Are night sights really worth the money

I personally do not care for them. I have guns that came with them but I would not choose them. I think white dot sights are much better. I prefer the highly visible during the day sights over the more visible in the dark sights since I do not see myself shooting in the dark. :)
 
Since most defensive shootings take place under 21 feet, at those ranges you don't really need to aim to make COM and even head shots. You will pretty much only need to draw, point and hit the target.

Of course this is assuming that you're interested in night sights for a defensive carry pistol.

So assuming an assailant decides to attack you at night when you're walking home--night sights aren't "really necessary."

The reason I have night sights on my pistol is what if i need to make an accurate aimed shot in low light conditions? I wouldn't want to have to not take a shot because I can't see my sights...
 
I think in a CCW gun that night sites are "nice" to have. Not sure that I'd go out of my way to get them installed, but my Springfield TRP has them.

In a SD situation, you aren't going to be target shooting and the gun will be used quickly and I doubt that having night sites will make a difference one way or the other.

If you want them, spend the money. If you don't want them, it is no big deal either.
 
I've installed night sights on nearly all of my self defense pistols. They're just one of those things that you won't need most of the time but the one time that you do need them you'll really need them. They give you one more edge in a low light situation. Spend the $125.
 
I've installed night sights on nearly all of my self defense pistols.
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Me too.

Like sholling said, they give you an edge, and it doesnt have to be "dark" to take advantage of it. Even in a fairly well lit room, against a dark target, you can still see your sights.

All my sights have a white ring around them, so you still get a visible, pretty much "white" dot during the day. I've been using three dot type sights so long now, I see the dots first and use the blade and notch for slower, precision shooting. No matter what the light is, the dots are always there and I dont have to take even a millisecond to readjust looking for a sight picture of any kind. With the three dots, you get instant horizontal and vertical confirmation of your sight alignment without thought, unlike some of the other set ups.

As far as I'm concerned, there are no "cons" to them being on your gun.
 
Get them

I really like them, they work great in combination with a flashlight, in darkness and with or without one in low light situations. In those situations they are the difference between having and not having a sight picture. A lot of us on this forum are constantly stressing the importance of shot placement and you cannot get consistent shot placement without using your sights.

Also they are great for quickly locating you pistol in a dark room. For example laying your pistol on the nightstand. In a very dark room night sights look very bright.

All in all, I don't see any downside to having them on a defensive handgun.
 
Absolutely positively yes. I don't consider any pistol a defense pistol until it has night sights...I consider it a sport or target pistol only.
 
I think so. It was $70 to have the Mepro one installed on my SP101. I get the nice big white dot for daylight and the green dot for low light/night. The sights last 10 years so at $7 a year I think it is worth it for the extra edge that it provides. When practicing night shooting at the range it makes a huge difference in my accuracy and speed. Not as good as a laser but much better than regular sights.
 
Why for me would be I want a 24/7 weapon that is instantly available. Doesnt matter if its a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or SMG. If it will be used as a "weapon", it will have 24 hour/anywhere capabilities.

I have night sights and/or red dots on most all my long guns that fit this need too, not just my handguns. I dont see how you can be serious about this if you dont.
 
Why for me would be I want a 24/7 weapon that is instantly available. Doesnt matter if its a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or SMG. If it will be used as a "weapon", it will have 24 hour/anywhere capabilities.
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Devil's advocate would ask....and in a situation where it is too dark to see your sights and the distance is great enough to require them, you think it is safe to be firing your weapon? Seems a little tacti-cool to me. :)
 
I like mine.

A few years ago I was taking a class at Gunsite. During the night-shoot portion of the class, I was the only student who got ALL his shots on target. I was also the only one who had tritium sights, besides the two instructors.

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"Devil's advocate would ask....and in a situation where it is too dark to see your sights and the distance is great enough to require them, you think it is safe to be firing your weapon? Seems a little tacti-cool to me."

There are numerous occassions where the combination of time and lighting is such that hunting for dark sights on a dark target is a needless disadvantage compared to immediately registering tritium sights under identical circumstances. And no, point shooting cannot solve everything, just as aimed shooting cannot. There's a time and a place, and night sights help solve a traditional draw back for half of that equation.

And... as hkg3 noted, the proof is often in the training pudding. Off the top of my head, I find people training with night sites to be faster and more accurate than the majority of their standard sight bretheren. (If pushed, I'd say 5% faster and 15% more accurcte.) Of course, everyone posting here is the exception, but not everyone is so lucky...
 
There are numerous occassions where the combination of time and lighting is such that hunting for dark sights on a dark target is a needless disadvantage compared to immediately registering tritium sights under identical circumstances.
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What are these situation? Should a person be shooting at distant targets in the dark? How likely is someone to face this decision?
 
Devil's advocate would ask....and in a situation where it is too dark to see your sights and the distance is great enough to require them, you think it is safe to be firing your weapon?
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Seems like a judgment call on the part of the shooter to me, and no one else. If the devil is out there, he's fair game too. :)

What are these situation? Should a person be shooting at distant targets in the dark? How likely is someone to face this decision?
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Ask the boy who was shot just down the road from us last April.(from what we're hearing, he deserved it, but thats for the jury to decide) Shot from the road in the dark at close to 200 yards. He really didnt have a chance, but whos to say he wouldnt have, if he did. Then again, he was back lit and an easy shot for a high power rifle with a scope in experienced hands. How about you, if the first shot missed, what would you have done? We dont have 911 here, and police response is usually at least half an hour or more away. I know where I'd be, and it woundnt be in that death trap of a house if given the choice. I can see my sights in the dark, where it is dark, I dont need a back light. ;)


Seems a little tacti-cool to me.
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If it turns you on to be so, its VERY tacti-cool, I'm sure.

I'm more into "utility", and for those of us who get to be out after dark or maybe in places that they might be handy, they work very well. Some of us actually might have use of what we have in our real day to day lives. Might be critters or it might be something else. ;)

Most city people that come out here dont like to be out in our yard after dark, scary noises and things moving around they cant see dont ya know. Most never stay out long enough to let their eyes get used to the dark. Hell, most wont go out unless a light is on, like thats helping them. :)

I've had a fair amount of experience to know what its like trying to shoot at things in the dark with a gun that doesnt have sights you can see, how about you? Does the devil hold your flashlight? :)
 
"What are these situations?" - Too numerous to list. Any time the lighting is such that the sights are difficult to see superimposed over the threat/target. Both parties could be in low light; the shooter may have entered the shadows from the bright day light creating the impression of low light others already inside do not perceive; the threat/target could be in well lit conditions and the gun in poor ones; etc.

"Should a person be shooting at distant targets in the dark?" - The threat does not have to be distant or in the dark (see above). Many train to get on their sights quickly, and the threats/targets need not be defined as "distant." But, in low light tritium sights afford the ability to register them much faster under low light conditions.

"How likely is someone to face this decision?" - Likely, should the need to defend yourself with a firearm arise at all. But, the idea is to prepare yourself, and afford yourself the ability through equipement and training to quickly register your sights and use them as needed across a broad spectrum of lighting conditions.
 
"What are these situations?" - Too numerous to list
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Then ask yourself, how many situations exist where white dot sights would be more advantageous and quicker with which to get an accurate sight picture. I know my white dots are far superior in daylight to my nite-sights.

I will not chose or reject a gun based on either set of sights, but I will not pay extra for night sights. :)
 
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