Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Night sights or not?

Since Waders asked for everyone to post a new thread, here goes.

I have used several different sights over the years and I've found that no two people see things exactly the same. I've been shooting some local pistol matches for the last 3 years and have gone from regular night sights to Trijicon HD's and HD XR's to Dawson fiber optics and a mix of Dawson and HD XR's. What I've learned is I see orange better than yellow or green. So I bought a new G19 gen 5 a couple weeks ago and finally ordered another set of Trijicon HD XR's after shooting Ameriglo's and a few other brands.

The Trijicon HD's were great on anything under 10 yards but shooting plates at 25-50 yards was nearly impossible with the front sight covering the entire plate at distance. In the dark they have no equal as the big bright green dots do stand out. i have no trouble figuring out which dot is the front sight.

Moving to HD XR's with their thinner front sight (.122 vs .144) with the same rear sight with an opening of .169 was odd at first and I just couldn't get used to that much light on the sides of the front post and falsely blamed poor accuracy to that. So I put a Dawson rear on a couple of M&P 9mm pistols I had, along with an Apex barrel and accuracy was great. But I still had an M&P 45 with HD XR's so I pulled it out and shot it again to see which direction I wanted to go for the G19. I was thrilled to see I had no accuracy issues up close or at further ranges, hitting a 10" plate at 55 yards was very easy.

So after installing the HD XR's I decided to take some pics of them.

Usually people say you need a light source and tritium is of no use anyway and I agree you need a light but sometimes sitting in the dark while an intruder is moving through the house with a few lights on tritium is still useful.

And in pitch black they can help you locate your pistol.


One thing I would like to say about the pics is the smaller front vial on the XR's looks tiny but it's because the camera was held right at the rear sight, it's still very easy to see even though the picture doesn't look like it. I shot it today and am very pleased with the whole gun.

The other day I broke the rear sight on my old Gen 2 Glock19. Yesterday, a new set of TruGlo tritium sights came in the mail. Will install them today.
I am on my second set of Trijicons on my Colt Commander and my S&W 25-5

very nice write up. I had the HD's on a G43 and they were OK, like you mentioned they were big and useful at close range.

off topic you seem to like the gen 5 glock 19, is this in comparison to the other glock generations?

I have had a few Glocks in the past but never really warmed up to them and preferred the M&P line, especially the 2.0 versions. But I watched a buddy of mine shoot Glocks for the same 3 years now and I know they are good pistols too. I saw the new Gen 5's come out and for some reason just decided to try one and wound up buying 5 in the last 6 months. I kept a 17 MOS, a 19 and a 44. Not that they are any better than the older versions, I just like no finger grooves, forward slide serrations and the flared mag well along with the angled front end.

They all work.

I have a set of TFO's on my Glock. Like them generally and in less than ideal light situations, they work.

Combat lights are real small now. "Night sights" are a waste of money.

I was the armorer and firearms instructor for a municipal department for many years. They allow for precision shooting in the dark. But under real life shooting situations, you will not use them. I ran a drill where a piece of tape was put over both front and rear sights to shoot at 15 yards and under, it comes down to instinctive point and shoot.

Slavek, I spent $20 more for these than a set of Dawson's cost me. Money well spent. In fact they were cheaper than my Streamlight TLR HL's.

WStrayer, wow, just wow...

The only thing I do to my Glocks, is install after market night sights

That's where I am. I just don't see them well enough any more to benefit from them. I'm using means to assist my vision that actually work for me instead.

Very much so. I hate ‘em!

So as in this picture, say the tv stand the sights are on is a bad guy and you are in a dark hallway or another room that's dark, would you rather have this sight picture or not be able to see your sights at all and have to turn on a weapon light to silhouette them?

FWIW, I gave $99 for these Trijicon HD XR sights and mostly chose them for the orange luminescent paint that I see very well in the daylight. The tritium is just a bonus. Dawson's will run you $79 and without a light, you'll be shooting blind, I know cause I have them too. Leaving a light on in strategic places in your home is a good tip that was mentioned here a week or two ago. Playing with these and leaving a light on here and there really opened my eyes.

I prefer a fiber optic front and black rear. But if I have to use tritium (I do) I sharpie out the rear sight to dull how bright the back sights are.

Night sights are handy for finding the gun in the dark. I generally always have a handheld flashlight and my HD guns all have weapon lights. Those generally wash out the night sights anyway. A fiber optic front really pops with a handheld or WML activated, so that’s my preference.

I dont find night sights all that usefull. Since I'm not in the Cop business, I don't worry about Cop business things. I've trained at night without night sights and did just fine.

Damn right TWR, perfect, randomly dim lit house with sights you can see in total blackness, that said, it most likely wont ever happen here, with cams/sensors/alarms and near 600 lbs of Rottweilers that don't bark, i'll most likely be awakened by beeping sounds and some poor sombitch getting devoured in the yard, guess grab the REPR and call amberlamps and POPO!

Rather have a light on my gun or in my off hand.

I have mostly Glocks so I put Trijicons on them. Two reasons--I can get them cheap since I know someone who works there and the plastic sights are the one thing I always change on my Glocks.

When I have had the opportunity to seek out a bad guy I had my M&P45 with TLR1 HL weapon light on it and a ProTac 2 handheld light to search with. Oh and the M&P45 wears Trijicon HD XR's as well. I might need me a Rottie one day, I've only been around 4 of them. 2 of them were the funnest dogs around, the other 2 were mean SOB's!

Those plastic sights ain't that bad really. I paint the white dot orange and can shoot em just fine but they don't inspire much confidence.

It must suck to be so poor you have to choose between a light or night sights...

I had Tijicon Tritium night sights on my 1911 and over about the last 30 or so years they have gone out completely having gotten progressively more dim over the years. In thirty years most of us here won't be sighting anything, but in the meantime my 1911 wears a new Tijicon RMR red dot and I like that even better.

I'm a fan of the Trijicon HD, too.

You need a light source that allows positive target ID, night sights are handy but not mandatory.

Training in the dark is eye opening. Combining a handheld light and a WML is probably optimal if you don't have and train w/ NVDs.


mike r

Boys, you still talking about "find gun in the dark" sights? I recommend sturdy as a rock Surefire. American company based in California. Lights must be Made in China because the country of origin is not stamped anywhere on them. No worries, Apple makes very nice electronics in PRC.

I like to bring up points that people tend to overlook.

People like to say if there's not enough light to see the sights, or identify the target, you shouldn't be shooting. Lets hope the other guy feels the same way. When you have muzzle flashes come at you, you might think differently.


The other point I learned from experience, having to shoot once in a low light situation. I could see the sights and the intended target just fine... until I fired that first shot. Then I was sort of blinded (the flash bulb effect) by the muzzle flash (and surprisingly port flash). Because the gun had night sights, I was able to keep shooting as the situation required.

WStrayer: Our departments issued "Glocks" all came with night sights and I used them for the last 10 (ten) years of my career there - to this day I still prefer night sights on all my personal Glocks.
I can see NO downside to them.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Yep. Had the cheap ass plastic rear sight fly off my first Glock 17 when I was dispatching a skunk here at the Ranch.

First thing I do when I buy a new Glock is put on new steel Night Sights. I prefer Heine Straight Eights.

Only other thing I do to them is put a 3.5 lb trigger disconnecter and a extended slide release.

And I Fuqking HATE those ridiculous looking plastic pos fiber optic sights they put on the front of most revolvers nowadays !

Just ruins it for me.

My bedside gun also wears a Crimson Trace Light / Laser Combo for things that bump in the night. 🤠

Great till that plastic POS goes flying off your gun and leaves you with out a front sight to aim with.

I make sure and install them correctly (Frank Proctor has a video describing it) and then just replace them as needed. I consider it a wear item that gets maintenance.

That’ll work fine unless your in a shootout 😜

Question, night sights on a carry gun? Answer, always.... because you just never when, where or how.