I bought a Shield Plus when they first came out and before the 3.1" barrel version with night sights became available. The typical M&P white dots just aren't doing it for me, so looking to swap for night sights.

Curious what others have used and prefer. Obviously it's based on personal preference, but interested to hear the pros and cons as you see it between sights like TruGlo, Trijicon, etc, and fiber optic, tritium, etc.

I am 62 going on 63 years old so my vision is not what it used to be. I want night sights that are rugged with a good record for durability, to me that means Trijicon. Their HD sights with the orange front dot has become my goto sights and I install them on all of my new pistols. Trijicon is the only night sight provider that has a relamping program that means you can send them back when they become dead or dim and for a nominal fee they will install new tritium lamp elements. Their customer service is top rate also.
Trijicon HD™ Night Sights for Smith & Wesson Pistols | Trijicon(R)

Ameriglo on my Glocks, this set...

One vote for Ameriglo, except I trend towards the I Dots. Their front sights are very distinct and stand out.

Ameriglo Hackathorns

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I'm a big fan of Trijicon.

I used TruGlo TFX on few handguns, but found Trijicon HD/HDXR better, especially for defensive shooting.
They worked almost identical, but during stress or timed drills Trijicons gave me faster and more accurate shots.

My current favorite is XS DXT2 but it's hard to go wrong with any of the big four. My XS are super fast on target and excellent build quality. I also have Ameriglo Agent, Trijicon HD, Mepro Tru Dot and as stated above, all are excellent.

Trijicon all the way. a little more expensive but worth extra cost to me.

TruGlo Tritium Pro on my M&P Shield and M&P Bodyguard 380 for 6 years now. Dead on accurate and no loss of brightness yet. LGS that I purchased from installed them free of charge in minutes while I waited.

Had a set put on mine before the first round was fired. LOVE them!

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield (PLUS) Ledge Straight Eight Night Sight Set - Heinie Specialty Products, Inc.

Proper Sight Alignment - Heinie Specialty Products, Inc.

I like to keep it simple and robust. I have had these night sights on three Shields and they are great. The ledge design is a must for carry guns IMO, and the simplicity of the “Straight Eight” concept is all I need. They are expensive, and worth it. The tritium lamps are small, visible in low light, but they basically disappear in regular daylight, giving a crisp black sight picture without colors and big white rings that make a front sight too wide.

Other brands like Trijicon are absolutely great, but different.

I have found that large dots and colors are distracting because I focus on the target for defensive shooting, not the front (or rear) sight. My presentation aligns the sights, not colors and large sizes.

At close range (0-4 yards) I don’t need sights, just point and shoot fast.

At medium range (5-10 yards) I need them aligned adequately but not perfectly as speed is still more important than precision.

Beyond 10 yards I need more precision and can take a little more time, I figure. A wide notch rear and a slim front sight are more accurate for me.

A big, ringed, colored front sight almost filling a rear notch—sometimes set up with different outlined colors than the front, is a lot to process and demands close focus. That’s the opposite of being threat focused.

I know I will still focus primarily on the target threatening me at that 10+ yard distance rather than a little piece of metal in front of my nose. That’s just counter-intuitive to try to make your brain focus on something other than the threat. A wide notch rear and thin front sight allow me to see the target better while still allowing for sufficient precision.

But mostly now I use red dots, as they fulfill all the requirements above and more.

I went with Truglo Tritium Pros on my Shields and have been very happy with them. I can't find them on the Truglo website right now, unfortunately.

Trijicon Bright & Tough

I put Truglo TFX combination fiber/tritium with orange front ring on mine

That’s what I’m getting for mine. How was the install? I’m going to attempt my install myself. Thank you

And FWIW, I simply had my gunsmith swap the white dot sights from my Plus with my night sights from my 9mm Shield 1.0. I dropped the slides off one day at lunch and had them back the next day, no machining required. Thus, it would appear (to my mechanically-challenged eye) that the slide cuts on the 1.0 and the Plus are the same.

Groo here
I got fiber optic sights.
Gave up on "glow in the dark " sights years ago.
If the sight is bright enough to see at twilight it is too bright at full dark.
If the sight is good for full dark , can't see them at twilight.
Would spend the money on a good hand light and a way to carry both.
Then work out hand holds for both.
And do much one handed shooting [as you should be doing anyway]
Ps , don't like gun mounted lights on handgun except for
one handed use like opening a door.
Rather a primary "light saber" so as not to cover with the muzzle
things you don't want to put holes in

I had my gunsmith install them on my M&P9 M2.0 Compact (4 in). They behaved as promised. They do help focus the eye and I like them. I purchased as set for my Shield Plus and will have installed as I wait. I would recommend using a gunsmith.

Now if I could just find a source for spare 13-rnd magazines, that would be great. I even called S&W and they wete out. They appear to be havling problems getting spring steel for all of their magazines.

I guess all this will be straightened out in a few months as the ountry and the economy spin up to speed.

I use a Crimson Trace grip laser on my shield. At my age, and given the size of the pistol, this option works best for me.

Yep those big orange dots (I am partial to Big Dot Sights) work great for old eyes and get this, ANYTHING happens to a Big Dot (I lost it first time shooting because I did not tighten it down enough) Big Dot replaces it no questions asked, forever!

Trijicon......

Ditto.

I’d rather have a bright glowing fiber optic sight since they make target shooting outdoors more fun. I’m not too interested in preparing for a night fight where I probably won’t even use the sights anyway since anything in the dark will be most likely be very up close and personal.

__________________
Thirty characters. Exactly...

The original rear sight's set screw had red loctite in it, and I pushed out the sight anyway after being unable to remove the screw. That was a mistake. Should have waited a day to go to the store to get an extractor bit.



I think I got the TFX Pro, the one with a U notch and some other changes. I'm not sure why it doesn't show up on the Truglo website anymore.



I didn't have to shave it to get my NcStar sight pusher to work. I put a drop of oil on each side of the dovetail.



BUT, I think the new sights are made really for the M&P 9s, even though it's advertised for the 3.1" Shield. On mine, the front sight is about 0.015" taller than original, and rear sight is about 0.01" shorter than original. I think my sight picture might have moved down to the dot instead of the top of the front sight.




Yeah i got these for my 9mm compact as well. I like them. Also sturdier than Hi-Viz, but Hi-Viz is more affordable. But I think the Shield sights have different heights than the M&P 9, according to my cheapo Harbor Freight calipers. Not sure but it may have lowered the sight picture.

Ameriglo I-dot's

I go 100% with Trijicon, mostly because they are the top dog, but, mostly because I've used them a couple a 4 dozen times and they work, and who am I to try to improve upon perfection? I know they work, and work splendidly, so I won't change.

I agree 100%. Had the Big Dot on my 1st Shield 1.0 & gave it to my stepson because he need a defense gun & like it.
I like the fact the fiber optics work with a minimum of light. Once the sights are mounted to your liking you never have to mess with them again. Knocking your tritium sights off the gun, send them somewhere to replace the element, then getting them in the same place is a lot of work & more money (getting them off (you or gunsmith) mailing them, pay for replacement, waiting to get them back, getting them close to where you had them on your gun in the first place.....
All you need is a light on your gun (if you are shooting in the dark) to assure your not gunning down your wife (yes you should not, even thou sometimes, LOL) or someone not with it (drunk, dementia, strung out...). That would provide enough light for the fiberoptic to function.

I also have these on both my Springfield XDm in 45acp & 9mm.

Why spend more money then you need too? Just my .02 ct.

I put a red dot on my Sig P365XL and carry it but I tend to agree with this post. I checked out the S&W Performance Center Shield Plus with the fiber optic sights and the contrast and bright color was great. Think I’m going to go fiber optic.

If I’m going to need to carry at night, I would probably use my Sig with the red dot.

Here ya go:
New sights for the Plus

I just checked them out. I’ve always liked the Beretta M9 with the “snowman” sights, and the “I Dot” uses a similar concept. I’ve always shot my M9 very well but that’s probably more than the sights.

Hello,
The worse my vision gets the more I like the XS Big Dot DTX2 sights. I have them on most of my Glocks (Ameriglo I Dots on the others) and my Shield 1.0. I have been looking for sights for my new Shield Performance Centers and my Plus'. I haven't found any that I can see better than the Big Dots.
WK

I went with the “Ameriglo S&W M&P Shield I Dot Pro Sights Orange Outline Front Sight” which I think will be great. The Hellcat has a similar factory sight and I also shoot it well.

Thanks for all the great input and help! 🙂

Best Night Sights for Smith & Wesson Handguns - High Visibility S&W Sights

Not sold any more by Ameriglo.

Trijicon HD. I like the green best. Have them on 4 - 2.0's including my 2.0 Shield.

This sight pusher has done all of my sights, including my Glock's as well.

That's crazy, i just bought some a couple weeks ago.

Handgun Sights : XS Sight Systems

just bought these XS big dot sights and to be quite frank I am better able to shoot faster using regular sights. Maybe it will take more trigger time but these sights are good for distance of 7 to 21 feet for double taps but lining up the rear is a bit difficult.