Help me with night sights

I got a set of Big Dots given to me on a glock 19. I've gotta say I'm not a huge fan of them. Anything outside self defense distance and I feel it takes longer to acquire a sight picture. I prefer a fiber optic front with a blacked out rear. Fast target acquisition and quick to get shots out on distance shooting as well.

Ditto what once0217 said. I have tritium on my xd40 and I like them, but I have Fibre optic red front on my Glock 23 and I think it is probably quicker for sight aquisition.

We have a fairly recent thread from a member looking for his first set of night sights that may be helpful

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/1st-time-looking-for-night-sights.885271/

I like Tro-Glu TFX sights. I have them on my Glock 45 and had them on my G26.

https://www.truglo.com/tfx/

Night - no light


Flashlight


Indoor - moderate light


Outdoor - sunlight

I had a set of XS Big Dots on my Glock 19 and liked them for close and moving targets, but you’re right they definitely give up ability at longer range. Not that it’s impossible to hit at range, but it’s just more difficult than other sight types.

I moved to Ameriglo I Dot sights and really like them. The front sight is very similar to the Trijicon HD sights (tritium center with a high viz colored dot around it) and the rear sight is a standard notch, but with a single tritium dot at the bottom as opposed to two tritium dots to the sides. This lets you stack the dots vertically, which I feel is a bit more natural than lining up 3 dots horizontally (at least for me). You also have the wings of the standard rear notch sight if you want to get more accurate shots at distance.

If you’re already noticing that you don’t shoot your carry gun enough due to the current sight picture, moving to XS Big Dots won’t help.

I have an older set of the tru-glo sights and they’re good for range use but I don’t really like them for a carry gun. Some of these issues may have been addressed by more recent production (like I said, the sights I have are older) but the length of the rear sight creates some issues.

The fiber optics make the sight significantly longer than a standard sight, which means it can act as a lever on the dovetail. Single handed reloads where you charge the gun by hooking the rear sight on something might damage your sight.

Also the length of the sights can interfere with holster fit. For example, I had to remove the ALS system on my safariland holster because the gun wouldn’t fit in the holster due to how long the sights were.

For what it’s worth, the Tru-Glo sights are about the age where I need to replace them anyway, so I’m probably going to be putting a set of I Dots on them in the next few months.

I have a set of TruGlo TFX Pro on my P224. They're very nice, and not much different than the TFX. I prefer them to the Trijicon HDs I have on one of my Glocks. Those are okay, though.

Then there's Dawson Precision, where you can buy FO or Tritium. Or a Tritium front and black rear, which is a set up I have on another Glock. Very well defined edges on those steel sights means better precision to my eye.

Good idea to ask around first but your eyes will be the final judge. I got lucky about 9 years ago getting night sights for my Glock 19. The LGS had several different models in stock and I got to eyeball each set even if they weren't for a G19. Plus, I've known the owner since 1991 and I trust his word. Wound up with a set of Trijicon night sights which I like. But I'm glad I got to check out others in person, which isn't always possible. Just try to do as much research as you can first and see some in person before you take the plunge.

22250Rem said:

Good idea to ask around first but your eyes will be the final judge. I got lucky about 9 years ago getting night sights for my Glock 19. The LGS had several different models in stock and I got to eyeball each set even if they weren't for a G19. Plus, I've known the owner since 1991 and I trust his word. Wound up with a set of Trijicon night sights which I like. But I'm glad I got to check out others in person, which isn't always possible. Just try to do as much research as you can first and see some in person before you take the plunge.

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Very sage advice, if you can pre-test (or at least hold) the guns with sights installed and compare next to each other you will be much happier than if you order blind.

My Trijicons are starting to fade a bit on my Glock 34 so they’ll need replacement at some point this year. These have lasted me through thick and thin on my hip daily for almost a decade, so in my case I’ll be going back to the well and replacing them with a Trijicon set.

Good luck with your search. When you find what you’re looking for a let us know how your shoot with them .

Stay safe.

I have Dawson fiber optic front and black rear on a 45 and I love them.

I tried XS Big dots years ago and relatively quickly abandoned them, for many of the reasons you say.

I found a blacked out rear (or small line or dot in the center) and a bright colored front sight just as fast and far more precise.

My current favorite are Ameriglo CAP as the square yellow/lime green sight really pop best for my colorblind eyes, but trigicon and Ameriglo and many others make similar.

Between the U notch or square notch rear I don't see a ton of difference, but blacked out rear and bright front are much better than 3 dot in my experience and opinion. Immediate front sight focus, elevation control should be handled by practicing a proper firing grip.

I have trijicons on my 19 and I really like them, not because they are night sights though, to be honest I always thought they were a lil dim, even 7 years ago when they were only a few years old. I find the Ameriglo's to be insanely bright. I like the Ameriglo yellow dot for the front, and I have an I.C.E. Claw rear sight. It has a pretty wide notch, definitely not for competition or accuracy, better in terms of quick sight acquisition. I find my Trijicons to be most accurate though.

Really skeptical of night sights; if it is dark enough to require night sights, it's too dark to see who you are shooting. Have found that the night sights are useful for finding a gun in the dark.
Have been putting Dawsons on P365s, and have found them to be fast and accurate. With any sort of light at all, the fiber optic shows up.
Moon

I made the switch years ago to fiber optic 3 dot, and I haven’t really looked back. I do have some night sights on some pistols, but the FO is the bees-knees when shooting outdoors as my aging eyes can pick them up so easily. Currently I have green dots on the rear sight and a red front dot. Super easy to pick up, and I just prefer the 3-dot as I can more readily line up horizontally and vertically than any other setup I’ve tried.

halfmoonclip said:

Really skeptical of night sights; if it is dark enough to require night sights, it's too dark to see who you are shooting. Have found that the night sights are useful for finding a gun in the dark.
Moon

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In the other thread I linked to above, I have a quote from Tom Givens, who studies civilian use of firearms about as much as anybody, that I'll share here again...

...in the 60 plus defensive shootings his students have been involved in, the lighting (or lack of lighting) was a factor in the outcome in exactly ZERO cases.

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halfmoonclip said:

Really skeptical of night sights; if it is dark enough to require night sights, it's too dark to see who you are shooting. Have found that the night sights are useful for finding a gun in the dark.
Have been putting Dawsons on P365s, and have found them to be fast and accurate. With any sort of light at all, the fiber optic shows up.
Moon

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I've found the night sights, while I agree of dubious use in the truly dark, help illuminate better in dim light, which is bright enough for target ID but dark enough to lose any color or contrast. Blacked out sights are fine, but a glowing front sight is quicker, for me.

I recently picked up a pair of Trijicon HD XR sights with the yellow front and they are great for my colorblind eyes in all lighting conditions.

JTQ said:

In the other thread I linked to above, I have a quote from Tom Givens, who studies civilian use of firearms about as much as anybody, that I'll share here again...

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I tend to agree. I believe Rob pincus was the one that drew my attention to the fact that your pistol sights and aiming down your sights in a gunfight is just not something that happens in a typical gun fight. Otoh, some of us may have heard about Jim Cirillo and his famous grocery store shootout while on the stakeout squad where he engaged a guy armed with an AK or something with his snubnose 1 7/8" .38 revolver from like 40 yards away and took a head shot. He said everything in his peripheral just melted away and he had an intensely defined focus on his revolver sights, etc...

An anomaly to be sure, I believe sights are important to train with and to be able to be accurate. I still will buy something quality like triji's or ameriglo but I don't think "night sights" are all that important or relevant and would buy non tritium if they saved me money because I just don't feel it's necessary, but the kid in me is like "but it's cool because it glows in the dark".

DustyGmt said:

I tend to agree. I believe Rob pincus was the one that drew my attention to the fact that your pistol sights and aiming down your sights in a gunfight is just not something that happens in a typical gun fight.

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I have no comment on Mr. Pincus views, since I'm not familiar with them, but that's not the point Tom Givens is making. I'm pretty sure he teaches folks to use their sights.

His point is there are almost no situations for a civilian user would be in total darkness, where night sights would be useful. I'm sure we could "what if" this to death, but for somebody to attack you, they pretty much need enough light to see you. This is in relation to the civilian user of a firearm, and not for LE or MIL who have different needs.

I've put Trijicon HD Night Sights with an orange front dot/green dot rear on the pistols that I carry most often. They are great for both day and night and the orange dot front sight is big enough for quick acquisition. They also come with a yellow front dot if you prefer. I started using orange when I put orange enamel on a 1911 custom front sight in 1974 and stayed with that color to this day.

Cheers,

Harry

I have a set of Tru-Glo TFX Pro Day Night Sights on my Kimber Micro 9 that light up bright night or day. I'm sure the tritium aspect will fade over time and will have to be replenished.. that's the nature of the beast.

I just picked up a new Ruger Max-9, it has a fiber optic front sight, that also has a tritium ring around the FO tube. It gives the familiar glow in the dark, but really pops in the daylight. It's seeming to be a nice combo. I'll see what I think of it in a few months.