Nite sights, benefit or gimick

[Marsh1]

Does anyone out there feel as I do that tritium sights are not worth the money. Does it really give you an edge or do you believe that if you are suddenly called upon to defend your self in a dark setting, that you are going to take the time to line up those little glowing thingies on the BG.
I think they are worthless and spend a good deal of my time point shooting in stressful scenarios, because lets face it, in a crisis, we will be focused on the threat, not those little green dots.
I think they are a trendy gimmick that the gun manufacturers are happy to charge us for because we think we need them.
Anyone else feel the same?
Marsh

[Tolly]

I don't think they are worthless, but I don't think they are something you should rely on either in a close up encounter. I like being able to look over and down where my bedside Kimber is stowed at night in the dark and see the glow of the night sites looking back at me. I think they may actually be beneficial in a peripheral way in a REALLY dark situation. I have never had night sights added to any of my guns, but I must say that I do like them on my guns that came with them.

[Rio Vista Slim]

I like being able to look over and down where my bedside Kimber is stowed at night in the dark and see the glow of the night sites looking back at me.
:) I have to smile when I read Tolly's statement above. It reminds me (fondly) of the similar feelings that I had when I owned a Kimber Raptor equipped with night sights. Those glowing radioactive vials added a degree of comfort, late at night.

I've discovered that years of shooting 1911-type pistols has given me the ability to naturally aim accurately in very low-light target practice. Because of this, I don't feel as if I have to own a pistol wearing tritium sights, but I do not feel like they are a gimmick, either. Any tool that improves one's ability to do a task is valid, in my opinion.

[Frank]

I agree with Steve that they are not gimmicks and may be a useful tool. I remember a few years ago when I took the handgun class at Gunsite, the three instructors were in agreement that one should have night sights on a "social" pistol. These folks all had the right credentials: one had 30 years experience in the Border Patrol; one had 37 years experience in SF and Arizona Highway Patrol SWAT; and the other also had long term "high speed low drag" LE experience. So I'd be inclined to take their advice seriously.

Now it's true that with long term experience and training with a 1911 one can index well enough on the silhouette of the slide for shots at close range in poor light. Doing so was part of our training. It's also true that one would not properly be taking shots in light too poor to permit identification of the target. But just as you can't make an appointment for an emergency, you can't always predict exactly what will be required to properly deal with an emergency.

So maybe a particular situation will require precise shot placement in poor light. Were I to find myself in such a situation, I would be grateful for night sights. Such a situation might be unlikely, but in the meantime, having night sights won't necessarily impede me. It's the old story of "it's better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them."

DVC

[shamrock404]

Hi guys here is my 2 cents. I like them. They served me well when on a moon lite night there was a dark bush beside the house. (I lived in the country neighbor was 1/2 mile away) When suddenly the bush moved. It was a skunk. Now a dead skunk. Thanks to those glowing eyes. I can qualify better with night sights during the day. They seem bigger than white dots and I can get a better sight picture. 4 to 10 feet it does not matter. Have a nice day a wonderful week. Thank you

[OD*]

I think they are a trendy gimmick
They have been around too long to incorrectly refer to them as trendy. They are used by too many professionals to be referred to as a gimmick. A goodly number of people who have never had to call upon them feel as you do, I know from my own experiences I will always have at least one pistol with a front tritium sight.

How much money is your life worth.

[Tom]

I used to feel they weren't necessary until I bought a pistol that had them already installed. I, too, derive a bit of comfort when, rolling over in the middle of the night, I see those three glowing dots in my nightstand drawer.

I don't think I'd want night sights on ALL my pistols, but on ones that I rely upon for defense in potentially low-light conditions, then I think they are very useful.

[wichaka]

Years ago I was in an on duty shooting.

It was pitch dark....... BG had the drop on my partner, and I had time to line everything up while they talked, as he didn't know I was there. That's not the norm though........
Back then we didn't have night sights, but I did have glow paint on my sights.

Most shootings are done in a matter of seconds, which is too fast to be messing around with any type of sights.

But enter that one time where you have time to line everything up, and they will pay for themselves many times over........

My duty guns have at least the front sight as a night sight, with the rear being left solid black. As I don't like anything drawing my eye to the rear sight, as the problem is out past the muzzle........not behind it.

[Ping Ping]

the problem is out past the muzzle........not behind it.

Well said! :D

When we do safety drills in my home, we practice getting everyone into a safe room, then, after a few minutes, I go out in the pitch black, pistol in one hand, Surefire in the other, for a sweep. The "glowy thingies" keep me oriented to my probable line of fire as I make it through the house by memory. In the case I would need to identify a target, the Surefire will go off first, at which time the sights would be pointless, but great for getting me there.

I also prefer them over white dots for target practice. On my sights, they are smaller than most white dots and subsequently less distracting. Mine came with the full set, but like the gents above, if I were to after-market them, I'd opt for only the front for the same reason as Wichaka.

[wichaka]

I also paint white around the glow tube, on the front sight.

As there's many times and places where the lighting isn't dark enough for the tube to glow bright enough to pick them up, but good enough light for the white part to be seen clearly.

[garrettwc]

But enter that one time where you have time to line everything up, and they will pay for themselves many times over........

My duty guns have at least the front sight as a night sight, with the rear being left solid black. As I don't like anything drawing my eye to the rear sight, as the problem is out past the muzzle........not behind it.
And that's it right there. I prefer the same setup. Yes, it's true that if you have enough light to positively identify a threat, you have enough light to see your sights. But you have to hunt for them. With a tritium front dot the front sight gets where it needs to be much quicker.

[Marsh1]

I guess it's unanamous. All are in favor of nite sights, just in case. Works for me.
Marsh

[SNAFU-M1A]

I love my night sights. My duty weapon & backup both have night sight as well as my Kimber & Glock 21. I even have an AR15 with the front night sight.

[dogdollar]

I'd rather have them and not need them than need them and not have them.
Tim

[Gunner777]

Wichaka---I agree with you 100%. Most times you don't have time to fool with sights at all but in some situations they can really come in handy. I want them on my guns. They are certainly not a distraction. Contrary to popular belief the bad guys can't see them in the dark unless they are right behind you in which case you are pretty much out of luck.

[Peacefulwarrior]

Night sights are great...at night and low light conditions so I have them on all my carry guns. In daylight they don't make too much or a difference. What I found just as valuable is painting my front sight(with white undercoat sight paint then a cover coat of orange nail polish) orange. It really helps you pick up your front sight quicker. With this combo you can find your front sight quicker in the day and have the tritium for low light work.

[Tom]

I'll admit to dabbing the dots on my Springfield Mil-Spec with some Testors yellow fluorescent model paint to make target acquisition easier, but Peacefulwarrior, please tell us the orange nail polish isn't yours! :eek:

[-1911A1-]

I have them on my SA-PRO and installed them on several SIGs I had.

However, I'd take a laser sight over tritiums any day (or night) of the week.

[Bud White]

I can live with them or with out them my night stand gun has them for the same reason as listed above gun is very easy to find on night stand in the dark

[Peacefulwarrior]

Tom
No the orange nail polish is defintly not mine! :) Try it you'll like it.

[Marsh1]

I guess the reason I raised this question in the 1st place was the fact that I can't readily see my nite sights even when the have a while ring around them like the Novaks I have. My solution, I dabbed some white appliance tape on them. Strangely enough, I can see the white paint in very dim lighting better than I could see my gas sights and also strange, they glow through the paint in total darkness.
Marsh

[dickmartin]

I have tritium night sights on both my Kimber TLE II Stainless and my Kel-Tec P-11. In low-light range practice they improve my accuracy noticeably. Fortunately I have not (yet) had to use them in a tactical situation.

[deadmarsh]

I'm 50/50 on night sights when I'm asked during tactical training sessions with the LEO's or civilians. My conclusions are as follows (FWTW):

1) Able to locate handgun in low-light or night conditions...
2) Great when doing dry-fire practice in darkened room (poor man's laser training)...
3) Slow fire night training...

I do have a few night sights on my carry pistols, however, they are the front sight variety ONLY -- the rear sight is blackened out or replaced...

Try this sometime when you're dry firing in a dark room and see if it doesn't get you on target quicker for the defensive scenarios. Most can point shoot quite well with the 1911 platform, and without the thought of lining up those three or two dots or U rear sight, things get faster and of equal proficiency.


Dead

[cagekicker]

I have been involved in several shooting/combat incident and in two I fired my issue pistol when my m249 locked up once and the other time when my m4 had a double feed. I used a Sig sauer p228 with night sights. I feel that these enabled me to pick up a flash sight picture quickly. I personally will not carry a sidearm without at least a front night sight with exeption of the smith and wesson 66 for work( cant wait until the sig 229 .40' come). However I applied sight bright to the front sight as a comprimise, it seems to work well on the range.

[wichaka]

Here's what I do with mine.......I paint white around the tube;

http://w3.gorge.net/scshields/pats4.jpg

[lazlong]

I've had night sights on my Glocks, and I have them on my SA Loaded. I like them.

However, I do not have them on my 1911-style heavyweight Airsoft pistol, which has black Novak-style sights.

A few nights ago some varmints were cutting up in my yard, keeping me and my family awake, and somewhat frightening the kids.

So I put a fresh CO2 cylinder in the pistol, loaded up the magazine, and quietly went outside to put a little bit of pain on the varmints.

I could faintly see the critters in the ambient light, and the sights made a nice silhouette over the targets.

I had no trouble getting multiple hits on multiple small animals while they were running away. They must have found somewhere else to do their mischief, because they have not returned to my yard.

So I learned that tritium vials are probably not necessary, but I do like them and they certainly do no harm (except maybe a little to the wallet).

I must say that it's reassuring to see that I still have the skills to hit small, rapidly moving targets from 30+ feet away with a handgun (of course, it's a tremendous help that they're not shooting back). ;)

[Ping Ping]

You guys have missed the bus! The BEST reason to have night sights is that they increase resale value a hundred bucks! :D