Tritium Sights….Necessary on your EDC or not?

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I always get a kick out of these threads. Lot's of people that have never shot a pistol in the dark.

If you must have night sights, I recommend these:
Glock-42-43-WTL-01-300x150.jpg


If you have broken wrists, floppy arms, or just plain suck at aiming, maybe these:
XD-WTL-11-300x150.jpg


I don't recommend 3 dot sights. Ever.
 
Not necessary to me. But…. I do not like the stock Glock plastic sites. I figure if I’m gonna put steel sites on them anyway then there’s no reason to not have tritium.

Trijicon and Meprolight are on my Glocks.
 
md7 said:
Not necessary to me. But…. I do not like the stock Glock plastic sites. I figure if I’m gonna put steel sites on them anyway then there’s no reason to not have tritium.

Trijicon and Meprolight are on my Glocks.
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Agree on Glock, but I go with Ameriglo CAP.
 
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Zerodefect said:
Lot's of people that have never shot a pistol in the dark.
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Then again, some of have done a crap-ton of shooting in low light situations and in the dark. Given the choice, if I have to use a handgun in the dark or low-light again for real, I will take one with night sights seven days a week and twice on Sundays...

But again, that's just personal preference. YOYO, guys...
 
I've gone back and forth on this issue.

And, I'm (curently at least) of the opinion that much of this is dependent on one's eyesight.

So, if, uncorrected, the sights are a blur, having them be a glowing burr is not much help.

And, there's an argument that says that dropping focus from the target to the sights could affect situational awareness. And, naturally, there's a concurrent question of if that suggest more training until sight alignment is near- reflexive.

Where my thinking (currently) is, in having a single dot on the front sight; as that allows keeping the front sight and target as one's focus. But, that's me; others are like to differ.
 
Necessary? For me, no.

That said ...

I really like TruGlo TFO sights (TFO = Tritium + FiberOptic) for use in both dark and sunbright conditions.

When I bought my SA .45acp XDs Mod2 a few years ago it came with only a front tritium sight. As I was driving home I was mentally considering the best way to add a rear tritium sight.

The next morning as I moved thru the dark house (I am always out of bed by 4:30am) headed for the basement bathroom (as silly as it may sound, I always do this in "tactical mode" to aid in the development & maintenance of muscle memory) that I long ago decided is "mine", I realized that the single front sight would be adequate for my low-light purposes. :)

=====================
Late Edit ... added after RetiredUSNChief added his Like, btw ...

Considering all of the folks who have stated feelings to the contrary, I just wanted to say that I like the plastic OEM Glock sights and shoot very well with them.

If they were made of something more durable (e.g., steel) and looked just the same, I would like them even better. ;)
 
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I like tritium sights, but I think I've come around to the POV of the OP. I used to think they were an absolute necessity but now I don't really think they are. The main change over the years has been the proliferation of high quality weapon lights (WMLs). Back when I first got my CCW I'd never seen a WML on a sidearm before, even in pictures. But now they're getting to be small, powerful and reliable to the point where they're practical for CCW. Back in maybe '91 I used my night sights to make a shot on a racoon at night while camping that I probably couldn't have made without them, but had my BHP had a light the night sights wouldn't have been a factor.

I still like them, if for no other reason than they make it easy to find the pistol in the dark on the nightstand. But if you have a WML you probably don't need tritium sights and no matter what you still need to be able to make PID before you fire.
 
I Mentioned this earlier, but here's a pic below.

For $2 - $3 at Walmart, I picked up a bottle of bright, neon yellow and neon orange fingernail polish and re-painted my stock, black anodized sights on my Colt 1991A1.

The yellow on the back and orange on the front.

Much more cost effective than the expensive, tiny vials of "special" paints I bought at a gun shop years ago. And better overall quality in application and appearance.

20210908_145029.jpg
 
Agree with zerodefect that lots of people have never shot in the dark, or at least never notice what is happening.

A light, in the hand, on the gun, or even in the hallway where the putative threat is, lights up only that. It doesn't light up the gun.

Your plain iron sights, or gold bead, or da-glow painted bit, or fiber optic sights, may be entirely un-illuminated. Dead black.

Yes, you can align the sights based on silhouette. Sure. Eventually. Who wants to be slow in a gunfight though?

Tritium gives you a distinct glowing reference for your sights (often, that reference allows you to pick out the sights and use both of them normally, just faster) so you also hit the target when you have used /some other method/ to identify that a threat exists, and then decide to fire.

I can't even for "dropping focus from the target to the sights." Do you not aim in daylight? Same thing.


FWIW: I did realize I have one EDC gun without tritium. Because it has a red dot, and that seems entirely reliable after a couple years of use. Now RDS plus WML, that's a winning combination (or RDS plus NODs :)
 
Only thing I've ever replaced sights on was my G3 G19 .... Factory ones are trash, replaced then with Trijicon sights.

I do have a older 1911 that needs new sights, but I need to buy a staking tool before I change them.

Other than that I just use what they came with
 
shoobe01 said:
Agree with zerodefect that lots of people have never shot in the dark, or at least never notice what is happening.
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I have a lot of experience shooting in the dark both as an Army Infantryman and a police officer. I've shot with the AN/PVS4 mounted on an M16 or M60, I've shot with AN/PVS5s, 7s and 14s with PAQ4s and PEQ2s and I've shot handguns with tritium sights while wearing PVS5s. I've shot with no night vision under flares both hand fired and mortar and artillery fired. I've fired with handheld lights, weapon mounted lights and no lights with the target illuminated by headlights, headlights and take down lights, the spotlight on my squad car and the strobes on my squad car.

shoobe01 said:
Your plain iron sights, or gold bead, or da-glow painted bit, or fiber optic sights, may be entirely un-illuminated. Dead black.
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In my experience shooting with a bright white light the tritium is washed out and you see your iron sights against the target just as you would in day light. I noticed this with brand new tritium sights.
 
Old Dog said:
I've gone back and forth on this over the years. I've done a considerable amount of training for night and low-light shooting, and so developed somewhat of a fondness for bright night-sights, because they do work for me if I'm not using a WML or hand-held light -- I think night-sights are best for low light situations where you have some ambient light, don't really need a flashlight, but it's dim enough that you wouldn't be able to pick up your sights really well without that nice tritium glow...

Also, for those of us that live without children or addition people in our household, isn't it comforting when you wake in the middle of the night for that bathroom call, to see those three glowing dots on your pistol sitting on your nightstand on top of your Holy Bible and the latest copies of American Rifleman and Field and Stream? One time, some years ago (prior to moving to my new more rural location), that nice glow helped me quickly find my pistol when suddenly awakened at night by loud crashing in the alley between my house and the neighbor's. Yeah, it was a pretty militant raccoon, but I was ready.

I'm kind of of the belief that private citizens don't really need WMLs -- unless they've acquired some good training in their use. Otherwise, too much potential for inadvertent Rule 2 violations (it's simply too instinctive to point the light, hence the muzzle as well, directly in the direction one is trying to illuminate). And frankly, I'm getting kinda down on WMLs for patrol officers as well -- not everything you are illuminating, or need to illuminate, is a target. I've seen a lot of bad muzzle discipline and don't think every building clearing requires one to unholster one's pistol to use its light.

As far as choosing between the added expense of night sights on one's new pistol or a quality SureFire, Streamlight, Fenix or O-Light -- even the non-gun person should have a top-quality flashlight to keep on their person at all times. Plus, many companies now (SIG and Kimber to name a couple) offer really nice night-sights on most of their pistol lines, at really no extra cost.

With regard to night-sights, to me, just another thing I'd rather have and maybe never need, than not have and then just once, really need. So my answer to the original question is, yeah, night sights are worth it for me. (And for those that may not agree, I have no problem with opposing views on this subject)
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I would not put a WML on a handgun. Flashlight in the support hand and away from the body so if BG shoots at the light he'll only get your hand. Have it on a lanyard around your wrist and you can let it dangle to get a two-handed grip.
 
old lady new shooter said:
I never wanted my "nightstand pistol" to actually be on the nightstand, I worried about accidently knocking it off. I have a "bed holster" instead, so I know exactly where it is.

Amazon apparently no longer carries the one I got, but this one looks similar:
https://smile.amazon.com/BLACKHAWK-40BH00BK-Bedside-Holster-Ambidextrous/dp/B007ZNU532
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For the record, Amazon has other designs with one or two additional pockets for a flashlight and an extra mag.
 
old lady new shooter said:
I would not put a WML on a handgun. Flashlight in the support hand and away from the body so if BG shoots at the light he'll only get your hand. Have it on a lanyard around your wrist and you can let it dangle to get a two-handed grip.
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Everyone can decide for themselves how to set up a defensive sidearm but I think your notion is a bit out of date. Trainers used to adopt that doctrine but lights are much much more powerful today. There are several WMLs that crank out 1,000 lumens or more! No no will be shooting that light, they'll be blind. Besides, the idea is to use the light as a force multiplier to help you get the first shots on target. IMO it's very difficult to hold the light where it needs to shine and shoot fast and true one-handed. I think most of the top tier instructors today would tell you that your home defense sidearm should be equipped with a white light.:thumbup:
 
Phaedrus/69 said:
No no will be shooting that light, they'll be blind.
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Right, because bad people confronted by blinding light will simply give up on the spot. Uh, no. Sorry, but that's not my experience. Gotta disagree here.
Phaedrus/69 said:
I think most of the top tier instructors today would tell you that your home defense sidearm should be equipped with a white light.
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Doubt it.

Not sure who you consider "top tier instructors" but I'd bet any trainer with a lick of common sense would never recommend that Joe Average Gun-owner put a WML on his "home defense sidearm" if he hasn't had a substantial amount of training with this type of system. Certainly, pointing one's firearm in the direction one desired to illuminate inside one's home -- particularly if there's a possibility of family members or other residents about -- is not optimal.

Anyway, I was under the impression this thread was about tritium night sights.
 
Actually, pretty much all instructors recommend getting training. Would you go to an instructor that doesn't think instruction is necessary?:rofl: Top tier instructors don't suggest that all problems are fixed by hardware, @Old Dog. I maybe should have spelled it out but training is good whether you have a light or not. It's certainly unusual if you've shined a 1,000 lumen flashlight in someone's eyes and it didn't blind them. No one suggested it would cause them to give up, just that it makes it easier to shoot them.

Maybe you can list a few instructors you consider excellent that disagree with the use of WMLs on sidearms?
 
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old lady new shooter said:
I would not put a WML on a handgun. Flashlight in the support hand and away from the body so if BG shoots at the light he'll only get your hand. Have it on a lanyard around your wrist and you can let it dangle to get a two-handed grip.
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That's covered during night classes.

Generally it's momentary light use. But a handheld light is still a viable option. We were taught the offset light hold as well, but it's a dying technique.
 
Phaedrus/69 said:
Actually, pretty much all instructors recommend getting training. Would you go to an instructor that doesn't think instruction is necessary?
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So, this thread asks if tritium night sights are necessary on a defensive handgun. What's necessary is having the gun. Things such as night sights and WMLs are not necessary. For some, they work; others, they don't. Some proclaim them vital to actually using the weapon in a real-life situation; some (who may have experienced a real-life situation or two) feel they are not so vital. As to training -- full disclosure -- I will mention that I have been a deadly force instructor and firearms instructor/trainer for a couple government entities for some years. I thought my statement in the previous post was pretty clear.

Phaedrus/69 said:
Maybe you can list a few instructors you consider excellent that disagree with the use of WMLs on sidearms?
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Well, Tom Givens who happens to be a member here, has documented some interesting statistics on defensive uses of handguns with interesting results.

Here's an article with four "experts" that touches on Given's views. https://www.recoilweb.com/expert-advice-should-you-carry-a-weapon-mounted-light-163455.html

If we look at the database of Tom Givens’ CCW student involved shootings, 64 to date, and other sources that mimic CCW shootings, such as many of the FBI and DEA agent OIS incidents, we find that the need to have a WML, or any light, to ID the target just isn’t there. In none of Tom’s student shootings was a light used, or even needed.

Now up to 65, I believe.

However -- you simply will not find any of the commercial instructors (those whose livelihood comes from paying clients) who disagree with much. There are many who will support either side of a particular issue at the flip of a coin with remarkable facility. This goes for many of the more controversial topics associated with firearms training and RKBA in general.

Anyway, I digress -- I don't disagree with the use of a WML; I simply do not believe they're necessary. That said, if you carry a firearm, and do not carry a flashlight, you're way behind the curve (I was going to say stupid, but then someone who doesn't agree would take it personally and call me out).

I do know a great many instructors (who make way more than I do; I work for the government) who feel pretty much the same. And good luck finding a concealment holster for your handgun w/WML much less adapting to wearing it routinely and --- here's the kicker -- training with it (hell, around here, most guys confess to carrying either sub-compact or mouse guns regularly anyway). Wondering how many here don't even carry a flashlight every day, regardless of whether or not they're armed. Bettin' it's a lot.

This thread is still supposedly about tritium night sights.
 
Phaedrus/69 said:
It's certainly unusual if you've shined a 1,000 lumen flashlight in someone's eyes and it didn't blind them. No one suggested it would cause them to give up, just that it makes it easier to shoot them.
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Almost forgot to mention this.

If you're blinding someone with a 1000-lumen light, and your light is a WML, you are pointing the muzzle at them. Now, if you go into a situation not worried about ROE and you have reason to suspect it's a potential lethal force situation (i.e., chasing an armed robber into a building, alleyway, whatever), that's one thing. In your house -- or neighborhood -- yeah, no.

You have therefore demonstrated one argument against use of the WML. Not to mention that bit about making it "easier to shoot them."
 
Old Dog said:
So, this thread asks if tritium night sights are necessary on a defensive handgun. What's necessary is having the gun. Things such as night sights and WMLs are not necessary.
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Well, if we're being completely accurate no one asked if WMLs were necessary. That's something we threw in later.

Old Dog said:
Well, Tom Givens who happens to be a member here, has documented some interesting statistics on defensive uses of handguns with interesting results.[...]

Now up to 65, I believe.
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Tom is definitely a top expert. But I was only replying to @old lady new shooter when I replied about WMLs. How many of the shootings Tom described took place at home?

Old Dog said:
Anyway, I digress -- I don't disagree with the use of a WML; I simply do not believe they're necessary. That said, if you carry a firearm, and do not carry a flashlight, you're way behind the curve (I was going to say stupid, but then someone who doesn't agree would take it personally and call me out).

I do know a great many instructors (who make way more than I do; I work for the government) who feel pretty much the same. And good luck finding a concealment holster for your handgun w/WML much less adapting to wearing it routinely and --- here's the kicker -- training with it (hell, around here, most guys confess to carrying either sub-compact or mouse guns regularly anyway). Wondering how many here don't even carry a flashlight every day, regardless of whether or not they're armed. Bettin' it's a lot.

This thread is still supposedly about tritium night sights.
Click to expand...

Tom is great, certainly a member of the "old guard". He's in the minority when discussing WMLs. Certainly there are times you won't need one, but let me ask you this: Would you rather need one and not have it or not have it and need it? In a situation where you don't need the light you simply don't turn it on. A simple an elegant solution!:)
 
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