Which front sight for S&W Mountain Gun?

[WNC Seabee]

I love everything about my .44Mag Mountain Gun except the black ramp front sight. I carry this on my woods walks, backup for deer/hog hunting and just general purpose carry. Not so much in town or concealed carry, strictly fishing, hiking, woods etc.

So, I'm trying to decide between a gold bead or fiber optic front sight.

Thoughts?




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[Guillermo]

fiber optic sites do a great job of magnifying light

when there is no light, they are ineffective

I am a big fan of Trijicons and other "glow in the dark" sites.

 

[BYJO4]

I prefer the fiber optic over the gold bead. You could also put "whiteout" on your current black ramp and it should be easy to see.

 

[CraigC]

The only thing better than the black ramp it come with is a black post.

Don't care for flashy sights at all.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I bought some fluorescent orange model paint. It worked but comes off with gun solvents. Brownells sells a fluorescent orange paint that supposedly doesnt have that problem.

 

[Coal Dragger]

I have a couple of fiber optic front sights for my FA and they work quite well for extending your ability to see the front sight in dim light. They are not, however, a good sight for precision shooting compared to a dead black target style sight blade.

 

[F-111 John]

Another vote for fiber optic. Put one on my 6" barrel Dan Wesson it is like night and day outdoors, especially for my "over 50" eyes.

 

[StrawHat]

CraigC and I use the same sights. For me it would be a black patridge sight for the best sight picture. If I modify them at all, I change them to a sourdough shape by filing a 45* bevel on the face and blacken that. SOme folks file and inlay a gold or silver piece to catch the eye (light).

 

[Hammerdown77]

I'd get one of these for your Mountain Gun:
http://www.sdmfabricating.com/Super_Sights.html

With enough light to make it glow (doesn't take much), it will draw your eye to the front sight. It has a flat front face like a Patridge, so you can use the corners and top for precision work. And when it doesn't glow, it looks just like a Patridge.

Some of the HiViz sights are like this too. Just bought a HiViz for my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter, and it looks just like black Patridge when there's no light on the fiber optic.

It also has the fiber recessed into the face of the sight, so that it doesn't "bloom". I have a Marble's fiber front sight where the rod sticks out past the face, and is rounded off, and in daylight that thing looks like a giant traffic light. Great for fast pickup and visibility, bad for precision.

 

[BBQLS1]

I'm kinda old fashioned, I'd prefer a brass bead over the fiber optic. A brass serrated insert patridge front sight could be cool.

 

[huntershooter]

My deer/hog hunting is done in timber, low light.
Black on black sights have proven useless (front blade gets lost in shadows), brass beads need light reflecting off the bead-or it might as well be black.

The fiber optics have been the answer for me.
They're not pretty, but they certainly work.

Here are a few "N" frame S&W's I use for hunting: (These are all SDM's I installed)

 

[WNC Seabee]

I should have mentioned in the original post that I have an SDM Fiber Optic sight on my 5" 629 and love it! I've been using the 5" for a primary deer gun for a few years now, recently picked up the Mountain Gun to either replace it, or to just use as a backup when carrying rifle or bow.

This is likely the way I'll go, but I was wondering what folks thoughts are on the gold bead. Sounds like it's FO for me. Thanks y'all.


My 5" 629:

 

[Hammerdown77]

I thought the gold bead was the way to go too, until I held it up against a dirt berm in late day Fall light, and also against a woods background like in your picture. That bead, especially if it hasn't just been polished up with Flitz, disappears with that texture and color behind it.

 

[Rembrandt]

Went with the SDM, debated about installing the Weigand interchangeable system with a gold bead....either one would be a good choice.

 

[bhk]

I have tried the fiber optics that SW puts on their revolvers and do not like them. They 'bloom' and offer a lousy sight picture. Would be fine for close up action shooting, but not for accurate stuff. The Ruger sights look much better.

I have settled on the classic red insert ramp front sights for field use. They offer a crisp sight picture and plenty of contrast in the woods. The are less than perfect for bullseye shooting under some lighting conditions, but for hunting they excel.

 

[BBQLS1]

bhk please tell me about the gun and knife.