buying some new sight

[pappascott]

i am in need of some new sights. was leaning toward "nightsights" but will they be competitive in uspsa. also what/which do you guys recomend? i like the trijicon for its compactness/ pecieved ruggedness. any help before i waste my very limited resouces?

[pappascott]

also i forgot to mention this is my normal carry weapon.

[lee blackman]

I'm a big fan of Dawson sights. Rather than get a set, you can piece together your own. If your like me it will actually save you money because you don't have to get a rear night sight and just get a front. I've never liked the traditional 3-dot because I find the rear dots distract from focus on the front sight and slow me down. When I got my Glock 20SF with its factory night sights the first thing I did was paint over the rear dots with black paint. It also bothered me that the rear sights seemed to glow brighter than the front sight.

I always thought night sights were a waste of money to begin with. You need a flashlight not a night sight. It doesn't matter if you can see your sights if you can't see what your shooting at. A fiber front sight is amazing at night when working with a flashlight. If you have an opportunity to borrow a buddies gun and play around the house one night I recommend it.

Now I do have to admit Hienie makes some darn good sights too. If I were stuck on getting a set of night sights I would get a set of the straight 8 two dot sights. They give a pretty impressive sight picture no matter the lighting conditions. Nothing like a set of high profile dawson sights with a fiber front sight, but still pretty good.

[G-ManBart]

also i forgot to mention this is my normal carry weapon.

Something like the Ameriglo sights that are both fiber optic and tritium might be the best of both worlds. For normal daytime use I prefer rear sights with nothing on them, but can deal with the inserts on the Trijicon sights on all my carry guns...it's just not a big deal. For a combination carry and match gun, I'd probably go with the combo Ameriglo front and a plain rear sight. I had Dave Lauck make custom night sights for my wife's carry revolver and he uses smaller rear inserts that are almost white at night with a normal green front insert. The combination is really nice at night and the smaller rear inserts are less noticeable during the daytime. The downside was price....ouch.

I absolutely would not carry a gun that didn't have night sight(s) if there was any way around it. I've had a guns with and without night inserts pointed at bad guys where there was enough light to clearly see the threat, but not enough to see normal night sights...more than once, so my choice is based on actual experience, not theory. I did a quick video to give folks a rough idea of the difference...hard to do well, but it's a start (some monitors make this easier/hard to see clearly...sorry):

Edited September 5, 2010 by G-ManBart

[Avezorak]

I think you just convinced me to put nite sights on my house gun. Were those ameriglos?

[Biloxi23]

If you don't try the Ameriglos, the Heinie Straight 8 night sights are worth a try. I am a police officer and have had Trijicon or Meprolight sights on all of my duty/off duty carry pistols since they came out. A couple of months ago I put a set of Heinie Straight Eights on a Glock that I really liked. the Heinie sights have a thinner front and the result is a sight picture with more light on each side. This seems to work better for me. The Trijicon front I replaced was .146 and teh Heinie was .125. I also fired the Heinie's at night and I seemed to be able to align two dots on top of each other thatn I could align three dots horizontally. Maybe that's because my eyes are gettng old.

[G-ManBart]

I think you just convinced me to put nite sights on my house gun. Were those ameriglos?

No, those were actually Meprolights on my Kahr PM9 (just what it came with). I have Trijicons on another Kahr, and they're a touch brighter. All of my duty guns have Trijicons as well. I'd actually like to try a set of Ameriglos, so I might put them on an older G22 I have that has the white outline sights (which I can't stand)...just for comparison's sake. R,

[G-ManBart]

If you don't try the Ameriglos, the Heinie Straight 8 night sights are worth a try. I am a police officer and have had Trijicon or Meprolight sights on all of my duty/off duty carry pistols since they came out. A couple of months ago I put a set of Heinie Straight Eights on a Glock that I really liked. the Heinie sights have a thinner front and the result is a sight picture with more light on each side. This seems to work better for me. The Trijicon front I replaced was .146 and teh Heinie was .125. I also fired the Heinie's at night and I seemed to be able to align two dots on top of each other thatn I could align three dots horizontally. Maybe that's because my eyes are gettng old.

I'm with you...I like the thinner blade of the Heine as well. If I was allowed to, I'd probably put them on at least one of my duty guns to try...the front Trijicon Glock uses is just too thick for my taste (both day and night). R,

[calishootr]

I have both the trijicon, and heinie straight 8's and to be honest, the straight 8's i prefer because their tritium capsule doesnt have the white outer ring(making for 3 dot sights in daytime assuming the holes are drilled right)

[pappascott]

again guys really, thanks. the amount of thought and effort (g-man) is appreiciated. pappascott

[pappascott]

If you don't try the Ameriglos, the Heinie Straight 8 night sights are worth a try. I am a police officer and have had Trijicon or Meprolight sights on all of my duty/off duty carry pistols since they came out. A couple of months ago I put a set of Heinie Straight Eights on a Glock that I really liked. the Heinie sights have a thinner front and the result is a sight picture with more light on each side. This seems to work better for me. The Trijicon front I replaced was .146 and teh Heinie was .125. I also fired the Heinie's at night and I seemed to be able to align two dots on top of each other thatn I could align three dots horizontally. Maybe that's because my eyes are gettng old.

I'm with you...I like the thinner blade of the Heine as well. If I was allowed to, I'd probably put them on at least one of my duty guns to try...the front Trijicon Glock uses is just too thick for my taste (both day and night). R,

how are the straight eight heinies as far as durability is concerned? any experience?

[sdwilliams]

I have the Heinie straight 8s on my G26 but Dawson front and rear on my G34. Found the front fiber helps me pick up targets a little quicker.

[calishootr]

my straight 8's were roughly put on(hey, i didnt have a sight pusher) and have been dropped a couple of times, no dings or dents thus far

[Biloxi23]

I agree with calishootr. My Glock installation tool wouldn't push the Heinie without torquing to the side so I installed the rear Straight 8 with a Lyman brass hammer. The sight was really tight so I took it slow, tapped til it would bind, then take it off and make a couple of very light passes on the sight with a new fine triangle file. Take it slow, and don't take off too much metal at a time. When I got the sight centered, tighten the set scre and take it to the range. Aftertest firing to ensure the point of impact, use blue Loctite on the set screw. The Heinies are well made with no durability problems that I have yet encountered. I have a different gun that I have been shooting at matches, a Glock 35. I have Warren Tactical Sevigny sights on the 35, with teh fiber optic fron and the plain black rear. If I were going to use the 35 for dual purpose, I would definitely (as recommended by G-ManBart and others) a night sight of some type. You may not be able to see it, or you may not, but I would much rather have them on the gun than not. When I worked mainly night shift I distintly remember several arrest where afterward I could recall seeing the front tritium dot.

[Downrange58]

also i forgot to mention this is my normal carry weapon.

Something like the Ameriglo sights that are both fiber optic and tritium might be the best of both worlds. For normal daytime use I prefer rear sights with nothing on them, but can deal with the inserts on the Trijicon sights on all my carry guns...it's just not a big deal. For a combination carry and match gun, I'd probably go with the combo Ameriglo front and a plain rear sight. I had Dave Lauck make custom night sights for my wife's carry revolver and he uses smaller rear inserts that are almost white at night with a normal green front insert. The combination is really nice at night and the smaller rear inserts are less noticeable during the daytime. The downside was price....ouch.

I absolutely would not carry a gun that didn't have night sight(s) if there was any way around it. I've had a guns with and without night inserts pointed at bad guys where there was enough light to clearly see the threat, but not enough to see normal night sights...more than once, so my choice is based on actual experience, not theory. I did a quick video to give folks a rough idea of the difference...hard to do well, but it's a start (some monitors make this easier/hard to see clearly...sorry):

Hey G-Man Bart, I compete with my G23 (USPSA) and it has some thick night sights (not sure what kind as I purchased them over 10years ago)that I want to replace with thinner competition sights, but this is my carry at home SD gun so I need the night sights. In a post after this one, you mention you like the Heine front sight because it is thinner. Are these the tritium sights listed here? http://www.heinie.com/product_info.php?products_id=47 I don't see a measurement but I am hoping they are thinner than the Warren Tactical Tritium 215h X .125w. Thank you for your thoughts and video on the night sights! Kent

Edited January 28, 2011 by Downrange58

[Irimi]

Have any of you tried the XS Big Dot sights?