Are night sights worth it?

[air8]

I like the sights in the middle. Angled rear sights with red ring front. But will it glow green or red? I hope they make them for the Kahr pistols also.

[air8]

I was referring to the Trijicon HD sights above.

[wyntrout]

The Tritium dots are green... the longest lasting... and the glow dots are yellow or orange... no red. My Photobucket link has pix of the un-charged glow dots as well as the quickly charged dots. I used about 5 seconds with a 150-lumen light. The front sights are very visible without charging in daylight or dim lighting.

Some use different colored Tritium dots for contrast, but the orange last about half or less than the green Tritium dots.

In the dark, the rear dots seem larger, of course, and I could only focus on one or the other at a time.

Wynn

[TriggerMan]

I have them. I like them BUT keep in mind there are only two periods in the day where there is both enough light to clearly identify your target AND have the night sights work better than standard sights. These windows of perfect light are about 30-40 minutes each daybreak and dusk. Also agree self defense at close quaters is point and shoot inside 8 feet.

[QuercusMax]

At close quarters at night in a combat situation you are far more likely to point and shoot rather than aim and shoot. More often than not in a close encounter that's all that you have time to do.

Yup. I'm not speaking from personal experience (thank God), but logic tells me this is correct.

How often do you hear someone (on TV) who has been involved in some incident saying "It all happened so fast!!!"

I'm a SAO, target kind of guy, but with my little Kahr I have started working on point and shoot rather than careful aiming. I'm guessing that if ever a BG breaks into my home, he won't be stopping to pose while I take careful aim through my night sights.

That would be plan "B" - plan "A" is that he will trip over my lazy black dog in the darkness before he can do any harm.

[wyntrout]

Damn! I did one of those wrong key things where the text I just typed went POOF... just before posting!

I concentrate on shooting quickly and without a lot of "aiming". The paper targets can't shoot back, but I think about firing quickly as I try to find cover and not get too many holes in my one and only body! I do a lot of fast shooting and pointing. I don't worry about small groups... fist-sized at 7 yards is fine and hitting a sheet of paper at 15 yards is great for me. I know that that will be optimistic if I'm dodging return fire.

It could be possible to find myself out of the way of lights and return fire... and having night sights might allow me to give accurate aimed fire... at gunfire, if nothing else.

Wynn

[BrewerGeorge]

The owner of Front Sight says night sights are only really useful for 20-30 minutes a day, at dusk when it's still light enough to see your target and what lies behind it. Other than that you will need a flash light which will show the outline of your sights as you put your gun on target. That's what he says, I have no opinion other than I'd rather have a laser I think.

I don't agree. In the dark with a flashlight, the target is lit but you can't see the sights well at all. Those dots help!

I may never NEED them, but I have them on all of my carry guns... and the home defense/battle guns. I WOULD have some on my P40, but Trijicon doesn't make the HD model for Kahrs... but I'm hoping!

I want to have every possible edge when it comes to defending myself and my loved ones.
...
Wynn

It's kind of this for me as well. The cost isn't much. What's a hundred bucks compared to your life? (That's hyperbolic, I know, but $100 isn't much in the gun world, eh? A good holster, 5 boxes of rounds, or a decent small flashlight.)

That said, I have NS only on the G22 that serves nightstand duty. It also has a flashlight mounted in the old mag floorplate holder (Gen2 w/o rails). I use CT lasers on my carry guns w/o NS, but the G22 just sits there untouched waiting for something to happen and I don't want to worry about batteries.

[tilefish]

Well, I guess I am just going to order them tomorrow. I will probably get a stainless guide rod too, just for the heck of it.

[AJBert]

From someone who has had to qualify shooting "in the dark", I can tell you night sights make little to no difference. If you can barely make out your target, having a nice bright set of sights make it more difficult.

I would recommend spending your time at the range making your firearm an extension of your body, much like pointing your finger. We can all point our finger at something and be damn near dead on. This is what you need to be able to do with you SD choice.

Believe me, regardless of how great of a marksman anyone may be, shooting in a low light condition is completely different. Using sights makes it more difficult. Learn to point and shoot and save a few bucks.

[Cokeman]

Yeah, they're great for finding you gun in the dark.

[QuercusMax]

Yeah, they're great for finding you gun in the dark.

I was thinking the same thing. Just like I wish that my remote controls would light up in the dark so I can find them and use them.

[bikerbill]

Absolutly worth it, in some circumstances ... for instance, my EDC PM9 has stock factory sights, because I rarely am out at night and never in such a dark area that I'd need them ... however, they are amazing for my nightstand gun, a Springer 1911 ... I live in a rural area, the nearest street light is a block away and at night, our house is pretty much pitch-dark .. I keep the Springer on my nightstand, grip facing me so I can see the sights ... makes it very easy to find the gun and index it as I pick it up and gives me an excellent sight picture with the little light emanating from a nightlight in the kitchen ... the ease of finding and gripping the gun in the dark is worth a lot to me ...

[Barth]

Absolutly worth it, in some circumstances ... for instance, my EDC PM9 has stock factory sights, because I rarely am out at night and never in such a dark area that I'd need them ... however, they are amazing for my nightstand gun, a Springer 1911 ... I live in a rural area, the nearest street light is a block away and at night, our house is pretty much pitch-dark .. I keep the Springer on my nightstand, grip facing me so I can see the sights ... makes it very easy to find the gun and index it as I pick it up and gives me an excellent sight picture with the little light emanating from a nightlight in the kitchen ... the ease of finding and gripping the gun in the dark is worth a lot to me ...

I like my bedroom pitch black.
The glow of my S&W 357 Big Dot is all I can see...

[jocko]

aw shucks we thing we gotta have all those things on our guns. Nite sights are OK. I doubt if ur gonna see um much in a gun fight, but who knows, It certainly ain't gonna mess u po any, inb daytime, it is a mute point. I like the xs big dots and if the nite sight was not part of it I would still like um just as much. . I will say after about 5 year my ex big dot front sight in my PM9 is barely visible at night. I won't have it relamped, just not gonna worry about it. Nite sights are OK in my book. I can't see where4 they would ever be a detriment to have.

[tilefish]

I ordered the Trijicons today.