Red ramp or partridge sight?

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K W C

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I looking at two 686 revolvers at LGS. Both are pre- lock. Both are same price. Both have 6" barrel. One has red ramp sight and the other has partridge sight. It seems to me that the partridge sight is rare. Most S&W revolvers I see have the red ramp.
Does the partridge make it worth more or less?
 
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The red ramp on the 686 6-inch is not worth much - very hard to see because of the flat angle of the front sight. I don't know if that matters to you, but it is one gun where the red ramp never did much good for me. If you're going to shoot the gun much, you might prefer the patridge blade.
 
K W C said:
One has red ramp sight and the other has partridge sight.
Click to expand...

fo38g7.jpg


Adios,

Pizza Bob
 
While the red ramp looks good in the lights from the gunshop, it can disappear in the sunlight. I thought they were great until the first time I went to the range. The spray sight black will help. Any colored sight will tend to shoot toward the light. The Patridge is much superior for target. I would get this one. It is worth more to me if I can hit with it. The Call bead is probably the best if you want a colored front sight. It is flat and light from the side does not reflect much. The fiber optic sights look good to me but I have no experience with them.
 
Another thought in favor of the patridge front sight is that if you don't like the "all-black" sight picture, it's a very simple matter to apply flourescent orange paint to the rear (vertical) edge of the patridge sight. In that location, it doesn't rub off even if you holster the gun. I did that with a 617 and really like the results. I have a S&W mod 610 with a fiber-optic front sight, and the model paint is just as bright outdoors as the fiber-optic sight.

There are threads on here about how to do it, but basically after degreasing the blade with acetone, I use a coat of flat white Testors model paint, followed by a coat of their flourescent orange. Looks great and is easily removable with solvent if you want to go back to black.

Lou
 
I have a 625JM that had a brass bead Partridge sight on it. I put a Hi-Viz green fiber Optic on it. Easier for old eyes to see. I just got a 14-3, with Partridge sight. Could not see it too well. Painted it bright lime green. This helps when shooting black steel plates. Paint does wonders on many sights, and is reversible at any time. Bob
 
I put sight black on all my colored sights and greatly prefer the sight picture of a Patridge. I'd jump on that one for that reason, but in my experience they're extremely rare to boot.
 
I shoot for a living...my using guns have plain black sights. My target guns have Patridge fronts. There are exceptions (Tritium on a carry gun, maybe), but if a gun is going to be shot a lot, get the Patridge.
Bob

Not really a Patridge, but same principle...flat black blade (this one slightly undercut to reduce glare).


Nice Patridge installed by the factory years ago on my M68.


 
If I could only have one front sight, it would be a Patridge. The red ramp does have its advantage but it is limited to better visibility when hunting in wooded areas where there isn't a lot of light on the gun. There's a reason why almost every handgun sold for the intended purpose of target shooting comes with a Patridge, even if the intended target has a black bull - it provides a much more easily defined and repeatable sight picture.

Ed
 
As others have pointed out, for range/target shooting the black patridge style rules. For the woods and field, I like the red ramp. Many people today prefer some sort of fiber optic front sight for the field, and it is great, but I think the red ramp is more durable (BB puts on asbestos suit).
 
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I aim better with the patridge sight than I do with a red ramp. Most semi auto handguns have a blade front sight. Red ramp is outdated in my own opinion.

James
 
Patridge for me. I hate any colored sight other than black. I just plain old see the black sights better. I wished I could put them on everything.
 
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