Meprolight Sights
- Thread starter FyredUp
- Start date
Good Experience
When I bought my first XD-9/sub, the gun dealer asked if I wanted night sights and so I said "sure" and he suggested them. I was pretty new into gunnin' and so didn't know much about such stuff at the time.
His point was they were just as good as ...whatever... and cost less.
But now that I've actually owned Heine and Novak on other guns, the Mepros are NOT as good. The others seem larger and brighter, mostly, and I do prefer them.
That being said, that original set is still on my XD and they still do glow. No longer an issue though, as the XD is now 'retired' from active carry duty, and rides in the SUV 24/7 as the "truck gun."
I have Heines on the Kahr P-9 that replaced it and they are outstanding.
FBT
When I bought my first XD-9/sub, the gun dealer asked if I wanted night sights and so I said "sure" and he suggested them. I was pretty new into gunnin' and so didn't know much about such stuff at the time.
His point was they were just as good as ...whatever... and cost less.
But now that I've actually owned Heine and Novak on other guns, the Mepros are NOT as good. The others seem larger and brighter, mostly, and I do prefer them.
That being said, that original set is still on my XD and they still do glow. No longer an issue though, as the XD is now 'retired' from active carry duty, and rides in the SUV 24/7 as the "truck gun."
I have Heines on the Kahr P-9 that replaced it and they are outstanding.
FBT
Stevie-Ray
New member
Far as I know the night sights on my Kimber are Mepros. Love em.
chris in va
New member
Do you have a safe in the truck to put it in?
I had Meprolight night sights put on my Pro Carry about five or six years ago, and they work just fine. I'm fairly certain that they're not as bright as they were new, but I can still see them easily in low light. They've even survived the pistol being dropped on hard floors a few times.
1) The tritium vials in all night sights are the same size. They may have larger (Mep) or smaller (Trij) paint rings around them, but the vials themselves are the same.
2) The substance that actually makes them glow is tritium. Tritium sights will glow for 8-12 years. All sight brands are the same here again; they all use the same green glowing radioactive gas. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one commercial source of tritium in the US, and another in Israel. Meps use Israeli vials. The only people in the U.S. of which I am aware that are licensed by the NRC to load vials into sights are Tooltech.
3) The main difference in construction between Meprolites and Trijicons is that Mep sight bodies are cast and Trij's are machined. This isn't a very big deal except on certain guns with tights sight channels. Specifically, SIGs and Springfield XD's. Apparently they aren't real big on changing out dovetail cutters very often in Germany or Croatia, and this results in sight cuts that are usually on the low end of spec. Try and squeeze a cast Mep (usually Meps run a little oversize) in there, and you wind up with metal shaved off the sight body, where the Triij would have just slid in. On most brands of guns, though, it's going to come down to personal choice.
4) Personally, I think that orange or red dots are a gimmick. Tritium glows green. To make the sights another color, you have to put a colored filter over the vial. This makes the sight dimmer, and the visible glow won't last as long.
2) The substance that actually makes them glow is tritium. Tritium sights will glow for 8-12 years. All sight brands are the same here again; they all use the same green glowing radioactive gas. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one commercial source of tritium in the US, and another in Israel. Meps use Israeli vials. The only people in the U.S. of which I am aware that are licensed by the NRC to load vials into sights are Tooltech.
3) The main difference in construction between Meprolites and Trijicons is that Mep sight bodies are cast and Trij's are machined. This isn't a very big deal except on certain guns with tights sight channels. Specifically, SIGs and Springfield XD's. Apparently they aren't real big on changing out dovetail cutters very often in Germany or Croatia, and this results in sight cuts that are usually on the low end of spec. Try and squeeze a cast Mep (usually Meps run a little oversize) in there, and you wind up with metal shaved off the sight body, where the Triij would have just slid in. On most brands of guns, though, it's going to come down to personal choice.
4) Personally, I think that orange or red dots are a gimmick. Tritium glows green. To make the sights another color, you have to put a colored filter over the vial. This makes the sight dimmer, and the visible glow won't last as long.