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  #1  
Old 03-17-2010, 08:42 PM
Smoketree Smoketree is offline
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Have you changed to trijicon night sights on a 3913?

If so, is it a good thing?
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Old 03-17-2010, 09:00 PM
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I put trijicon sights on my 3954. It was a good thing. I reccomend that you seriously consider doing it.
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Old 03-17-2010, 09:18 PM
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I had a 6946 with Trijicons already on it. I really liked them. Good sight picture, bright tritium dots and very durable.
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Old 03-17-2010, 09:24 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Smoketree View Post
Have you changed to trijicon night sights on a 3913?

If so, is it a good thing?
Yes & yes ...

But then I carry in low light conditions and have done a fair bit of shooting in low light conditions for range training/practice.

A potential disadvantage to night sights is the reduced visibility of the white paint/ring around the tritium capsules, making it slower to acquire the dots in some different light conditions, including bright/noonday sun light conditions.

Just depends.

Since I've found them helpful from low/reduced light to even using against a well illuminated background (think something illuminated by a strong flashlight, headlight, etc), I have them on a significant number of my carry guns.

Some are more easily seen than some others.

I've found the green light capsules to be the easiest to see in variable/low light. I was surprised by how much slower it was to acquire the yellow ones. Then again, my eyes have been racking up mileage for over 50 years.

Although I've installed them on a number of my own handguns, I ordered the last 3 new guns I bought with them already installed. It can save money compared to ordering them separately and installing them afterward ... as long as you want whatever the gun company is ordering and installing, of course.
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Last edited by Fastbolt; 03-18-2010 at 01:19 AM.
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Old 03-18-2010, 11:26 AM
Topspeed Topspeed is offline
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Yes. I keep my 3913 on the night stand next to my bed. If I wake up in the middle of the night I can look over and immediately see my gun because of the night sights. That's a good thing!
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Old 03-18-2010, 02:49 PM
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I'll have to be the contrarian, here. I used night sights for a few years until some shooting exercises we conducted in very dark conditions showed how easily shooters with night sight equipped guns could be spotted by the 'opposition'.

"Yes. I keep my 3913 on the night stand next to my bed. If I wake up in the middle of the night I can look over and immediately see my gun because of the night sights. That's a good thing!" - actually, it might not be; if the bad guy makes it to the nightstand first, you might wind up looking at the wrong end of your own gun. About twenty or so years ago, I started keeping the 'night-ready' gun in a cheap nylon holster taped to a piece of stiff cardboard slid between the mattress and box spring. The gun is hidden very effectively by the sheets, but is instantly available and in precisely the same place each time you reach for it.

As far as shooting in very low light is concerned, night sights could be helpful, but I prefer to do so much dry fire practice that the gun 'blind points' accurately. To check this for yourself, look at a small target, then close your eyes and present the pistol. If all is well, you will see a perfect sight picture upon opening your eyes again.
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Old 03-18-2010, 03:08 PM
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I used Trijicon 3 dot night sights for a while. Here is the problems I found with them.

At night, a three green dot system can be confusing on a fast aquirement exercize because it takes a bit of time and gun maneuvering to identify which dot is the front dot. The prescribed solution is to use a different color dot on the front, however all colors other than green are much less bright than the green. Therefore over time your front sight dims sooner than the rear.

By day, the white rings around the lamps are not that obvious. With the set I had, the rings were just painted and they chipped off from wear. They may have improved that now, I do not know. But at best their rings aren't that obvious.

Notch sight systems are not the best for CQB anyway. Your front dot can be hidden by the sight with just a slight movement of the wrist. And older 50 year old eyes simply have a hard time distinguishing the little dot in the notch.

These are the reasons I changed to XS Sight Systems 24/7 Express night sights. Here are their advantages in my opinion.

Instead of a three dot system, they are a post and dot like a lower case i. You just dot the i, put the dot on the target, and squeeze.

Instead of the notch, the rear is a shallow V express sight. The front dot hovers above the bar in the rear sight and is much easier to see, less likely to get hidden.

Their white rings are tough plastic and they offer two different sizes. No chipping off of paint, easier to acquire.

They use Trijicon tritium lamps in green only. You get the brighest lamp available, and instead of three equal size dots, you have a bar and a dot. No confusion which is the front sight ever.


Last edited by skeeterbait; 03-18-2010 at 03:21 PM.
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Old 03-18-2010, 04:39 PM
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Night sights are just an additional measure. It is VERY rare, even for LEO's, to shoot in total darkness. And even in partial darkness a trained operator will be using a flashlight or weapon light (if available) for proper target identification. So the illumination of tritium giving away one's position is at least in part mute.

After that it's all personal preference anyway. Having been to dozens of nights shoots, indoors and outside, I have found that my flashlight and instinctive shooting skills far exceed what I get from tritium. But I have night sights on almost all of my guns just the same. Although I do often black out the rear dots and just use the front sight.
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3904, 3906, 3913, 3914, 3953, 3954, 5906, 6906, cs45, trijicon, tritium

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