Night sights can also help you find your gun in a dark room. If your startled awake and your gun is in a drawer or on the night stand those 3 dots can help you grab it quickly, instead of fumbling around.
JustAnother InternetExpert Used this a lot in the army while setting my gun aside to take a dump or dig a foxhole. Our rifles had a two dot night sight built into the irons. That tritium dot shines like a star when it's too dark to even see the shovel you're digging a hole with.
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Blacked out rear and fiber front is the way. For real though, if I'm shooting something in the dark it's getting lit up with a rail mounted light or a handheld before I decide to put holes in it.
@snoopy dubnation You generally have to change the sights out. A lot of rifles have iron sights with inserts available, like the AK. I've got two different night sights on two different shotguns, but both are ghost ring sets. One's an XS Big Dot, and the other's a Scattergun Technologies Track-Lock II. XS does sell just beads with tritium vials and high contrast paint for shotguns if you want to save some money, but the ghost ring sights are damn near cheating when it comes to aiming a shotgun, especially if you get the Track-Lock with the tritium rear sight. That one gives you a three dot aiming system on your shotgun when the lights go out.
Agreed. Be prepared for any scenario. Just because the likelihood is small doesn't excuse that it could or could not happen. Hell, isn't that the reason we carry in the first place?
Totally agree...I purchased the Ameriglo (made by Trijicon) Night Sights from Brownell's at a great price for my wife's Beretta BU9 Nano. They are an excellent option and she loves them. I chose the Night Sights option when I purchased my Sig pistols; the price difference was only $50 and definitely worth it. Tritium inserts are nice touch on an AR too, also purchased at Brownell's.
My carry gun is fairly old, and what I ended up doing was manually painting my sights. Tritium powder mixed into florescent red and green paint, made the rear sight dots green, and front sight red. Good contrast in the day, and it glows at night.
Worth the money if you can afford them but shouldn't be a deal breaker. L.E. for 25+ years. Night sights are really nice for punching paper in night quals but every simunition scenario I've been involved in over the years, the sights never even came into play - Its simply point and shoot.
@@SirMortog State Patrol scenarios. If your using your sights while taking fire during a traffic stop your already dead. Structure scenarios from behind cover you will probably pickup the front sight in a quick shoot scenario but if your looking for sights while taking fire your already dead. Our Dept has done extensive simunition training and the biggest two observable takeaways - no sight use and mostly one hand shooting. The handgun should be an extension of your arm and no different than pointing your finger at the target. Inside of 7 yards if your searching for sights your dead. Outside of 7 yards I'll take the night sights but I don't need them.
@@clintfultz1811....Good call, Clint. I have no LEO experience at all, but what you say sure makes sense to me. Last month I bought a Sig P365 with "XRay night sights", and, while every single internet reviewer praised the "XRay" night sights on my gun as "great, excellent, 'the best night sights out of the box on any gun", etc, I find that they are useless in bright light...useless in low light....and, except for a very, very, faint, dim, almost "glow" on the front post, in a dark room with NO LIGHT, they are totally, totally, useless. If you tried to possibly find these "great" "XRay night sights" in an emergency, before you fired your gun...you'd probably be dead...unless of course, your attacker was ALSO using these same, useless, Sig Saur "XRay night sights". I talked to Sig, sent the gun back to them, and they said the sights "were within Sig specifications". So, I'll just paint a white dot on these useless Sig Saur "XRay night sights", swear off Sig Saurs', worthless, no integrity "warrantee", and "customer service", and just accept that the "deal" I thought I got was actually about $100 dollars over priced. Both my Smith and Wessons, my Walther, and my Glock 19 work just fine without "night sights".
Absolutely. When I wake in the dark I can see the pistol is on the stand and which way it is oriented. My old G26 with Trijicons from 97' still glows enough to see them.
@@permanenceaesthetic6545 haven't carried it in awhile. The sights went dark last year and haven't replaced yet. Got a G43 and been carrying it. The 26 is a great little pistol though.
I know exactly where my gun is on the nightstand and it's orientation because it is the same every night. I could easily grab it in pitch dark without even thinking about it. I see this as more important for my EDC which has no light or optics.
I'm glad to 'see' y'all answered that way... in truth, I wasn't expecting that answer from you guys. As an old guy, having gone through "old age" eyes (cataracts, cornea transplant, etc.), I've put night sights on my personal/home defense pistols and wouldn't have it any other way! Good answer guys!
I wouldn't say that they are an absolute necessity but they are definitely a nice upgrade. There are definite times when they will have an advantage over regular sights, but no time that I can think of when regular sights would have a definite advantage over night sights
I know i am late to the party, but wanted to thank you. This is the only video i have seen that tells a newbie like me about using night sights in daylight. That was the final piece of info i needed to make my decision
I got hooked on Trijicon night sights back in the mid to late '80's as a replacement/upgrade for the painted 3 dot- white sights. Today we have a plethora of manufactures producing a wide variety of innovative and useful tritium powered phosphorus lamp sighting systems for handguns and long guns. The one downside of the night sight is that after, approximately a decade, the tritium powered lamp dims and the sight set requires replacing. Yes.....night sights are well worth the investment.....or at least they have been in my experience for pistol, Shotgun and rifle. All available from our friends at Brownells.......thank you Brownells.
I don’t know much about it, but there is a company right side it’s called RAD that say they won’t go dim. RAD as in there is radioactive actually in it.
@@Ozzie8404 Tritium is a radioactive isotope which powers the phosphorus lamp and yes fades in about a decade. Any company claiming, "Forever".... well, we'll have to wait and discuss in a few decades but forever is a long freaking time.
old school I know they are not tritium, and I know they actually called RAD I don’t remember who makes them. It’s actual radioactive material, tritium is depleted. I’m going to look it up.
old school Damn it, sorry RAM Sights radioactive material. www.xssights.com/Content.aspx?PAGE=RAM%20Night%20Sights I don’t know much about him other than a small presentation on RU-vid I watched but it seems like something worth looking into you.
@@Ozzie8404 I understand what you saying. But my personal experiences have that any "night sight" on a pistol is a half hearted attempt in the dark or light. As well as if you want to go far down the rabbit hole, there is some sort of regulation on how much material a tritium vial must have around it. Thusly, your irons have to be bigger, which in turns gives you a less than ideal precision with your sights.
Zephyr R&D If we allow ourselves to say that this system is perfect, there will never be innovation. My EDC came factory equipped with night sites standard, EDC has a mounted light and a red dot. So you’re absolutely right About them not being perfect. Tritium night sites worked better for whatever reason Physiologically with my eyes during the day and night And three dots or regular combat iron sights (I’m positive that I’m am mixing up the actual name of what I’m talking about, but basically I mean the sights on an issued M9) I’m sure it is the same reason that holographic and red dots were better for me now than either do.
Zephyr R&D There has been plenty of times when I was younger and I found myself half fucked in situations that I am so glad never took the opportunity to fully take a vantage of it.
@@ZephyrRandD "But my personal experiences have that any "night sight" on a pistol are a half hearted attempt in the dark or light." I've been running night sights on my EDC pistol for years, and never found that to be the case, especially in the case of sights like Truglo TFX or XS Big Dot, both of which are excellent daytime sights. I'm thinking your personal experience is either limited or flawed. "As well as if you want to go far down the rabbit hole, there is some sort of registration on how much material a tritium vial must have around it. Thusly, your irons have to be bigger, which in turns gives you a less than ideal precision with your sights." Good defensive sights are going to be chunky compared to the comparatively crappy undersized sights many pistols came with in the early half of the 20th century. Pistols like the (actual) M1911 came with undersized sights that were great for precision if one was firing at a very slow pace in perfect daylight on a range at a bullseye. Sights like those are terrible in a fast-moving situation with less-than-ideal light, and piss-poor for rapid fire. They're too small to pick up quickly as you're coming on target or to track through recoil. I've never seen a set of pistol sights suitable for defensive use that weren't dimensionally identical to most night sights - Heinie Straight Eights come to mind. Sig-Sauer's pistol sights are all the same size, whether you're talking Siglite or the boring, non-irradiated type. Likewise, the notches and blades on these sights are so close to what came on the revolvers police were issued in the '70s and '80s that if there's a difference in their size, it's not big enough to matter (though I'd bet the front blade on my Colt Lawman Mk III 4" is fatter than the TFX front sight on my P226). Think of the 686 or Python - big, fat sights just as big as any night sights today... but without the glow. As for accuracy or precision... that all comes down to training. In a self defense situation (which is what night sights are for, so we'll stick to that), if you can't see your sights, you can't use your sights, and in your typical fight, the tiny sights that came on pistols in the first half of the 20th century (again, the M1911/A1 or Browning Hi Power) are going to be damn near impossible to find in any timely fashion. You're not going to be able to achieve that accurate first shot from the holster in under 2 seconds that you can with modern sights. And I say all this as someone who regularly works his pistol out past 100 yards. I've gone to 200 yards with an XS Big Dot (this one actually is a huge front sight) on a P220 successfully.
For me, it is a resounding yes and will spend the extra money to get it. My first night sight was Trijicon and it was still glowing after 10+ years and I still swapped for a new set even thought it was still good. I have seen Mepro light and it it did not last as long as Trijicon. In addition, I think Trjicon tritiums are more clear. Compare for yourself and make your final determination what works best for your eyes.
I used to think i didnt need night sights or a light. My wife and i misjudged the time we had until sunset on our walk and were pretty deep in the woods with zero light. I wished i had one and night sights. Now im gonna get them.
Always good to hear both of your views on topics. I always go for night sights as well. I personally like the tru Glo tfx with the fiber optic as well. They really are the best of both worlds.
There is also a liability issue as well. If you end up in court you want as many factors on your side as possible. A weapon light or flashlight is a must as well.
I think a weapon light is a far more effective solution to the same problem. Yes if your in the dark and your target is near light sure. However a weapon light will help you there too. Night sights do everything that standard sights do but better I simply find a light more useful.
@@wojtek-33 I don't think thats a problem on a defensive pistol. If you have to defend your life they know where you are anyway. Belive me I know this from first hand experience defending myself with my concealed pistol from a nighttime armed carjacking.
@@wojtek-33 It's hard to stay quiet in your house when someone else is trying to he quiet too. A light isn't there so much for shooting but more for identifying a threat. I used to be a carpter doing doors and windows and we had a door install where a guy had a drunk neighbor kick in the door. He nearly shot him but illuminated him with a weapon light and realized it was just his drunk ass neighbor that he was apparently good friends with. Also I'm not convinced I'd want to shoot someone that is unarmed. I'd rather realize if they had a weapon or not before making the decision to shoot or not shoot.
truglo tfx tritium for night, fiber optic for day... white outline for front sight... I've been in a defensive shooting at night, and this is why I bought these... LOVE mine
It's dark half the day, so in my opinion you need sights for both day and night. After much testing and use I went to Trijicon HD sights for all my duty pistols. The yellow picks up quick for front sight focus and are excellent at night.
I carry past sunset quite often and they do help. I’ve aimed my pistol outside at dusk when there’s still a little light when you can still see and distinguish targets but plain black iron sights are pretty hard to line up.
Thank you for adding some sanity to the web. I have watched quite a few gun tubers argue against night sights. I would use this argument: if night sights aren’t necessary at night, why use sights at all? Pretty much anyone will tell you shot placement is the most important aspect of shooting, but not being able to see your sights in low light might be the difference between a solid torso hit and a grazing extremity wound.
I’ve had the opportunity to do a lot of Force on Force training with sim guns. Almost all of it was low/no light. Some guns had night sights, some didn’t. I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. I was more focused on using cover and planning my next move. Not once did I stop and say “Boy if only I had a stippling job, tritium sights, and a Geislle 3 lbs trigger, maybe this fight would be going more in my favor.” Then again, I’m just a rando on the inter webs.
Sorry this is an old thread, but I just saw the video. Caleb's scenario of sighting from a darkened bedroom at an illuminated intruder in a lit living room sounds logical. Except that when you try it, you'll discover that your sights are starkly silhouetted against the bright backdrop of the intruder. This makes the shot easier to place precisely, than if it were taken in broad daylight. This is true, whether your sights are blued steel or have tritium dots.
Definitely a good idea, especially on Glock or m&p pistols, I replace all the sights on them with night sights, plus the upgrade adds function and value to the weapon
Brother and I had to draw firearms in a home defense situation. I had night sights and he didn't. When it was all over, my brother said he was concerned about potentially using his firearm because he couldn't see his sights in the dark house. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
If you can't see your sights though, you definitely can't see whether or not the bad guy is armed. If you disagree with me that's ok. No offense and to each their own; however, just remember a Judge and/or Jury may see my view as well.
@@Sig_P229 while what you said is true, it's only true in certain situations. Like they said in the video, the guy breaking in could be in a well lit room while you are in a poorly lit room. Every situation is different.
To me the best reason for night sights on my EDC/bed stand firearm is finding it. With the night sights on my Kahr MK9 its location and orientation are immediate no matter how dark the room is.
That Depends. If You're Gonna Use Your Gun For Home Defense Or Self Defense, Than Yes Night Sights Are Absolutely Necessary. If You're ONLY Gonna Use Your Gun For Target Shooting, Than Night Sights Are Not Necessary. However; If You Want Night Sights On Your Gun That's Up To You And How Much You're Willing To Spend. I Have A Pair Of Ameriglo I-Dot Night Sights On My Handgun And I Ordered A Pair Of XS R3D Night Sights For My Mom's Handgun; I Also Plan On Putting A Night Sight Post On My AR-15.
You're 100% correct that you should have them. The rear sights should be one color, ie.. green and the front sight should be a different color, ie... orange for the fastest sight picture or sight acquisition. 34 years in LE and my department has always issued our duty guns with night/day sights. I think a gun is almost useless without them.
Great video! Love night sights. I also love orange front for the sight. An ease to line up and fast. I recommend night sights also for home defense. It is a must.
Agreed. Tritium-powered night sights are definitely worth the additional cost. LaserGrips and LaserGuards from Crimson Trace are an even better addition (essential in my view) to a personal defense handgun.
I bought my Glock 43X w upgraded Ameriglo night sights. No regrets at all. I did all a Streamlight TLR-6 because my dog alerted me in the middle of the night and I couldn’t find my flashlight. If there was a bad guy and I needed to defend myself, i would have been in a bad spot because I couldn’t see anything. So the very next day went and bought a mounted light. I highly recommend adding a light to your gun
Glocks have plastic sights that are not much use if you want to use the sight against your holster to chamber a round (one handed). With this in mind I figure it is worth getting the night sights as long as I'm going to get steel sights.
As a LEO night sights are a must; I have them on every tactical weapon I own, pistols, shotguns, and rifles. Sights, in general, are a must and as such at night, night sights are a must. A lights source while not a must should also be a highly should have. Glock night sights are under $60 on their own with other deals able to be found on other brands. I try to not cheap out on my tools, especially when they can save my life. Tritium fiber optic sights are nice too and bright under most any condition.
Trijicon HD XRs for me. They stay lit up all night on my edc. Plus being able to precisely pin point a target is nice. Need to get a 2nd set for my fun gun.
I'll say up front, I like night sights on my fighting pistols. However, I know some tricks I learned from Border Patrol Agents . I was a firearms instructor for my police department and a regional academy, plus a member of a tactical team. Not to mention years in the Marines (including Vietnam) and years in the Air Guard security police (including Desert Storm). Of course, in the desert, under a full moon, you have plenty of light to see out to a long distance with Mk1 Eyeballs. Under a new moon, it is much tougher. silhouette
If you are in a dark bedroom while the target is in a lighted hallway, you WILL see your standard sights - they will appear black (still useful) when sighting toward the lighted hallway. In a totally dark area, a weapon light or flashlight will make the target visible, while again, the sights will simply look black against the lit background. Night sights might help accuracy in low-light conditions and can help you quickly find your gun in darkness.
I think that A weapon mounted light and/or laser combo for a designated home defense firearm is more important than night sights but both together is the best option.
Few if any night sights work well at all, inherent problems with all of them. One resolution:...I use a use a tactical light... that's something that works for sure
I agree that they're well worth it (especially if purchased with them from the factory--as to add-ons, I'm not so sure), but I have a question about their longevity: how long before they become too dim to be useful, and is there any way to keep them 'burning' longer?
Iv been told by Truglo and Trijicon both that the half life is 12 years and that at the 12 year mark they would be half as bright as when they were made, but as far as how long would they glo till they was completely dead? Trijicon claimed that they've had customers say that theyve had sets last as long as 25 years they would be very very dim but still have just enough glow to them to see them in a dark room at night. Hope this helps out sir, have a great day!
Imagine night hunting coyotes, then taking a sidearm to collect the carcass, OR checking a trap after dark. Either a Tritium sight, or a laser, is necessary if you don't want to give your position away and spoil the hunt with a light. Sidearm draw, dispatch, retrieve. Ambient light after dark is usually enough to see your target, but not enough to see black sights, especially in areas shadowed from a bright moon
Better to have than not to have, but if you’re shopping with the mentality to only get what you can afford, the night sights really are not necessary. In absolutely complete darkness, you will not see your target anyway. Just point & shoot. (I’ve trained at the range with no light & low light conditions with no night sights and I usually hit the target where I thought it was.) Plus your night sights will be useless if you don’t occasionally expose them to light to regenerate glow. Better to just buy a quality flashlight. It’ll cost the same, but at least you get real bright light. Who uses the sights anyway in a quickly evolving stressful incident?
I’m sorry but I must disagree. Im not going to be some arm chair warrior and be rude, but night sights should be one of the lowest priority things to buy, specifically in the event someone has a budget.. let’s take this as a home defense tool situation. In most bump in the night scenarios your best tools with your gun is going to be 1. Your mindset with the skills that you’ve obtained by training with your home defense firearm(skills learned by courses, self defense ammo, training ammo, weapon manipulation, body mechanics, how to hold and angle, learning cover and concealment, etc =$). 2 A weapon mounted light that is tailored for your home defense needs (lumen intensity, laser, strobe options, etc =$) 3. Things to prevent or plug holes in you or a loved one, for example; level 3a light weight body armor, or level 3 plates. If you have a chance to throw on something like, light weight polyethylene; do it. Something is better then nothing. Trauma kits, anti-coagulant gauze, tourniquets, etc. IMO sights should be one of the last things you upgrade to. Once you’ve become proficient in defending your self with the tools you have and your ready to spend money on sights you’ll have knowledge and skills that will help you determine the right sights for you. The most important thing to look for with sights is your personal ability to pick up your sight picture quickly. They’re are very specific reasons why you should only buy upgrades sights right away. If your a Leo and you agency forces you. If your having eye issues and you need something different. If your glock comes with plastic cheap LEGO like sights and you can’t perform a one handed slide rack because it feels like it’s going to snap your rear sight off. As for the needing night sights because the “hall way is bright and your in a dark room”. Complete rubbish; if you really need to use your sights at that close of a distance your a bad shot and you probably shouldn’t shoot cuz your going to kill your neighbors cat. If for whatever reason you decided that you have the skills to place a well placed shot in enough time, under an immense amount of tunnel vision with that time slowly down feeling and adrenaline that you’ve never felt in your life up until now because your about to kill someone, just “silhouette” your sights so they’re aligned properly. (equal light, equal height) Full disclosure: I buy night sights on my pistols cuz glocks standard sights are a joke and I break them. So I upgrade to steel sights all the time. As for any other home def weapon it will have a light and a red dot sight. This long winded essay is meant for the people who are just getting into guns for the first time. So all you know it all John Wick Rambo boomers calm down. Oh and Jeffery Epstein didn’t kill himself.
I think I prefer fiber optic (FO) over tritium. Despite FO don’t last that long after dark. How visible are the sights when it’s dark and it ran out of “juice”? Or how much is it to a repaint the tritium?
If you live in an area where you need night sites because of home invasion I would suggest moving. Other than that I have a simple fix go to Home Depot and buy some night lights they put on just enough light see you can see where you’re going. I can literally go downstairs to the bathroom to the kitchen without turning a single light on. That’s a $12 fix I just save myself $200.
I just want to make one observation here; night sights are great tools as long as you remember that they have the ability to give you an excellent sight picture on a target that you can't really identify well. You always have to keep that in mind when using them.
About the only time tritium sights aren't a welcomed addition is when utilizing night vision, as it can then over-illuminate within the tube of your night vision, causing it to become a 'blob', so to speak. If using a firearm paired with a decent weapon-mounted light, like a Surefire? You'd be able to pick up the silhouette of any sight, but you can, of course, benefit from the *addition* of the tritium sights for faster sight acquisition. Bottom line: Is it worth it? Pretty much always. Unless you're dropping several thousands of dollars on NOD's.
I've got tritium sights on my M&P9 with a weapon mounted combat light. Imagine my surprise when I illuminated my target on a moonless night and the tritium sights disappeared! The are not dead, they just weren't bright enough to overcome the combat light. In lieu of somehow illuminating fiber optics with tiny UV LEDs, I am forced to conclude that I have to go to a big intrusive Red Dot.
Thanks for the video. But... you guys kept saying, "see your target" instead of "see your sights." An example is @ 02:18 and @ 02:49 but but it happened a few more times. I'm sure it's mostly force of habit.
What if I add a Baldr mini laser with light, then I don't need the night site. I can use that money to buy the Baldr mini. I have light in the dark and laser point in the intruder rather trying to strand my eyes through the night site. That's my personal opinion.
I have a kimber 1911 and the dummy I got it from only has the back two dots lit. I noticed one night when I left it on my bed and woke up in the dark, two pretty bright dots. Well I try to line up the sights and I don’t see the front sight lighting up. At least they looked cool in the dark, they were pretty bright
The only advice online I have and will ever take is from you guys at Brownells, but when it comes to sights, I have to disagree, only because of one reason. As long as your familiar with your gun and you get used to where your pointing and how, then the gun almost becomes an extension of you. Having said that if you can see your target then there will almost certainly be enough light to know where the muzzle is pointing. Then again this is just from my experience and opinion.
They are useful and I used to put them on all my handgun. However, when using a WML, they really are not needed. Once you activate that light, the tritium glow is not seen. I prefer fiber optic front and blacked out rear these days for handguns that I run a WML on. My carry gun though, M&P Shield, I run no light and night sights.
