition to live night fire. I also give this info to my students and most have benefited from it...If you do not have one, get a .38 spl or .357 Mag revolver. The quality is not very important. I had a student get a used one at a gunshow for $40. Then get yourself a 50 pack of X-ring rubber bullets (Midway sells them) and 50 .38 spl cases. I use Dye-Chem (a chemical metal etcher) on the brass so as not to mix it up. Drill out the primer pockets, seat primers and rubber bullets and WALLA! you have the perfect low and no light trainer.

I'll use tape and wire to hang targets from the ceiling with all the lights on. Clear the room of people and your spouses expensive breakables, still use all the correct safety practices, and then off the lights and clear the room tactically. I practice with just the gun, with gun and LED light, with flashlights, all kinds of things. I'll use up the 50 rounds and then wait a few days and do it again.
As you advance, get your wife, friend, whatever to start setting targets so you don't know where they are. I practice taking my mag light, turning it on with the lens covered and toss/rolling it into rooms. After practice, you can get so you always roll it in facing away from you. Flashing with the LED, move engage, flash, etc. Then, after you get really good at home, get a shooting buddy to set up his house for you and go into that environment and try it again. Then, when you have fired maybe 700 times this way, go to the hobby store and get some florescent paint. I use one of the really small coffee stirrers, dip it in the paint and touch the front sight. The paint will fluoresce for about 30 minutes after being in light, so plenty of time to practice. I have tried a white dot and black-lights, but it does not work as well as the fluorescent paint. Then you can either cover it with tape for "no night sight" practice and take it off for "night sight" practice or just scrape it off and redo it each time.
One warning, the wife hates it when the rubber bullets get stuck in the vacuum cleaner.
I have used about 500 of them up in 12 years and I estimate I have fired them about 12,000 rounds worth. You may lose 5-10% per session to start. If you have kids, be very careful, you don't want them eating them. For less than the price of a set of night sites, you can set yourself up to practice no and low light shooting. As you progress, take notes. Soon you should see trends and adapt the sighting systems to your liking. You may in fact do better with one of the systems I don't particularly like, but the benefit is that you will KNOW what works best for you, not just hope that what someone else told you, that they have not tried and tested, works.Best wishes in your pursuits.

[TheVath]

+1 for Trijicon HD
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/26/e4emu9uh.jpg


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[ChunkyMonkey]

Heinie Straight-8 night sights (these sights are less than a year old, still bright) viewed while TLR1 turned on:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v355/hatidua/nightsights_zps0f50f66a.jpg

Why your door frame is taller/shorter than the other? Or is it window frame [Coffee]

[hatidua]

Why your door frame is taller/shorter than the other? Or is it window frame [Coffee]

one door, one window

[centrarchidae]

I've been back and forth.

I carried a P226 for a long time, with three-dot Trijicons. I felt that they were critical.

Got an M&P9 and spent three years with the stock sights. I had a set of Trijicons that it just took me that long to get around to getting installed. They didn't seem to make nearly as much of a difference once they were installed. Actually, they really came into their own when I darkened the hell out of the rear sights with a black sharpie.

Now I'm trying to switch into an M&P9c, with standard sights. I'm having some trouble getting used to it but I'll probably go tritium front sight and leave the rear sights as they are, eventually. Once I'm good with the gun itself, or at least mediocre enough to pass the POST qualification test (it's not a great standard, but it is a standard) with it, that is.

[BPTactical]

Get what works best for your eyes.
I kinda like just the front being the green glow at night.

Funny story- I had a XD Tactical that had full night sights. I took it camping and when I crashed for the night it was sitting up by my head. I woke up in the middle of the night to big and heavy footsteps outside.
Now being 3/4 asleep and waking up startled the first thing I saw was these three glowing green dots and thought it was some crazy bug.
Freaked me out worse than the cow outside.

[osok-308]

Glad that you asked this question! I was just curious about night sights myself.

[stenz]

Still torn on this. I have a TLR-1s right now so I need to d some more drills to see if night sight are right for me.

[Mick-Boy]

All else fails, I'm back in the US next month. If you're willing to make the drive down to the Springs we can Pepsi Challenge this thing. I've got several different sets of sights you can shoot in the dark with and without a WML.

[Great-Kazoo]

I'd go light over n/sights. What good is seeing your sights, IF you cannot ID the target/ threat?