# Favorite Night Sights



## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

What is everyone's favorite night sight? Im replacing my G19 factory night sights....they dont glow anymore after 8 years....


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I used to question every one of these "night sights" discussions, but I try not to any more: It's futile, since nobody believes what I write about the subject.

I keep thinking, "OK—once more. But this is the last time." But, really, I guess that it's not.

"Night sights" do no good at all, in any real confrontation. If you can't see your sights, then you can't see your opponent either. Thus, you may be about to kill your daughter, as she creeps into the house from a late date. You don't need glow-in-the-dark sights, to identify her.
If it's that dark, you need a flashlight, not glow-in-the-dark sights.
If you can't see your sights clearly, but you can see the silhouette of your pistol, that silhouette is enough to usefully line-up a shot. You don't need glow-in-the-dark sights.
If it's really, really dark, your silly glow-in-the-dark sights will only rivet your eyes away from your intended target, since your eyes are naturally phototropic.

So, in answer to your question, my "Favorite Nite Sights" are the standard, dark, blued sights already on my pistol.
I strongly suggest that yours should be the same.


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## shaolin (Dec 31, 2012)

I like Meprolights or Truglo form my Glock 19 but Steve has a good point. I like mine when I am in the woods and I find they work better for me than standard sights in low light conditions.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

I have Meprolight on most of my Glocks, but have owned a few used Glocks that came with Trijicons, and one new one. Of those two choices, I prefer Meprolight, for two reasons.

First, I'm not a huge fan of the white rings around the vials on the Trijicon sights. I don't think that sight dots (painted or illuminated) should be used at all unless it is too dark to see the outline of your sights (and I must disagree with Steve here; there are MANY common situations where you can I.D. an intruder/suspect as hostile even though there is not enough light to see conventional sights, such as a person advancing on you through a well-lit area and into a dimly-lit one), and for that reason, I find the white rings on the Trijicon sights distracting. The Meps dots are very low profile until you aim under low-light conditions, then if you find it is too dark to use the edge of the sights, the glowing dots are right there. This is a personal preference, and I know other folks who I respect that feel exactly the opposite.

Second, I've installed many sets of both types of sights, both for myself and others. Certain aspects of the construction of the Trijicon front sights leads me to believe the Meprolights _might_ be more sturdy/durable under certain circumstances.

I have several sets of Meps that are approaching replacement time (been in continuous use for 10-12 years), and are still very usable. I have never had a problem with any Meprolight sight breaking or losing illumination, despite being knocked around rather severely in a few cases.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

I have Trijicon on my Beretta 92G and Sig Sights on my Sigs. My favorite is the fiber optic front Sig Sight which is on my P226 Tac Ops... great in bright daylight and low light conditions (good for older eyes).

Night sights are meant for low light conditions rather than pitch black areas... for the reasons Steve described.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

I like Trijicon night sights (GL01) and have them on four of my Glocks (I have the ones with the Novak rear sight on a fifth Glock). I am going to have another set of GL01's installed on a new gen4 G17 probably this morning and a set installed on a gen4 G21 in a few weeks.

What I like about these sights is the fact that they are low profile and snag free. They also allow the right amount of light to escape around the front blade to the rear notch for good sight alignment. Their "dots" are not at all big so they don't grab your attention for shooting in lighted conditions yet for use in the dark, they are just good enough.

As for my home, I don't have to worry about the situations that Steven outlined. I have very good low light acuity with my eyes and my house has an open architecture with a lot of windows so it never gets so dark that I can't see things.


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## natsb (Sep 18, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> I used to question every one of these "night sights" discussions, but I try not to any more: It's futile, since nobody believes what I write about the subject.
> 
> I keep thinking, "OK-once more. But this is the last time." But, really, I guess that it's not.
> 
> ...


I am glad to see it is just not me that gets ignored on this subject. I think the logic is clear. If one can't see the target clearly, then one shouldn't be pointing a gun at it. Being able to see the sights but not the target seems to be a non-starter in every practical sense.

Since I have old eyes, I have done a lot of experiments. I tried all kinds of low light solutions, and only found two that actually worked. And by "worked", I mean one can see both the sights and the target clearly. One was an IR setup (IR laser and night goggles) that a LEO buddy let me try. The other was to use a tactical flashlight. One was very cool, the other I could afford.

Like you, I expect to get ignored again. I suspect the lure of glowing sights is just too cool to be bothered with practicality.


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## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

Thanks for the info guys....I DO agree with Steve, for all the reasons...I have many Surefire lights...and of course I would light em up, before deciding to squeeze one off in a dark house. My wife has placed small lights in the house which are on timers, so a BG in the middle of the night sneeking in or breaking in, would definitely be seen. I am just inquiring as to what brand of sights, so I don't waste money on a crappy brand before I spend 100 bucks.


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## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

Of course, I could just get a nice set of target sights instead....:anim_lol:


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## Smitty79 (Oct 19, 2012)

Countering Steve and Natsb, If someone is crashing through my bed room door bent on mayhem, my night sights let me see the gun without taking the time to turn on the light. Yes, I always put it in the same place on the night stand and yes, I practice grabbing it with my eyes closed from a sleeping position. But those little green dots are reassuring.

The former cop I work with thinks night sights are a good idea. Better to have and not need than need and not have.

I just ran across the Trijicon HD sight. Should be here tomorrow. They look great. For a G19 get a G101O or G101Y. I am getting the orange on so that my G19 will have a sight picture like my G34 gamer gun that has an orange fiberoptic.


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## Desertrat (Apr 26, 2007)

Good choice Smitty, I also looked at those. I have even considered XS Big Dots...but my HD gun is also my fun gun...and I have
heard from a few friends that have XS....said they totally suck for target shooting...but then...that is NOT what they
are meant for. I guess if I want accurate target shooting I will use my Blackhawks. I like .44 Special better than 9mm anyway.


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## SouthernBoy (Jun 27, 2007)

Desertrat said:


> Good choice Smitty, I also looked at those. I have even considered XS Big Dots...but my HD gun is also my fun gun...and I have
> *heard from a few friends that have XS....said they totally suck for target shooting...but then...that is NOT what they
> are meant for.* I guess if I want accurate target shooting I will use my Blackhawks. I like .44 Special better than 9mm anyway.


While this is true in the strict sense, if you are doing SD drills at a range, even though you might be punching targets your thrust is to try to emulate use against an aggressor. A neighbor friend and I go to an indoor range every two weeks and do just that. We don't use conventional targets at all and we challenge ourselves to scenarios that are more real world in nature. This includes draw and fire exercises, tactical and from empty reloads, strong hand/weak hand, and a host of other scenarios.

While other people on that range are punching targets, we are running drills. It does challenge us and does make both of us better gun carriers and shooters. For all of this, I prefer the basic patridge sight arrangement. All but one of my Glocks in my carry stable that have night sights have the trijicon GL01's installed. These work great for me. When shooting in lighted conditions, I don't even notice the small lamp dots.


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## SMann (Dec 11, 2008)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> So, in answer to your question, my "Favorite Nite Sights" are the standard, dark, blued sights already on my pistol.
> I strongly suggest that yours should be the same.


Since Glocks come with plastic sights, your recommendation is not possible. Upgrading them to steel sights (glow in the dark or not) is a good idea.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

SMann said:


> Since Glocks come with plastic sights, your recommendation is not possible. Upgrading them to steel sights (glow in the dark or not) is a good idea.


Where in my post did I specify _steel_ sights for a Glock?

I specified "standard," "dark," and "blue." I believe that Glock's standard sights are dark, and black (if not blue).

So please explain how my recommendation "is not possible."

(I don't really care for pedantic pickeyness. Stick to providing helpful advice to the poster.)


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## Smitty79 (Oct 19, 2012)

Steve, What would you think of a yellow fiberoptic front sight for a defensive gun. The yellow fibers seam easier to see than a plain black sight in low light.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Smitty79 said:


> Steve, What would you think of a yellow fiberoptic front sight for a defensive gun. The yellow fibers seam easier to see than a plain black sight in low light.


Years ago, we*** tested fiber-optic front sights. The fiber-optic "light pipe" was at that time made of acrylic plastic. They still may be made of acrylic, since that material has always had excellent light-transmission qualities.

We found that there were a couple of problems:
First, acrylic plastic reacts with sunlight (UV, maybe?) and becomes brittle. Eventually, pistol recoil makes the acrylic break-sometimes even shatter. Today's sightmakers seem to include replacement light pipes with their sights, specifically because of this effect.
Second, only in _precision_ shooting is there an ambiguity about which aiming point to use. There is the glowing dot, of course. But there is also the "frame" that holds the light pipe in place, which presents a black top-surface at both front and rear sights. Does one center-hold the glowing dot? Or does one line-up the black (usually squared-off) top surface at 6:00? When you're shooting quickly, you are likely to make a mistake.

Since in no-light there would be no sight glow, my reservations about illuminated-sight low-light shooting would not be as meaningful.
And I suppose that a fiber-optic sight would be nice for hunting and plinking. However, for hunting there is that ambiguity about which aiming point to use.

They're not for me.
But you may like them.

***We = Mike Harries and me. Mike did the shooting.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Steve M1911A1 has some good points, however they are quite useful under low light conditions where you can identify your target, but no two situations can be the same, ie. in one situation they could be useful, in another useless? As others have pointed out if you can't identify your target you have no business aiming at it. Smitty 79 is absolutely correct, in that finding the gun in the dark is that much easier and you can't mistake where the business end is. Three of my guns already came with them, Sig 229 Equinox, Sig 238, Kimber Supper Carry Pro, and I do like them, I just installed a set of TRUGLO Tritium/Fiber Optics on both my G26 and G30 Glocks. I don't believe they are detrimental, nor absolutely necessary and it's more of a personal decision. The glow in the dark luminescent painted ones are a joke as you have to hold it under a light to make them glow and they only glow for a brief period of time, I don't know why they even bothered.


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## bzuber56 (Dec 18, 2011)

Trijicon HD with Orange front for me.


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## SMann (Dec 11, 2008)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> So, in answer to your question, my "Favorite Nite Sights" are the standard, dark, *blued sights* already on my pistol.
> I strongly suggest that yours should be the same.


The words "blued sights" indicates you were referring to steel as plastic can't be blued. If you meant the color blue, then that's not what was typed.


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

SMann said:


> The words "blued sights" indicates you were referring to steel as plastic can't be blued. If you meant the color blue, then that's not what was typed.


I still don't care for pedantic pickyness. Stick to providing helpful advice to the poster.


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## TAPnRACK (Jan 30, 2013)

Thanks Steve... I learned a new word today..."pedantic".


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