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Red vs Green Fiber Optic front sight


thouston406

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I have recently been looking into the actual science behind what fo to use. I have always used red but recently heard during a discussion on sights that the human eye picks up on green faster than other colors. Basically from the research I have gathered thus far (which is scant) the human eye can see more hues of green than any other color. However the eye can see yellow the best because it reflect the most light but is also an eye irritant and causes eye fatigue faster which can result in a drop in performance.

 

My question is does anyone have any solid research done by shooters about which is better?

I understand there are a lot of variables in a question like this but is interesting nonetheless.

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I think we are all individuals and we all respond differently to the colors. After using Amber Trijicon optics, my eyes just feel as though they have to focus more to see the chevron. It didn’t “pop” out to me the way the green and red do. Between green and red (I own both in Trijicon Accupoints and FO sights), I see the red better during the day. When it’s low-light, the green seems to be easier to pick up.

 

Some of my friends prefer only red or only green and may give the same reasons for their preference. It’s strange, but we are all different. I’m the oddball with both green and red.

 

I’m just one guy and this is anecdotal evidence rather than true scientific research.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

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I prefer green, and I’ve read the same reports on green being the easiest for eyes to pick up (see discussions on green lasers vs red), however...  the best reasoning is ideal color choice should be dependent on your most common backstop color.  I live in the desert, so amber washes out on the light colored sand (and white plates) and red can sometimes wash out as well (such as on tan cardboard).  Green almost always stands out against my tan/light brown dirt backstops.  Now, if I lived someplace with actual vegetation (like grass, bushes, etc) on the backstops, then green would wash out and red would be the ticket.  

Edited by jkrispies
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21 hours ago, Scott Steele said:

Red for me because where I live it's mostly green trees and grass. Red sticks out like a sore thumb.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The green isn't washed out by the vegetation because it's totally different shade.  Red in very bright daylight is fine, but I have found that it was too dark when overcast.

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I pick up green FO best, by a mile. To really set it off wear yellow or persimmon lenses. I actually switched to red cause the green was too much and seemed to interfere with my ability to judge equal height and light when required. May go back to it with a sharpie treatment.

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It really depends on conditions you’re shooting in IMO. On a bright sunny day, I cannot pickup a fluorescent green little dot  that’s about 3ft from my face very quickly, and in dark lighting (especially indoors) it’s def harder for me to pickup a red sight as quickly. I prefer the red in medium lighting though, it just “pops” out a little more against any backdrop. A lot of it is likely just personal preference, but I have heard exactly what the OP states before about green being the ideal rod color.

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9 hours ago, wolfvsgoat said:

Does anyone shoot with both a red outer and green core or vice versa?

 

Solid rear for me, period.  My one gun that has FO rear holes, I plugged. The problem I’ve found is that rear FO always shows brighter than the front because (I think) they’re closer to my face, and I want the front to be the bright one to draw my eye. Having tried both (and tritiums— same issue), it’s a no-brainer for me.  Again, YMMV, but that’s my experience.  

Edited by jkrispies
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  • 4 weeks later...

And in the irony camp, I'm going to switch over to red for a bit.  I'm shooting Steel Challenge which is all white plates, and I'm thinking the red will show up better on the white.  If I were shooting anything else, especially brown cardboard, I'd stick with the green for sure.  

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