Night sights for semi-autos

O

OhioGuy

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I'm going to take a class that teaches low-light shooting, and I need night sights for it. At some point I'm sure I'd want them anyway.

I've searched around and it seems people have all sorts of ways of accomplishing this, from purchasing specially designed sights ($$$) to dabbing glow-in-the-dark paint over the factory sights (like $0.99 at Hobby Lobby). I also found "Night Sighters" kits that provide little glowing stickers that you can put onto any sights. I think they were $12.

What experiences do you have? Are the expensive, brand-name night sights just a waste of money, or do people end up buying them anyway after their DIY methods fail a few times?

My gun's front sight has a factory fiberoptic. I don't know if that changes anything for the DIY methods.
 
What gun are these going on? You should be able to get a set of meprolights and have them installed for a total cost under $100. Spend the money and buy the nicer sights. It's worth it.
 
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Trijicon is the way to go.

TruGlo if you want Fiberoptic and Tritium but it's bulky.

Hobby Lobby? [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]


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On a self defense handgun, nothing compares to a good set of night sights. Yes they can be expensive, but I think you'll find that they are worth every penny.

I've tried various sight paints with mixed results; suitable for range and hunting guns, but no so much for carry guns.

My next set will be Truglo TFX sights.
 
The best of the diy methods are worse than luminous hands on a watch where you "charge" with a bright light. The worst are a total waste of time!


Real night sights work as advertised. They are a pain to install, but worth the effort.

My preference is for a single luminous front dot.(~$50) During the day, the single dot centers up quick in a wide notch during the day and makes a quick easy aim point at night.

A cheaper, but good solution might be a fiber optic front sight.(~$30)

Full sight sets are $60-$150.....my preference are ones with Trijicon tubes.
 
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Are you sure night sights are required?
Every low light or night exercise I've done involved a flashlight rather than night sights.
Knowing about the target was considered more important than just seeing the sights.
With good technique, the sights are lit by the light, making night sights less important.
Guess it depends on what is meant by low light.
Any idea what the lighting circumstances will be?
Are night sights an actual requirement or are you assuming such?
No sense in spending a bunch of money needlessly.
Just a thought.
 
Be a little careful with TFX sight sets. They have a very small fitted area for a very large sight. This makes it hard to get a great fit to the slide. It can be done, but it can be screwed up easily enough too. Ask me how I know....:(
 
I also bought a small jar of the Glow-on paint out of curiosity. It is the only item I have ever returned to Amazon.

It was worse than worthless. A gritty, paste-like consistency that makes it difficult to apply accurately and it dries to a dull, off-white color that makes your sight less visible during daylight conditions.

If you "charge" the paint by placing it directly under a strong light bulb for hours, it glows very weakly for a matter of a few minutes before it fades to a useless intensity.
 
Just purchased meprolight tru dot for my pps and trijicon bright and tough for an upcoming g36. Just my opinion but meprolight is way brighter at dark and easier to see in daytime due to a larger white dot.
 
The thing to know about "night sights" is that there are two kinds; one good, one worthless.

The good night sights are Tritium. These are powered by slightly (safely) radioactive substance that will stay bright for about 8 years.

The worthless night sights are powered by phosphorous. This substance will stay bright for a short time after being "charged" by a bright light. So for home defense they are worthless since you are likely not going to have just "charged" them when you need the handgun.

All "dab on" glow paints are the phosphorous kind. So this is not a good solution if you want true night sights.

Meprolights and Tru-Glos (the Tritium kind) are both good and I have used both to good effect on various handguns.
 
You can sent your slide into these guys hp-tactical.com. they will send it back with your choice of trijicon night sights. No charge install as along as you have removable sights. My buddy sent them his Glock 18 slide. Had it back in a week aND it only cost him what others charge for sights only.
 
I should have explained my thoughts better. I have just recently started carrying and found that regular sights that are on most guns are worthless at best in low light. A night sight to me is a must and the nightnsight also needs a good sight picture with good white dots during the daylight. Get a good sight and dont rely on a paint or a gimmick that needs to be charged by light to work. I hope I will never need to use them but once i have installed I feel more comfortable shooting at night when 3 glowing dots are on target.
 
I have a Springfield XD Mod.2 subcompact 9. It comes with a fiber optic front sight from the factory. So far I've used it for training. I expect it's likely to be my carry as well as home defense gun, and I'm getting involved in a tactical shooting league soon too. I don't mind spending money on something I will use often.
 
I have truglo tfx and the tfo's. Love them. You get the best of both worlds. Fiber for day time and lower light and tritium for low light and no light.

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My night sites died in a few years ( older sights shipped on a new gun):mad: . I went back to a flash light. I never really liked them all that much
 
I really like the night sights on my Sigs (3). I've come to the conclusion that a defensive, night stand gun needs them and probably a light as well for target identification. A flashlight held in the non-firing hand requires just too many acrobatics to be useable in a high stress environment, for me. In that regard, my current night stand gun is a Sig P226 Mk25 with a TLR1 light attached. Rod
 
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