"Sharpening" AR front sight post

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I'm going to be competing in the All Army Marksmanship Competition, using a borrowed rifle from somebody's arms room at Ft Benning (if I'm lucky, it'll come from the AMU, but at this point I don't even know if it's an A2, A4, or God help me, an M4)

One problem I've always had is the edges of the front sight post being less than crisp. Is there anything non-permanent I can do to the front post to increase the crispness?
 
If you can't find one there, I'll loan you my Ray-vin smoker if you want. If you're shooting around the AMU guys though, someone's liable to have spray on sight black or a smoker.
 
I was half asleep when I posted my original response, so here's a more detailed explanation.

Front sight post focus is probably the most critical aspect of an accurate shot (equipment aside). Thus, it is extremely important to be able to see your front sight post as best as possible.

You note that the front sight post is not very 'crisp' sometimes. This is mainly due to light conditions. Light affects your sight picture, and also affects how your eye perceives the front sight post. You don't want your front sight post to be shiny, otherwise you will not be able to get a proper sight picture - bad focus.

And the way the light is reflected off the front sight post can also vary. In your case, you've noticed how the edges are not very crisp. This is mainly because the finish on the front sight post is reflecting light in various ways.

Thus, shooters will do something to blacken the front sight post. It works by making the front sight post darker/blacker and by making the finish on the front sight post consitent throughout. Also, blackening the sight will result in a matte/flat finish, which makes reflection of light very minimal, thus a more visible front sight post (black).

There are two main ways to blacken a sight: using smoke or spray on temporary paint. A smoker of some sort is preferred because the smoke residue does not build up anywhere near as fast as spray on finishes. It is possible for the spray on sight black to build up in layers, and thus, make your front sight post wider or taller, affecting your sight picture, or even your sight settings. Granted, as long as you clean off the sight black between matches, you'll be fine.

Anyway, this is why you see many shooters putting a flame near their front sight post before the event or even before each stage of fire.

Good luck at the tournament. Have fun. Stay safe.
 
I'm sure I'll have fun. Quick overview of one of the events (the Audie Murphy, IIRC)

1.5 mile approach march (do it in 11 min for max points) in full gear, to include body armor with plates to 500m line on the range.

At 25 minutes from start, first targets come up. If you haven't gotten to the 500m line yet, you're out. From the time the targets come up, you have 90 seconds to move to the 400m line, assume a firing position (prone supported in this case) and engage your target 10 times.

Repeat 100m/90 seconds/10 shots until you have engaged your target from the 100m line 10 times. Firing positions move to less stable ones as the range decreases.

And I'm getting paid for this! Thank you taxpayers! :D
 
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