Are Night Sights Worth The Extra $$ ?

J

Jimmy10mm

New member
I'm considering another mouse gun and the night sights add approximately another hundred bucks. I have them on one pistol but TBH I've yet to fire a pistol in the dark.

A friend told me that once there is a muzzle flash you won't see them anyhow .... is that accurate ? Anyhow, am I better off with them or is it an unnecessary expense ? TIA.
 
For a pocket pistol I figure it will be used at close enough range that I don't spend extra just for night sights. For my larger primary CCW I do like having them. For my HD gun, I use a rail mounted laser/light combo instead of night sights. Even if my HD had night sights, I'd still want the TLR-2 on there for target ID.

It's really personal preference in my opinion.
 
They may be ok for some, but in my opinion not being able to see the sights because it's too dark, also means that it's too dark to verify the target. Just because you can see the sights doesn't mean you know what you are firing at is ok to fire at. Could be your kid going pee in the night, spouse got up to get a drink of water, etc.

Far better and probably cheaper to get a decent gun light or a good flashlight. I always carry either a 180 or 240 lumen single AA light.
 
A bit off topic, but I discovered, after I acquired a pistol that had night sights, that I apparently have some minor defect of the retina that completely obliterates the night sights from visibility in total darkness.

If I shift my eyes very slightly from side to side I can see them, but NOT looking directly straight on.:confused:

At any rate, to me they are useless since I can't see them properly.
 
IMHO, night siights are not for zero light situations, low light situations. They are better than non light sites, but not as good as a good flashlight. In a home defence situation, you probably will not spending time lining up your sites, but looking at the target. Night sights will help you be more accurate as they are easier to see with your periphery vision.

ps, that's really weird Gyvel. I'm wondering if you had that looked at. have you had corrective eye procedures?:confused:
 
For a "mouse gun"???

The night sights could help the Doctor find the pistol after the attacker has jammed it into your rear end... Don't take a .380 to a gunfight!!!
 
night sites aren't necessary for me, considering if i need to use my gun to save my life, i'll have about a half second to draw and fire. i practice this point shooting drill. the chances that i need to take an aimed, precise shot at night is about the same as winning the lottery.
 
I've tried night sights, after a bit of shooting they smoke up a bit and don't work.

I went the CT laser sight route. They work. If the "smoke" bothers you, you can normally still see the red dot. Then don't work real well in bright sunlight, but then you have your sights.

You see a lot of comments about laser sights batteries going dead as the reason people don't want them. So what IF they do, you still have your sights. Those batteries last a long time, I shoot a lot, and never had a battery fail, but if its a concern, treat them like Smoke Detector batteries. Change them twice a year when you change your clocks.

But yes I like to have the ability of being able to shoot in low light conditions.

Plus, the laser sights are great for dry firing. When dry firing, even though the gun doesn't seem to move, you don't know what's going on at the target. You dry fire with the laser, you can watch it jump around and make necessary corrections. You don't get that with night sights.

That, dry firing alone, to me is well worth the cost of the lasers. Plus with lasers you don't need to have a conventional shooting position. For example, one evening, I had a rattler under my steps. I couldn't get a good sight picture. I stuck my 642 under one step, and looked through another step. I couldn't even see the gun, let alone the sights, But I did see the dot on the snakes head was able to dispatch it. I couldn't have done that with conventional sights, nor the night sights.

But like I said, I still have my sights, I have the option of using either.
 
You see a lot of comments about laser sights batteries going dead as the reason people don't want them. So what IF they do, you still have your sights. Those batteries last a long time, I shoot a lot, and never had a battery fail, but if its a concern, treat them like Smoke Detector batteries. Change them twice a year when you change your clocks.
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My CT's start getting dim long before the batteries go dead. Other than a mechanical or electrical failure, if your CT's are dead when you go to use them then you need to reevaluate your training or maintenance schedule.
 
My CT's start getting dim long before the batteries go dead.
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I can't address that, as I mentioned, I change my batteries when I change my clocks.

I have a hill about 200+ yards out my back door, as long as I can project the CT dot on the hill at night, I figure its good, well past the range of my 642 Smith.
 
The only "small" gun I have is my Ruger SP-101, which I use as a BUG while on duty with the small PD I work for. However, it, and all other guns I carry are equipped with night sights [the SP only has a luminous front sight, of course]. I find them most handy when it's time to qualify with them in both night and day courses of fire. I can't say that I've ever experienced them clouding up from extended periods of shooting, but then again kraigwy might get to shoot a whole lot more than I do.
 
ps, that's really weird Gyvel. I'm wondering if you had that looked at. have you had corrective eye procedures?
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Actually, I did mention it to my opthamologist who examined my eyes and could not find any reason why it should be so. (He's a shooter, too.) I guess I just have a "dead zone" on my retina. It's a total blackout.:confused:

At any rate, it definitely makes night sights useless for me, unless I look very slightly from side to side.
 
When I got my Crimson Trace Laser Grips for my S&WM&P they gave me free batteries for life and I suspect they still do that now, batteries going dead is not an issue for me. I change my batteries once a year, call the Crimson Trace 800 number and normally a nice lady well send you a new set within just a couple of days.
 
My one true "mouse gun" has no sights (seecamp) and I like it that way>I concider it a get off me gun anyway.

My most carried pistol has become a LCR with the Big dot front night site. this is a great setup for any amount of light.I used to be a big fan of Crimson Traces on my snubbies and may still add them.

Most of my bigger carry guns have Night Sights.
 
I have a hill about 200+ yards out my back door, as long as I can project the CT dot on the hill at night, I figure its good, well past the range of my 642 Smith.
__________________
Kraig Stuart
CPT USAR Ret
USAMU Sniper School Oct '78
Distinguished Rifle Badge 1071
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Thank you for your service. I am grateful.
 
I'm considering another mouse gun...
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I've got night sites on my Springfield 1911 and while I like them, I'm not really sure that they were worth the extra money.

In my opinion, if they come stock on the gun great, if they don't, that's great too.

For a mouse gun? I wouldn't spend the money on night sites.
 
On the one hand, I'd rather have them than not have them, but on the other hand I'd rather not pay for them, and so far I haven't! This is because even though night sights may be visible in darkness, I have to be able to see and identify my targets in any case, and for that I need adequate light. The way I use my flashlight allows me to see my sights, as well, so I've never found night sights to be necessary. I've run tests with simulated night sights (using glow-in-the-dark paint), and while under some conditions I could see them better than white-dot iron sights, they don't seem to make me any faster or more accurate. Obviously "your mileage may vary" applies here, though.
 
To me night sights are worth the extra money for a home defense gun. I don't see any need for the on my carry pistol, though.
 
@ Gyvel Good news you are normal, that's how eyes work. You have rods and cones, little light receptors, in your eyes. The more light sensitive rods are mostly around the periphery of your eye. The cones pick up detail and color better and are in the center of your eye.

So, as I learned in the Army long ago, when you want to see something in the near dark, look slightly to one side and it will appear. Extra useful when trying to find dim stars for celestial navigation and laying howitzer batteries. When you look to the side of the night sight the tods pick it up, when your eyes dart back to it, it will seem to disappear. So only the Army could come with a saying that sounds so dumb, but works: "If you want to see something int he dark, don't look (directly) at it!"
 
So, as I learned in the Army long ago, when you want to see something in the near dark, look slightly to one side and it will appear.
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Astronomers use this routinely to spot dim galaxies and other nebulous objects that are hardly more luminous than the background sky. It's called "averted vision".
 
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