Night sight question

[19-3Ben]

I just bought the first pair of night sights I've ever bought for a gun. They are Trijicons, for my M&P9.

My question is, how bright are they supposed to be? They just don't seem that bright. If I cup my hands around them, they don't really glow at all. I took them in a bathroom with the lights off and they did glow brightly enough that I could clearly see them with no problems at all, but they don't jump out at me like I expected them to. My only other pair of night sights was on a 9 year old Glock 23 (also Trijicons) and those were about as bright as these are.
Somehow in all my years of gun nuttery, I never got into the night sight thing until recently. Go figure.

They are still in the package, so I can return them to the gun shop. I bought them at a shop with a LOT of business and turnover of merchandise so I don't think they've been sitting on a shelf for 10 years or anything. Is there a way to check manufacture date?

Am I just expecting too much?
Should I be able to see them glowing even in daylight? dim cloudy day kinda light?

 

[doc.lonestar]

They should be brighter than the 9 year old ones. If you can not see a difference between the two I would get an exchange.

You can always call the manufacturer and they may be able to tell you a date or at least a time frame based on the manufacturer serial numbers. Then again new sights should be brighter in this case so I would get an exchange.

 

[basicblur]

I'm assuming you have green sights?

I'd say you won't see 'em during daylight or cloudy days-if they were powerful enough to see under those conditions, they would probably be too bright/distracting at night.

AFA the date-don't know if it's always been the case, but all my Triicons have a date of manufacture stamped on 'em.

I have a 12-yr old Sigma with Trijicons-you can definitely tell the difference between them and new ones. I'm torn 'bout replacing 'em, as while dim (tritium's at its half-life), they are still usable at night.

 

[19-3Ben]

Yes, they're the green ones.
On the sides of the sights it says

"H3 11"

I assume that means 2011 manufacture date?
Perhaps I just expect too much. But as Doc said, I'd expect the new ones to be much brighter than the older ones.

Good point about them being too bright/distracting at night if they were bright enough to glow during day.

 

[Onward Allusion]

http://www.thehighroad.org/member.php?u=37886

19-3Ben
Night sight question

Return 'em! They should be brighter than your 9 year old ones regardless of whether they are Trijicon or Meprolight.

 

[bruzer]

I am no expert and only have experience with one set (Glock brand) but as far as seeing the glow from my 2 month old night sights, it takes a pretty dark area to see them glow. I can cup my hand over them and notice the faint glow but if I am in a good lighted area there is absolutely no noticeable glow from them. Also if I am outside it would have to get pretty dark (after dusk) for me to notice the glow from my night sights.
You might have a bad set but I can only guess if you take them back and compare with others on the shelf, they will all be similar. There are letters on mine (AK) for manufactures date but do not know how to decipher. Good luck.
Mike

 

[basicblur]

I assume you're comparing identical brands?
If your old ones are from a different maker, they may have been made with a different brightness level.

After being used to my old sights, the new ones were distracting a bit, but it didn't take long to adapt.

I'd stick 'em back in the blister pack? or just carry 'em back to the store and compare 'em to more sights he has in stock.

I could see possibly getting a bad one, but the odds of both front/rear being bad lowers the odds considerably.

Like yourself, I've only recently gotten into night sights-either my eyes have changed, or they've made improvements in 'em-I was never willing to sacrifice daylight sharpness for the night sights-new ones seem to be much better.

Also note-don't know if this has always been the case, but the Trijicon front sight should be bigger/brighter than the rear sights in order to naturally draw your eye to the front sight (and distinguish front/rear).

 

[basicblur]

From Trijicon's website:
All sighting systems that contain Trijicon brand tritium lamps are clearly marked with the “Trijicon®" brand.
Other markings include a two digit date code, which reflects the year of manufacture, and the periodic symbol for tritium, “H3”.

 

[mfcmb]

Tritium night sights should be easy to see in the dark, but they will not look like they're glowing in normal room light -- and certainly not in sunlight. Even in the dark, with dark-adapted eyes, they won't "jump out" at you.

 

[19-3Ben]

Interesting stuff. Thanks guys.

 

[Dnaltrop]

I just had the identical sights put on my M&P 40, They're performing as advertised.

It has to be fairly dim outside to really see the glow, but if there is THAT much light to be had, you'll be shooting the same as if they were plain Iron sights.

At night they're clean and clear. and my groups have tightened up a bit at 50'... Don't know if it's the different shaped dots, or just my improving skill. Either way i'm quite satisfied.

 

[Effigy]

Truth is, you don't really want them to glow brightly as it would negatively affect your night vision. They just need to be bright enough to see easily in the dark. You don't want green spotlights aimed at your eyeball.

 

[Skylerbone]

If you're needing more visibility for day time shooting Trijicon has a new style available for the M&P that gives you an orange or yellow ring of photoluminescent paint around it. They are more expensive but may be a better option if your current sights are a problem.

Another option and better in my opinion, but much more expensive is the set from VTAC. Three dot FO sights with independent three dot tritium inserts set just below the fiber optic ones. These are not the same as the HiViz style that have failed so often due to breakage. Those inserted tritium inside the FO tube.

http://www.vikingtactics.com/sights_mounts.html

 

[orionengnr]

If you like the concept of the Viking, take a look at the TruGlo TFO. They pioneered the fiber optic/tritium hybrid, and they don't use that weird six-dot setup.

The good thing about Trijicons is that when they get dim, you can send in the sights (or the slide) and get the tritium capsules replaced; about $18 each/$54 for the set. I didn't want to beat the sights out or back in, or have to adjust them afterwards, so I sent in the slide last summer. They can also install a different color combo at your request.

 

[Skylerbone]

Sorry, the TruGlo TFO is what I meant in my above post, not HiViz. There have been many negative posts about the durability of these sights. I'm sure there are some positive experiences as well, orion comes to mind, but the VTACs should be rock solid.

The FO will be bright enough during daylight hours to ignore the tritium dots and vice versa in low light. S&W actually has 2 M&P models, one in 40S&W the other in 9mm, that come with VTAC sights from the factory.