Night sights, rail light or fiber optic

R

Roland Thunder

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I have a Sig 320 FS 45acp. It has the standard sights on it. I use it mostly for home protection but I also take it to the range occasionally (I usually use my Colt Government 1911 for range use). I need to replace the standard sights and I am trying to decide which of those mentioned in the title of this thread would best serve my purpose or would best for both range and home protection.

Any recommendations?
 
I say... Why not all 3?

There are combination tritium and fiberoptic sights that should serve you well at home and at the range. Truglo TFO's come immediately to my mind, though there are others, too.

I also like a rail light for nighttime home defense. I have the Streamlight TLR-3 that has saved me well. It attaches and detaches easily to switch between home defense and carry or range use.
 
I would argue for a weapon mounted light first and then the others as you prefer (I'd argue for a handheld light before all of those as clarification). I really like fiber optic fronts for shooting where there is any kind of ambient light; from bright daylight to dusk and dawn fiber optics can glow surprisingly well. Night sights are great but you still have to be able to identify the target (as with any sight). When you've identified the target the night sights can make it easier to pick up the sights in low light, but in my experience if you're going to shoot with a light the spill from the light often washes out the glow from the Tritium. I've had Truglo TFO variants and while I think they're as good as night sights in the dark, in my experience they really don't compare to a true fiber optic sight when you have any kind of ambient light. The rods are mostly covered by the sight housing and they don't pick up the light nearly as well as say a Dawson Precision or similar sight.


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Sights on a handgun are extremely personal, and nothing really prepares you to make that decision but to handle and shoot a bunch of different sight systems until you find one that suits you. It sucks, and is expensive, but that's just how it is.

Fiber optic sights are great, but also a bit big, and really suited to the gun-golf crowd. Trijicon HDs are more than enough for most uses. Again, this is an entirely personal issue.

As far as weapon lights go, the vast majority of gunfights occur at or after dusk. A light is a great idea, especially for a firearm that is going to be used proactively. Take a long look at the Surefire x300, the Streamlight TLR series, and the Inforce APL. Don't bother with anything but those three.

Finally, if you do decide to put a light on the weapon, be sure to train with it a bunch. Using the light during shooting is a perishable skill, and takes serious development to learn.
 
How are fiber optic sights really that much bigger than normal sights? And what is "gun-golf"?


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Gun-golf is 3-gun / IPSC / IDPA / whatever.

Fiber optic sights aren't that much bigger, and it's an entirely aesthetic position to take. Regardless, tritium vials are worth something to anyone that expects to shoot at low/no light.
 
I've used fiber optic sights in a number of tactical courses at this point. As you said personal preference, but I don't see why they need to be relegated to games.

I just did an 8 hr low light pistol course this week. The tritium was and wasn't useful, for the reasons I outlined above. I actually brought a Glock 19 with fiber optic sights and one with night sights to test the difference. I might write a thread on it but, idk. Again YMMV.
 
noonesshowmonkey said:
A light is a great idea, especially for a firearm that is going to be used proactively.
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I assume you meant "protectively" rather than "proactively". Using a firearm proactively is not such a good idea. :cool:
 
no exp with night sights, they glow in the dark but you gotta be able to see what you're aiming at.

fiber optics are nice but you need enough light for them to work.

I don't run lights on my handguns, I prefer to keep the light separate.
I am a fan of lights on long guns though.
 
Assuming the P320 is a standard SIG sight cut, and I believe it is, then yes (nothing I've seen indicates otherwise, either online or the ones I own). The question is what number front sight and rear sight for the 45 ACP option for the FS model. You can probably find it with a Google search, but if you call SIG customer service and ask them what sight numbers for front and rear are the default for your pistol they should be able to tell you. Then take those and pick the ones from TruGlo that match.


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Someone mentioned TruGlo's TFO night/fiber optic. Out a full green set on my main gun (G19), and now even these aging eyes can see the sights during the day - they FO part just GLOWS. The night sight parts have a nice dim glow to them as well; perfect for nighttime use.
 
I believe the TruGlo sight with both fibreoptic and tritium is the TFX model . I have them on an S&W Shield and like them very much .
 
I believe the TruGlo sight with both fibreoptic and tritium is the TFX model
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Their original model, the TFO, has that as well, but the TFX has the colored outline around the front sight and a more rigid housing for the fiber optic.
 
I'd go with the fiber optics. Night sights are nice however only have a 10 year life when the glow goes. 10 years goes by pretty fast.
 
I really like the Truglo TFX/TFO sights. They do it for me.

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In my somewhat limited experience, a weapon mounted light is a great advantage in low-no light shooting.
No reason not to have night sights, but their usefulness is limited. You need enough light to locate and identify a threat but not enough to aim for them to come into play.
 
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