Stupid night sights question

[chickenfried]

I'm thinking of getting a Kahr and it got me thinking about night sights. I was wondering what's the purpose of night sights? If it's too dark to see your sights without NS isn't it too dark to see your target? Thanks for the info.

 

[Graystar]

If it's too dark to see your sights without NS isn't it too dark to see your target?

That is exactly why I personally have always thought night sights are a waste of money.

 

[priv8ter]

Nah

I never really thought of it that way...but after doing some experimenting, I think my answe to your question will be no.

I'm speaking just for myself here, but when I got night sights, it wasn't so I could walk into a pitch black room and start shooting stuff. I got night sights for the same reason I want to get a fiber-optic front sight on my lever-action Marlin:

To help pick up the the sights, most specifically the front sight in low light conditions. I have found that in low light conditions, when I can see my target quite clearly, I have trouble focusing on a dark set of sights. Having those three glowing little dots(or even the one front sight) makes it easier to feel confident in taking a shot in these low-light conditions.

That is exactly why I personally have always thought night sights are a waste of money.

I'll tell you, the first time I went to the gun range on a cloudy day, and saw those sights glowing, I felt that my night sights were worth the money.

greg

 

[Black Snowman]

If it's too dark to see your sights without NS isn't it too dark to see your target?

There are many possible circumstances where you know where your target is but can't see the sights clearly. For instance shooting from a dark room into a light room, or firing at a target illuminated with a flashlight. This is where the night sights really help.

 

[halvey]

I had night sites and hated them. But, I would MAYBE consider a front night sight and still have the dark sites, simply for pickup up the sights as stated above.

 

[TallPine]

If it's too dark to see your sights without NS isn't it too dark to see your target?

Well, just be glad that Ruger doesn't engrave all those warnings on the barrel in braille as well as in print.

 

[birdv]

if you hunt by moonlight and sit in the shadows it can really help.

 

[444]

Just one example that happened to me recently.
I was shooting a night, steel match. They had a trailer mounted light array to our backs. The targets were clearly illuminated, but I couldn't see my front sight at all and promptly lost the match.
In an IDPA night match where we were shooting out of a building at targets outside. The moon was bright and the targets were clearly visible. But, since I was inside the building there was no light at all to see my sights.
There would be countless real life variations similar to those above.

 

[Berg01]

I shoot often at a very dimly and unevenly lit indoor firearms range where either a set of nightsights, a Hi-Viz frontsight, or some flourescent-painted dot sights are almost a necessity. In this place, if you position your target directly underneath one of the overhead lights downrange, you can see the target with no problem, However, the overhead lighting from where you are shooting is often too dim to see your frontsight.

Frankly, I think that the best solution is the low-buck approach, which is to paint over the whitedots with flourescent model paint, then a clearcoat, since you save the cost of the tritium or hi-viz sights, and if you are careful, it looks pretty good.

 

[moorerwc]

I've experimented a bit, but don't have a huge amount of experience. I do have trijicons on both my Glocks and regular three dot sights on both of my 1911's and have been getting annoyed at the three dot sights because I feel like they slow down accurate shooting. I'll be switching to all black sights soon. I have yet to really see the utility of night sights and think that money would be better spent on a good light like a 6P and ammo to train with. I don't shoot competitions and think that anytime it is too dark to see my sights well I need to be using a flashlight either off to the side, at my jawline/LOS, or supporting the gun. I've done a good deal of practice with the supporting hand methods but need to work more on my one-handed shooting skills.
Another good thing about training this way is that is applicable to whatever pistol you happen to be shooting--one handed shooting is good training for wounded shooter drills and the gun in hand might not have night sights on it yet.

-Chad

 

[Boats]

I'd rather have them and not need them than to need them and not have them, especially since I view them as cheap insurance for seeing the sights that don't require batteries and add no weight or complexity. However, I am thinking of going from three dot to bar/dot.

 

[Blackhawk 6]

There is a narrow window that requires night sights. Perhaps 1 in 100, 1 in 1,000 or even 1 in 10,000 shootings occur in that window. If your shooting does, you'll either be glad you had them or wish you had them.

I never understood how night sights slow people down. I do not even notice the dots unless it is dark and they are glowing. In fact, I prefer Trijicon night sights because the white outline around the vials is of a much lower profile.

Either way, you live or die with the equipment you select.

 

[treeprof]

I prefer Trijicon night sights because the white outline around the vials is of a much lower profile

Me, too, and one reason I use them to the exclusion of other brands.

I just don't see the downside of always knowing how my sights are aligned.

I've never had cause to fire a handgun defensively, including at night or in low light. I do know from low-light/night-shoot courses and practice, tho, that tritium sights can be very useful for some of the reasons stated above. I know from practicing clearing my house in the dark that, in some places in my home, they'd be invaluable. I know a coupla LEOs who either held ppl at gunpoint or had to shoot in the dark w/out benefit of night sights, who now say that they wouldn't be w/out them.

I've heard the argument made that they might give you away to a BG. But, if he's behind or beside you to the point that he can see your sights, and that alone gives you away, a) you make poor decisions, b) your technique stinks, and c) you're history anyway, no matter what your sights look like.

 

[L-Frame]

I have Trijicon night sights on 2 of my handguns. Both have the white outline front night sight. The white outline helps see the front sight better in broad daylight. I have taken night fire classes with flashlights and in all circumstances during those classes the night sights were a big help. The classes would start in low light and progress into darkness. In one of the classes I decided to try it with one of my non-night sight guns. I have never experienced a more frustrating time shooting a gun in my life. All I could think about was "Thank God this is not the real thing".

If you get the white outline night sights from Trijicon I don't see how you can go wrong. Best of both worlds.

 

[Gunmeister]

I own four Kahrs, all four have night sights. You can buy Mep Pro Lite night sights from Kahr for about $60.00 for the set. If your really careful, you can install them yourself. My local shop charges $15.00 per sight to install.
As you grow older and your vision begins to weaken, you will appreciate the sights in low light conditions. To me, one of the major plus factors is the comforting glow on the night stand in a very dark bedroom, also a big plus is the fact that the glowing sights make it much easier to locate your pistol on the night stand and to get it pointed in the right direction in that dark bedroom when you are suddenly awakened from a deep sleep by something or someone.
Are they worth the money? Absolutely!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Try doing room-clearing drills in a darkened house (Yes, I'm the number-one opponent of room-clearing if you're not a cop or soldier -- but try the drills, anyway.) When there's plenty of light to see a man, you'll have difficulty picking up your sights.

Often something as simple as painting the front sight with typewrite correction fluid will make a big difference.

 

[DMK]

If it's too dark to see your sights without NS isn't it too dark to see your target?

Tritium sights are not for pitch black. They are for dim light. IMO, they are misnamed.

Try this:

1)Wait until it's pitch dark outside. Light a room a room or hallway with a nightlight or flashlight and tape a white piece of paper to your wall.

2)Check that your gun is unloaded, there is no round chambered and keep aware of rules 2,3,4(make sure there is nobody on the oposite side of that wall!).

3)Go all the way into a room where you can see the target through the doorway and turn out the lights in the room. Can you see the piece of paper? Aim at the paper. How easy is it to see your sights? How comfortable are you with "point shooting"?

4) Try #3 again with a dark hallway and using a flashlight with your favorite tactical flashlight technique (Harris, etc).

 

[Island Beretta]

Save your money and buy a good flashlight instead. In dim light, if you can make out your target you can make out your gun..it is actually better to develop your shooting index as your vision can/will fail you (whether you have night sights or regular sights) in an armed confrontation esp. at night. It is also more than likely that the attack will be at contact distances because remember the attacker is in the dark as well.

Believe me, you probably won't even see your sights when your fear or flight mechanisms chip in..that said however, CONFIDENCE is a big factor in self-defence as it reduces hesitation and second guessing, so if you believe that night sights will help you then get it ..!!