Red ramp front sight - yea or nay?

[barnfrog]

I recently picked up a Smith & Wesson Model 57-6, which has the red ramp front sight. First time at the range it was immediately clear that my eyes weren't picking up the front sight very well, making it difficult to get good sight alignment. When I got home I cut a sliver of masking tape the same width as the sight and colored it black with a marker. Much easier to see in all light conditions. Anybody else have this issue?

 

[chicharrones]

The red ramp on my S&W is a shiny little bugger and reflects outdoor light. It looks nice in photos, but it’s not very useful to my middle aged eyes.

 

[trackskippy]

I always found the red inserts lacking. I used to knock them out and put a black one in.

These days, Ive been putting flo orange nail polish on all my sights that don't have night sights, and I just put nail polish over the inserts on any of the guns I get with them. That stands out.

 

[InTheField]

Most of my revolvers have red inserts in the ramps. I think they are terrible for shooting at paper targets on the range, but fantastic for field or woodland shooting. As I live in the boonies and shoot almost daily "in the wild," I love them! But for bullseye type shooting, I much prefer the square, black patridge sights on my Smith and Wessons 17 and 41.

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I put florescent orange finger nail polish and clear. On all my pistols that don't have fiber optic sights. It helped a lot.

 

[Rodfac]

Not really useful....the 'red' just doesn't show up....it appears as a white shiny blob when i use it. Given my druthers, I'd opt for a plain blued steel Baughman front sight. Use as is or blacken with a match, or for wood's use hunting, put a dab of typewriter 'white out' on it. This last will not reflect light and is a dead flat white....Rod

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Only revolver I have them on is my DW M-15 with interchangeable front sights. Perhaps it's because I learned to shoot a handgun practicing Bullseye but colored inserts don't do anything for me.

 

[doubleh]

I used to like a yellow insert. A red one was no help. Since having my vision restored by cataract removal I am perfectly happy with plain black or a white dot like many semi- autos come with. Any light color disappears in our bright sunlight. Any front sight that doesn't have the white dot gets masked around it and the entire sight sprayed with 2 coats of Rustoleum rust reducer black primer, the dullest black paint I have found. No sight glare at all with it.

My ranges pistol bays face south, nor an ideal direction but the only one available. If the front is the least bit shiny the glare makes thing difficult in the morning or evening. The glare washes out the daylight seen between the rear and front sight on the side the sunshine is hitting. The dull black paint eliminates this.

 

[Rock185]

I've had several revolvers with factory red ramp fronts. Seemed like it would work better than it actually did for me. Years ago, I had my early 66 overhauled by S&W. It had the stainless front, but came back with a new barrel and red ramp front. I changed it to a black ramp insert.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Our late range officer (and his near vision was as bad as his distant) globbed paint on sights, front and rear. Seeing sights is just a pain, as we age.
Lee's Red Ramps marketed a really bright orange mixture that I used to replace the kind of muddy Smith red inserts, and still have a number that I worked on. A current M41 Smith wears a faux ivory rifle style front sight; it's better in the field than on paper. A really bright orange marker is now available as well.
Optics let me see my shakes too much, so I struggle with irons. Glock sights work better than most things; a TruGlo white/night sight is great on a BodyGuard .380.
Moon

 

[Jim Watson]

My only remaining red ramps are on a heirloom .44 and a showpiece .38-44.
I have some red painted blades on occasional guns.
When I bought a M67 for IDPA SSR, I had the red ramp sight blade cut off and the ramp base dovetailed for a fibre optic sight.

 

[JN01]

I'm the opposite, black front sights are useless to me. All my front pistol sights are either night sights with an orange ring around the tritium insert or are painted florescent orange. The OEM S&W red inserts aren't very helpful though, they are not bright enough.

 

[.38 Special]

I don't like them. At best, they offer no advantage to me, and at worst, they're shiny and/or distracting. I will say that under perfect light conditions I have used them as an aid to very long range "artillery" shooting, as the markings help divide the front sight into segments and allow me to closely estimate how much of the blade to hold up out of the rear notch. I haven't used them in that way in years, though, and don't know if my vision would still allow me to do it.

I vastly prefer matte black front and rear sights, with no outlines, inserts, or other trickery. I still carry a lighter in my range box, and "smoke" my sights whenever they need it. Ideally the front blade will feature a steep (or even undercut) ramp with serrations. Something like this M41 is just about perfect, except that it will disembowel your holster.

 

[1KPerDay]

For fast shooting, a red or orange ramp is superior (IMO). For accuracy, a Black patridge-type is superior. Red or orange front ramps without any border around the color can be very hard to shoot accurately with.

 

[halfmoonclip]

When I bought a M67 for IDPA SSR, I had the red ramp sight blade cut off and the ramp base dovetailed for a fibre optic sight.

That's something that S&W has only recently addressed. Whether for durability or other reasons, Smith loved making front sights as part of the barrel. The current,spring loaded ones are great; the ones with tiny pins are a PITA.
Have a really minty M67, and flat refuse to have it milled. But fiber optics are a help for fast acquisition; the 67's plain stainless front sight wears a coat of bright orange marker.
Moon

 

[sparkyv]

I've replaced most of my S&Ws factory red ramp and Patridge front sights with fiber optics. Works GREAT for me!

 

[CajunBass]

Depends on what I'm shooting at. The target shown in my avatar? Guess what? Red/orange sights don't show up too well against that 10X ring. But they do against the same target only with the 10X just plain black.

The factory red insert I can take or leave. Nail polish and remover are my friends.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

My carry pistols get their front blade sights painted fluorescent orange and the rear sights painted fluorescent yellow.

This works exceptionally well for me and my eyes.

And wouldn't you know...the dollar-a-bottle nail polish in these colors is perfect for this!

 

[LAH]

Not a fan of the red ramp.

 

[Ks5shooter]

X2 on fiber optic.

 

[Armored farmer]

I paint them all with an orange paint marker

 

[Strainer]

I recall shooting a friend’s Model 66 with the red ramp and loved the gun except for the front sight. Of course it was right after Thanksgiving and we were shooting discarded pumpkins, which didn’t offer the best contrast. Not surprisingly, a Model 17 with a black patridge sight was easier to use. Like a lot of men, I have a bit of red green color blindness, which may contribute to my not liking a red ramp sight.

 

[Show Me]

Depends on the color of your target. And how far away it is. Black on orange , white on black, anything but red on red. Ect.

 

[Riomouse911]

They are okaaaay for me. Better than a black or silver colored ramp, but not as crisp or clear as a Patridge front sight is to me.

Like several of the otters, I also paint my hard-to-see front sights with orange model paint.

Of course red or orange sights are not good on targets like these. I punted two or I would’ve shot a good smiley face this morning with my Shadow 2 at 7 yds. (That gun has a red FO front sight.)



Stay safe.

 

[CraigC]

I hate them and all other flashy sights. Unless it's expressly a defensive handgun, I want all black target sights.