I'm enjoying the heck out of my new Model 27 .357 Classic N-Frame with the 6-1/2" barrel in bright blue, but I cannot see the front sight while lining up. It completely disappears on me.
Has anyone had this experience? If so, would painting the front sight white help? Or perhaps a white strip of pin striping tape?

I started having problems lining mine up along about the time I turned 40. I found black bulls and a 6 o'clock hold with a tan background are easier. High contrast really helps.

What works best is a red dot sight. I've mounted dots on as many of my firearms as possible.

Try Modeler's paint.. Testors.. Apply a coat of white and then a coat of florescent red. It may help and is a cheap first attempt.

I put red paint on a model 58 in 1966 and it's still there.

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Eccentric old coot

Yea, I just hit 60 and I can't see sh*# anymore.
Thanks for the tip.
I may have to look into prescription safety glasses too.
Ugh….getting older sucks.

Testors fluorescent orange has worked well for me. The best thing I've found is a fiber optic front. Some change easily, others don't. Available from S&W.

Rolf, see Post #8 to this thread: 686 sights

Ed

It would appear that I'm not alone.
Thanks.

I am 60 too. I had a pair of safety glasses made with a reader lend over the shooting eye. I can see the front sight now, hut targets beyond 25 yards are fuzzy.

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

True, but it sure beats the alternative!

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No good deed goes unpunished.

Amen brother…...

Had the very same problem with pretty much all ramp-type sights regardless of color. Light reflection washes out the outline of the blade; my ultimate fix was to have local gunsmith fit a comparable height patridge/square style blade which seems to resolve the issue in all lighting situations.

I had the same issue as bobbyd. No way I could make out a sharp outline with a ramp sight. Changing the front to a patridge made all the difference in the world. I like FO sights on my semi's but not my revolvers.

Stainless front sights are even harder to see in bright light. I paint mine with an orange-ish nail polish I picked out at WalMart several years ago. It looked like the brightest stuff available.

I learned from others on this forum that nail polish color stands out much more brightly on a front sight if you lay down a coat of white polish first. It's an easy job that takes only a few minutes (plus drying time between coats, of course.)

Is this a vision problem? Do you wear reading glasses? I can't see very well up close so I wear reading glasses. The key is to have the distance you need for the distance to the front sight. For me I can see the front sight clearly with .75 non prescription glasses. I bought Elvex Safety glasses in .50 and .75. Ebay has them for $10.95. You might need more or less correction to see the front sight clearly. Coloring the front sight can help indoors but black may help outdoors. I remember soot cans to blacken the front sight when I shot outdoors in the Army. The target itself is a big blur for me but at least the front sight is clear. I am going to try a Merit Optical attachment (peep sight) on my Elvex glasses to see if that clears up the target. So...I'm using .75 for the front sight and hopefully the Merit will clear up the target (bullseye) a little bit.

Progressive Tri-focals help too.

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Eccentric old coot

Good info. I would do it too but for me it's not the color. The front sight is just very blurry. Not sure if the OP's issue was color or fuzziness. I did use some whiteout on the front sight and it helped indoor range shooting a little bit. I guess the bottom line is that you can't shoot well if you can't see the front sight.

I wear trifocals. The intermediate range works fairly well for handgun shooting. The trifocal section is fairly small, so I buy a pair of drugstore readers that focus as far as I can reach out in a shooting stance. It may not be the answer for hunting, but it works for targets. The dab of red up front seems to help, more so outside.

Jack

I put a Hi-Viz Fiber Optic front sight on my 625JM. Such a wonderful 30 second change over. Also have a 1911 w/ F.O. front sight. Does wonders for my 62 year old eyes. The rest have to settle with nail polish. Bob

+1 for Testor's red paint........I have two bottles floating around somewhere, you get them for like $1.50 at any big hardware store. One bottle would probably last a lifetime. If it wears off just reapply.

It's the "poor man's red insert" front sight I have a good many old police and security 10's, 64's, and Ruger Service Sixes with traces of old paint on the front and rear sights.

Just remembered. I did put a Red Dot scope on a 6" 686 I no longer own. Groups were almost like having younger eyes again. Expensive and I really didn't like the look but it really worked. One last thing. I couldn't wear my glasses with it. The dot looked like a rainbow. Still it was pretty effective without my glasses.

It's a vision problem. I also use readers as well (150 - 175).
I use a progressive lens for my everyday glasses.
I don't use "shooters glasses" but rather my Vuarnet sunglasses. The outdoor range doesn't have a problem with me using them and I like the lenses much better than shooters glasses.
I'm far-sighted so the target is in focus but the sight is a big blur.

Have done this with a number of carry guns..... including a 4" 28....... do not skip the base coat of white paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I also have 2 sets of "Eagle Eye" Shooting glasses...... which are ground with small inserts (near the bridge of the nose) to allow you to focus on the front sight............I need reading glasses ....... my eye post cataract surgery are 20/25 (shooting eye) and 20/15

Found I see my front sight much better now since I opened the rear sight to allow more light on each side the front.

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Joshua 1:9

Rolf. Sounds like the same vision issue I have. Take a look at the Elvex safety glasses on ebay. I think the .5 might be the ticket. I wear 2.0 for reading and the .75 puts the front sight in focus for me. They look like shooting glasses not readers.

I can not second this more soundly. It sounds ridiculous and embarrassing but I was too hard-headed to get anything but distance correction no "bi-focals" for me like my grandfather.

Shooting was a nightmare. Go in for a visit and it turns out my Ophthalmologit's physician husband is also a shooter and having the same probelms as me--needing correction for distance and somewhat "fine" up close with a sliding scale in ability to see as distance increases, without corrective lenses.

She prescribed a special set of hunting/shooting glasses--per the traditional shooting style with yellow tint-- that are some sort of lined trifocal (where I can switch view as needed). The close in correction is lower in the lens too so I can shoot a shotgun/point-shoot with ease, but then focus in on sights as needed by looking through the lower lens.

Then no-lines for normal wearing.

Literally changed my life for the better. I can't recommend seeing an eye care professional about this more strongly and explain your problem. Wish I had done so 10 years ago--time I have been refusing bi-focals.

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Possum—The other white meat!

I use the wife's bright color nail polish. $2.00 done!

Nice posts. For those of us that are farsighted (we can't see clearly up close) the color of the front sight can be an issue but having a red, yellow, green or white front sight that is still blurry or fuzzy doesn't solve the whole problem. It's more distinct with the color but still very blurry. We need correction that makes the front sight clear. An optometrist can prescribe glasses that make the front sight clear at the exact distance from your eye to the front sight. Reading glasses work at the distance your are comfortable reading. Computer glasses do the same thing but at a distance that makes your computer screen clear. Shooting glasses with magnification are for the exact distance from your eye to the front sight.

Well it sounds like I'll need to do both painting the front sight AND getting another pair of glasses.
Like I stated earlier, I wear progressive lenses which cover ALL the distances far and near. I think I'll have another pair made in some nice Ray Ban sunglasses since I currently use my sunglasses anyway.
Thanks for all the great posts!!!

Here is the way the front sight (a dab of white out) looks to me and to most other shooters who are far sighted. It's better than black but still blurry without the correct magnification. The rear sight can be a little out of focus but the front sight should be crystal clear.

Attached Images

image.jpg (46.8 KB, 30 views)

If you get glasses made that permit you to see both your sights and target clearly you won't need paint and paint won't help you see anything clearly. You'll be able to see the sight but no more clearly than without the paint.

Why do people resist fixing a problem correctly? Remember the old adage about not being able to hit what you can't see?

Ed

We get old and the eyes go.............................

The paint will help with quick; snap,close, defensive shots.......

the right glasses will be good at the range or when you have them on......but most of us don't/can't wear the right glasses all the time!

I've had the same problem for the past few years. I didn't want to modify my classic Smiths, so I painted the fronts and had White outline rear sights put on. I also bought extra sets of rear sight screws and kept the old solid black sights.

I've found for painting front sights:

Use acetone and a toothbrush to deeply clean the serrations of the blade

Use blue 3M painters tape on the side of the sights and to limit the area you paint

I use white fingernail polish (2 coats) drying 2 hours between coats

Then I use Testers Fluorescent red paint (keep applying coats until completely covers blade serrations

Lastly, after letting the Testers dry 24 hours, I put 2 or 3 coats of clear nail polish.

This lasts for 2-3 years for me without having to touch up

Just be careful in keeping solvent off the front sight blade when cleaning

I get that. I'm 68 but I don't blame my inability to see my sights, computer monitors and printed material well on the item - the problem is in my eyes so that's where I address my efforts to repair the problem. I have reading glasses for my desktop and ones for my laptops (those monitors wind up being different distances from my eyes), my reading Rx in my "regular wear" bifocals and the shooting glasses Dr. Morgan made for me. Why paint front sights and modify rear sights when they aren't the problem??? Fix that problem the same way you fixed the problem you have reading and using your computers - with the correct glasses.

Ed

If you read all of my post I do say that the proper glasses are the best solution ........ but.... recognizing that we don't/can't wear the right glasses 24/7/365 ...... painting the front sight can help you get a "better/faster" flash sight picture in a defensive shooting situation!

The 'Eagle Eye" glasses I mention in my first post are what I would wear if I was a "officer" on duty......... as they allow me to focus on my sights when shooting but do not interfere with my normal; slightly far sighted, vision!

I am nearly 67. My eyesight started to change for the worse over 20 years ago. Since then, I have tried painting front sights, using green fiber optic front sights (they help), prescription glasses and scopes and dot sights. Scopes and dot sights turn lithe and finely balanced handguns into top heavy 2x4's. And holsters for scoped handguns - forget it. No more fast work.

Best thing I ever did was going to see an Ophthalmologist at the beginning of this year. I said an Ophthalmologist, not an Optometrist. An Ophthalmologist is a physician (MD/MBBS or D.O., not OD or BOptom) who has completed a college degree, medical school, and residency in ophthalmology. Ophthalmologists are both surgical and medical specialists. An Ophthalmologist can treat/cure all kinds of eye problems. Cataracts are fixable, Lasik can perform wonders and surgery can be miraculous.

13 years ago I was told I had a fairly rare eye disease (called Salzmann's) that was basically untreatable and would probably get worse. So I forgot about it. In desperation, in January of this year I went to see the Ophthalmologist who cured my wife's eye problems 20 years ago with Lasik. After my eye exam, she tells me that my Salzmann's can now be treated through surgery.

Had surgery done on my left eye in February (2015) and it is like going back 30 years. I can now see the handgun's front sight (and target) clearly out of my left eye !! Since I was always right handed but left eye dominate, I can again shoot handguns like I did up until my left eye started going bad 25 years ago. I am having my right eye done 6/18/15. When it heals, I expect to be able to accurately shoot iron sighted rifles again !!

I cannot stress too much - GO SEE AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST. Ask around for references. If you find one that is booked 3 to 6 months into the future - THAT IS THE ONE YOU WANT. The good ones are heavily booked. It may take 3 to 6 months to get an appointment with them.

Yes, Ophthalmologists can cost more than nail polish or fiber optic front sights, but having your vision fixed - being able to see as well or better than you did 20 to 30 years ago - is priceless.

And a miracle.

^^^100 Likes.

After seeing the Ophthalmologit I feel like my eyes are 18 years old again. I only wish I could say the same for the rest of me!

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Possum—The other white meat!

I couldn't agree more. I went to seven ophthalmologists in search of a cure for a vision problem before I found doctor number eight, who determined my eye problem actually was a sinus problem. He also gives me an eye exam every year which my health insurance carrier (Aetna Medicare) covers and those exams are THE most thorough eye exam I've ever had. They take an hour instead of the 10 minutes to which I was accustomed. With optometrists, my distance Rx has been +1.50 for several years but his Rx reads something like +1.75-.25 plus more numerics I don't recall or understand. Bottom line - I can see better!

Ed