pistol night sights- what color front/rear should I get?

Nismo

Nismo

Joined
Jun 27, 2002
Messages
323
Im going to be ordering some MEPROLIGHT night sights for my Sig 220 soon and they have an option for front/rear which is

FRONT-------REAR
green ------- green
green ------- orange
green ------- yellow


Question- I never seen or shot with night sights before and was hoping for those who have experience, what color do you prefer?
 
Great thread topic, and timely for me. I can only tell you about the green three dot Trijicons. I got a set on my Glock 21 about a dozen or more years ago and they have always served me well, although I rarely (like never) night shoot for obvious reasons. I got them because a customer of mine who was a Swat instructor for the local PD told me that they help you regain the site picture faster after being flashed by the muzzle blast. I've never really tried them out as I don't know of a nearby range that has night shooting and I'd be wary of the attention you might get for going to an open shooting area near Los Angeles (not that there's any left) and shooting at night. But the theory seemed good and they look cool and give me more confidence in teh weapon.

My interest in the current thread is not because I'm a night site expert, but they seem cool and I like them. The problem is that I got a Kahr P9 last year with a fresh set of Trijicons on it and confirmed what I've known for a while. The Sites on my Glock are faded to about 20% of the brightness of a new pair. So I've been contemplating a new set of sites for my G21 and have been meaning to start a similar thread. The Trijicons are only warranteed for ten years, and it's apparent as to why (the Tritium tubes fade). As a side note: I wonder how this affects tritium tube equipped watches like Luminox?

Besides the color question, what about all the dot and bar patterns available? The three dot always shot well for me at the range, but I could see how in the dark under stress differentiating exactly which site was the front (most important) of the three could be a value. Should I just stay with the green 3 dot Trijicons and just buy another set as that's what the Kahr has as it would allow me to keep the same manual of arms and sight picture with both guns , or is there a compelling reason to go multi colored and with a varied geometric pattern?

I'm only interested in fixed sites from a reliability standpoint as these two guns are primarily both for home/self defence.

What do you guys think?

John
 
From other forums I posted this question in is that most told me to get green front and either yellow or orange for the rear. They said that the green is the brightest and also the brain picks up green the fastest at night so thats why they said to keep it green for the front. I like my 2 dot stock sig sights but I dont think theres much option for the 2 dot except one place which some said its not that great so Ill just go with the 3 dot.

Im mostly interested in night sights for a couple reasons- I shoot indoors and its not that bright in there as the outdoors obviously so it should help out there. This is my main home defence gun so I want it to be at its best at any given time. I want to order the Meprolights hopefully by tonight so Ill keep reading around and come with a decision. Thanks!!
 
Tritium is visible when it's really dark and you can't see plain ol' paint dots at all, but in dim light tritium is much less visible than plain ol' white paint. One compromise is a tritium dot with a ring of white paint around it. That works pretty well in dim light.

My own preference is plain ol' white paint on black sights. I find I can always see either the white dot or the silhouette of the black sights on the target. If I can't see either it's so dark I'm unlikely to be able to make out anything to shoot at. YMMV.
 
The eye is more sensitive and has better resolution in the green portion of the spectrum, so stick to green. You would also be better off if the gun points well for you. And remember that you have to see the target !
 
Green is used for eye sensitivity reasons as mentioned above. Watch any Discovery channel or History channel military show and watch for a monochrome display that is not green ;)

IWI makes a great sight for people who want a "dot in a bucket" or "bar dot" sight. You can also get any color combination you want.
 
Personally, for a defense weapon, I would go with green/orange. You need to know the position of the front sight more than anything else for point shooting. In fact, for a strictly defensive weapon, I would argue that is the only sight to illuminate, in many cases. Who the hell shoots targets in the dark?! :rolleyes:
 
I've been using Trijicon three dot green night sights on both my duty and off-duty guns for about ten years. I actually prefer the older style Trijicons as the rear posts are closer together than the newer ones and give a better sight picture. I've also found the Trijicons to be brighter than the Meprolights when new, but I've got the Meprolight green front, orange rear sights on another gun and they're fine--ten years later! I prefer green for the front.

I believe Trijicon opened up the rear posts on their sights to cut down on the possibility of misaligning the sights, but I really don't think this will be an issue as you really have to have the gun pointed way off target and in an unnatural position for this to occur (at least in my experience), so even if all of the posts are the same color, there shouldn't be an issue.

Night sights really come unto their own in low-light shooting. I work at night and they certainly help. It's not impossible for you to be in a scenario where your target is either partially or fully illuminated, but you are in either partial or total darkness. Think about when an intruder kicks open a door to your dwelling and light from outside is coming in yet you are in a darkened corner of your apartment or home, or in a dark hallway. I've found these circumstances many times when searching structures. Night sights may very well give you an edge.

The small white circles on nights sights aren't spectacular for day time shooting, but they work.

One word of caution though. In darkness, night sights illuminate and help you see and align your sights. They can also illuminate you--more than you might think. Think about how you're holding your weapon if doing a search of a structure or anything else. No reason to give a burglar a free-shot!
 
I used to think night sites were cool until I realized that there is a VERY small chance I would be using my weapon at night, in a confrontation. That said, why not have the best and clearest sights during the time you are using it most - day time. Tritium and other night sites surely can't be the most visible during the day. I would imagine just the plastic/metal fins (?) or white dots would be easiest to see.
 
Backlighting your face is a real issue with some night sights. In my case, I had the Tritium set extra deep in the front blade of my shotgun. It works very well.

Good night sights will give you a great sight picture during the day. You still have the nice crisp black blade on the front and the rear sight whether it is a Bo-mar or Sigg or standard blade with or without the glow.

Meprolight's are slightly cheaper but, not nearly as nice as Trijicons or IWI sights IMHO. If you are going to buy sights, spend the extra $20 and get the good ones ;)

If you really want to put the glow in Bo-mars or you are looking for a semi-custom setup, check out IWI. Last time I looked they would essentially custom make your sights so you could get them deep set if you wanted.
 
The main reason I wanted to go with Meprolights over Trijicons is that some people have said that the white circle thats around the tubes on the Trijicons, wear off but the Meps have the white circle painted inside a lense and wont wear off. Anything to verify or say otherwise?
 
I haven't used my old G21 for regular carry like an LEO might, but having owned it for a dozen years with theTrijicons on it, I haven't noticed the white ring disappearing. I guess it might depend on how you clean the gun, but mine still look good, the glowing green dot in the center just isn't as bright anymore.

John
 
Nismo, please post your opinion when you get done with the install. I have a P229 and was thinking of the Meprolites also. My friends brother got them on his 229 and apparently is very satisfied. I have not seen his gun since he got them.
 
Will do but it may not be for a couple months since Im going to send the gun out to Arizona Response Systems for a trigger job, dehone, and refinish so the turn around time may vary.
 
All of this talk got me wondering too, so I compared the Trijicons, Meprolights and even some Smith and Wesson three dot whites using only ambient lighting (from outside windows on an overcast day--4:30 p.m.) around my home in different rooms and hallways. Unscientific, but not too much different than what I've done at work.

Both the Trijicons and Meprolights were somewhere around ten years old so they were not as bright as when they were new and I guess some could argue that the vials of tritium were near the end of their useful service lives. But there was a clear winner even after all this time.

In a nutshell, the Trijicons were not just brighter, but much brighter in comparison to the Meprolights in a wide variety of both dim light and semi-dark scenarios. I would even go as far as to say twice as bright. The Meprolights were still visible, but nowhere near as bright or useful as the Trijicons. The Trijicons were faster and easier to acquire.

The small white circles on both the Trijicons and Meprolights were almost identical and I really couldn't tell much difference in outward appearance. I've cleaned mine with a Q-tip and a dab of Hoppe's for years with no ill effects or fading. So I can say that they will last at least ten years with some care--mine have been used hard. I have no problem qualifying with them in daylight shooting too.

As for the three dot whites? Not so good. They faded to black very quickly in dim light scenarios and were gone in semi-darkness. The black sight blades also disappeared pretty quick too. In some lighting scenarios, with three dot white or similar sights, I feel I can reasonably conclude that you will have no sight picture at all. I've found this in actual service too. Something to consider when training without the aid of night sights.

One final note. The companies making these products may very well have changed the composition of their products from the ones I used, so that fact is worth considering too. Or maybe they haven't--I don't know. Personally, I like the Trijicons better and would go with what has worked in the past.
 
I have heard some say Trijis are brighter comparing side to side and also heard some say Meps being brighter comparing side to side so It might be that there may be some inconsistancy in the manufacturing with both companies. I have also heard someone say that he ordered 2 identical sets of sights(forgot which brand) and said that one set was slightly dimmer than the other set. The store either sold him some really old sights or maybe just proves about inconsistant batches of tritium tubes? I guess its safe to say that either brand will serve you well correct?
 
I agree with the concept of white circles around the tritium inserts. The larger the white outline, the better, IMHO. Personally I prefer the Trijicon brand over Meprolight but I do agree that there appears to be some variation in light intensity with even the same brands. Back to the original question, I prefer front and rear as green.

Stuart
 
Nismo,
Hard to tell about possible inconsistencies between different batches of tritium tubes, but I can add a couple of things which could either help clear or muddy up the water further!

The last time I qualified I stood behind a line of Officers who were shooting our dim light qualification course. I was at least thirty or more feet behind them and behind glass, but I could clearly see all of their sights from where I was watching. All of the weapons were the same, but with many different issue dates on those guns. All the sights were Trijicon.

Before any piece of equipment hits the streets it is extensively tested by our Range. Our Range staff is made up of Patrol Officers who use the same equipment we do. Opinions on equipment are taken from many different sources, but in the end, our Department tests everything we use in house. We've got about two thousand Officers to outfit, so if something doesn't work, believe me, the Range will hear about it post haste from the rank and file.

And although cost is taken into consideration for any piece of gear, my Department actually issues very good personal equipment. Some of the best. Last time around they bought Trijicon sights over the less expensive Meprolights. Could be something there.

We're transitioning to a new weapon this year so I don't know which sights they'll pick for that one, but they did choose the most expensive sidearm out there--with all the bells and whistles. A shocker for us. It was the only one that took everything we could throw at it and still fit a very large and diverse group of personnel. And we tested all the top autos. I don't know which sights they chose for the new weapon, but if I was a bettin man.................... :)

p.s. I'll find out which ones next week and add to...................

p.p.s. I also wish they would start buying the Crown Vic's again!!
 
Well it looks like my best option is to just go with what's worked for me and just get another set of Trijicons, or get them to refurb mine. Thanks for all the info guys.

Hey Mudflap, that's too much of a tease. What weapon did your dept choose? Inquiring minds want to know.

John
 
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