Fiber Optic Front Sights: What Color?

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WrongHanded

WrongHanded

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I have HiViz front sights on 3 of my revolvers. A GP100, Redhawk, and SBH. They come with a red, a green, and a solid white.

Up until now, I'd been keeping a green tube in the SBH front sight, and red in the double actions. This was an attempt to color code the action type (I know this is somewhat stupid), so that red was double action and green was single action.

However, the targets I prefer are black with white lines, and a red dot in the center. And I've decided that may have something to do with the poorer groups I'm getting front the guns with the red FO sights, even benched and in single action. I just can't easily separate the target from the sights. So I'm going to try them with green tubes instead and see how that works out. But the red seems a better choice for carry and field work, so perhaps I may start using different targets instead.

This isn't really a problem that I need help addressing, but I am curious as to what color others have chosen for FO sights, and why.
 
Evolutionary theory suggests that humans see green better than other colors because the proto-humans who could tell where predators were hiding in the foliage were the ones that survived. We can distinguish subtle differences in shades of green better than in any other color.

I'm not a big fan of fiber optic sights, but I chose green over red for the CT laser on my SIG P320 nightstand pistol.
 
I recently went to fiber optic front sights on my carry guns. I prefer a fiber optic front sight. I tried both red and green front sights and I can see the green much better.
 
I received a set of HiViz sights as a gift.
I’m putting them on my M&P 3 gun pistol.

If I’m not mistaken, the tubes are easy to change. So why not do what I’m planning on doing and they extra tubes and
 
Hokie_PhD said:
I received a set of HiViz sights as a gift.
I’m putting them on my M&P 3 gun pistol.

If I’m not mistaken, the tubes are easy to change. So why not do what I’m planning on doing and they extra tubes and
Click to expand...

...and... I'm assuming there's more but it got cut off. Were you going to suggest switching them out for different applications? The tubes are easy to change, I'm just not sure if they will wear a little through doing so repeatedly and then get so loose they fall out at some point. But yeah, they just poke out. Actually, the blue holder they come in has a point on one end to poke them out of the sight body.
 
I prefer the green, at least on the front. The red seems to flair out more than the green and I don't get as good of an aiming point with the red in front.
 
The human eye perceives colors due to cone cells, which come in three types - each type being more sensitive to blue, green, or red.

There are far less blue cones than red and green. In most people, green cones outnumber the red ones, hence most people can see a green FO better than a red one - but many other people have more or less the same numbers of green and red cones, or more red cones.

So, between red and green as easier to pick: you have to try for yourself, YMMV.

On the other hand, blue is a very poor choice for visibility, and that’s why the energy saving bulbs in “cool daylight” hue are such poor performers: the light that they emit is skewed towards the bluish end of the spectrum, and you can’t see much with them. They blind you, but don’t show you anything. But they’re cheaper to produce, so guess what the suppliers supply the most...
 
For what it's worth...
Back in the 80's-90's the Army issued us red lens flashlights.
We were told that red light was harder for the enemy to see at a distance and it was better for light discipline than other colors....and less likely to get one shot by an enemy sniper.

So maybe green is easier to see?
 
Honestly I think it is different for what you are doing

On my self defense firearms I use red fiber optic

For target shooting I find the white stands out better on paper with the black center
 
Interesting responses. I would have bet that most people would have picked red. I thought I was the odd man out choosing green. Guess not.

OK, of the people that have HD sights, how many like yellow better than orange?
 
toivo said:
Evolutionary theory suggests that humans see green better than other colors because the proto-humans who could tell where predators were hiding in the foliage were the ones that survived. We can distinguish subtle differences in shades of green better than in any other color.

I'm not a big fan of fiber optic sights, but I chose green over red for the CT laser on my SIG P320 nightstand pistol.
Click to expand...

Green will generally be focused sharper by your eye since its in the middle of the wavelength range as well as being at about the peak of our color vision sensitivity. But it all depends on where you shoot. I have both red and green FO and lasers if you are outdoors in the summer foilage the green gets lost easier than does the red. Outdoors, the green laser doesn't make as much difference as most people would like despite being "brighter", lasers are just not good on bright days, but they rule in bad light.

I don't have a strong preference.
 
FWIW, with fiber optic bow sights, green is the first I can see at dawn and the last seen dusk (out of red, yellow and green). My preference is green on handguns also. Here's a pic of a Green SDM on my 2.75" S&W M69.

0001a%20green%20fo%20m69%202.75%20IMG_1806.jpg
 
wally said:
Green will generally be focused sharper by your eye since its in the middle of the wavelength range as well as being at about the peak of our color vision sensitivity.
Click to expand...

This was not something I was consciously aware of, until I checked. Very interesting!

I've switched them all to green today. The green doesn't pop like the red, but it does seem more consistent in varying lights, and a sharper contrast to the rest of the sight bodies (both front and rear). To put it another way, with the red is easier to pick out from the background, the green is easier to distinguish in the sight picture.
 
Some interesting replies. I go all red, all the time; easier for me to see outdoors, especially in natural light. Maybe it's my aging eyes, but red definitely "pops" more for me and I can't pick out the green when shooting at my local indoor ranges.
 
Green here. I can get a very small green fiber to show up well.

But you need to understand what the fiber dots are and are not. They are not a poor man's aimpoint. Very few people are able to just "shoot the dot" and get tiny groups. They are used in different ways depending on the level of precision versus speed needed.

For fast/close work: You shoot the dot.
For longer/slower work and for group shooting: Use the dot just to help you locate the front sight quickly, then aim using the front post just as if you had a solid black front sight.
 
My colorblind eyes seem to like the red fiber optic over the green.

Yet the lime green Ameriglo CAP sights work best for non FO sights.

I've long since stopped wondering why my eyes do what they do.
 
Green is nice, unless you're red green colorblind. Get whatever color works best for YOU
 
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