Do you need night sights?

[Rastoff]

In the past, I have been a proponent of night sights. The idea is that you can pick up your sights quickly when the light is low. However, I've been putting some thought into this. If there is enough light to be sure of your target, there should be enough to see the sights well enough.

I can see the white dots on my sights easily enough, even in low light. That is not to say night sights don't have value. If they make it easier to see, that's good. I'm just not sure they're necessary.

What do you think?

 

[SC_Mike]

I've trained with them over the years so I'll keep them. I guess it's all what you get used to.

Inside a certain distance we should be able to draw, fire and hit a human sized target without sights at all, through training and muscle memory. Beyond that distance, where more precise accuracy is required, is where sights come into play and in some scenerios night sights can be an advantage.

 

[Arik]

In the past, I have been a proponent of night sights. The idea is that you can pick up your sights quickly when the light is low. However, I've been putting some thought into this. If there is enough light to be sure of your target, there should be enough to see the sights well enough.

True and there is even a school of thought that you don't actually need to use you're sights, in the traditional sense, in a defensive situation. You just point the front sight and shoot. You will hit where you're pointing. However, they certainly don't hurt and they are such a minute thing that I personally don't see a reason not to have it. There isn't always enough light

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[6518John]

Doug--I put the Trijicon ones on my Sig 220. 1. They were expensive, and 2. the old ones were so hard to get off I had to take to a gunsmith with one of those sight pulling/adjusting machines. (We are friends so he would not charge me which was good).

I agree with your concerns above 100%. However, they are nice in low-light situations. But I am with you, I am not going to shoot at anything I can't see clearly, and if lit up, I can see my sights too.

 

[Muss Muggins]

You absolutely do not need night sights. I jumped on the train like everybody else when they were introduced 25 years ago or so, but the subsequent years included many hours spent on the range in the dark and moving through dimmed shoot houses. Never did I rely on those night sights, which immediately became superfluous after the quick use of a light or the bright flash of gunfire. Somebody made a ton of money over the years, but never again from me . . .

 

[blues7]

I'm sure I'm in the minority but twenty plus years in law enforcement...including 5 years on our SRT team and I've never installed them on any of my issued or personally owned firearms.

I've been tempted but never jumped.

 

[JK-linux]

I run them on most of my defensive pistols. I've grown use to them over the decades, and I think they can add value.

I guess I'm in the camp that believes that just because something might not always be useful every situation, that doesn't mean it is without value in all situations, and therefore is worth keeping if I have the option.

Having said all that, I don't personally consider them required equipment on every defensive gun I own. They are a "nice to have" for sure. If you feel you don't need them on some of your guns, or all of them, more power to you.

 

[bigwheelzip]

The only sight mods I did were to the miserable stock CZ75 sights. Three dots of nail polish were enough.

 

[patrickd]

My question is if you're in a close combat situation where a bad guy is shooting at you the chances are you're not taking the time to use much of the sights anyway. Also, at the usual gunfight range of 7-10 yds or less you just don't need a sight period to hit a man in the torso. If you're at distance and shooting at someone you'd better have a good lawyer cause in court a 30- 50 yd gunfight just might grab you by the @$$. It's hard enough clearing yourself with the law in a close range gunfight, but in a fight far enough away to be needing fancy sights?? Good luck.

 

[LAA]

I figure I'll be shooting all kinds of targets at various distances, a lot more times than ending up in a combat situation. Therefor, since I find night sights quicker for my eye to get on target..................I'll still prefer them. However, I still have quite a few semi's that will never get them.

 

[Ranger17]

Not yet carrying nor training to carry so this doesnt come from any real experience, but as it sits now i dont own any night sights and wont bother adding them (actually bought a PC Shield with FO sights instead of the night sights version). The way i see it, if its that dark that i cant see my sights, i'm not going to see a clear target either. And yes that's where training can/will come into play as well, to work thru those potential situations.

It probably isnt the same, but yet i cant help but think its somewhat similar to when i bowhunted and dusk hit in the woods. Sure my pins could be lit or glowing, but that didnt help in determining the shot placement i needed when i saw a large silhouette step out into the lane i had cleared.

 

[BAM-BAM]

You absolutely do not need night sights. I jumped on the train like everybody else when they were introduced 25 years ago or so, but the subsequent years included many hours spent on the range in the dark and moving through dimmed shoot houses. Never did I rely on those night sights, which immediately became superfluous after the quick use of a light or the bright flash of gunfire. Somebody made a ton of money over the years, but never again from me . . .

LOL DITTO..... my first set was in the late 80s (?) over the years I used them (on several guns) and they gradually grew dim...... dimmer and then poof..... gone. I really didn't notice much change in how I handled a situation or my shooting/hits.

So I never relamped......

I will say they are sometimes "nice to have".... but IMHO not "needed"!

now a EDC flashlight ...... even a single cell AAA ....... is another story.

 

[Big Cholla]

I want to be able if needed to make a precision aimed shot in the dead of night with whichever handgun I happen to be carrying. For me the problem always has been getting the right 'elevation' and not windage. I can do windage just fine. I can't always do elevation in sighting at night to my satisfaction. Trijicon night sights have solved that problem for me. The point was made and I want to second it that the problems that might come up in actual SD shooting situations are multiple and varied. Having night sights doesn't mean that one has to use them if the problem doesn't require their use. BUT, it gives me at least one more option. For the same reasoning, I change all my handguns possible to hammers with thumb pieces. The problem just might require a precision aimed shot with a single action trigger action.

I don't like the insistence of the night sight makers for us to have the front sight and the rear sight dots (or bars) of the same color. To me, that is just wrong. I use a small Gunsmithing firm in Michigan that does most of Trijicon's relamping for my night sights. I can get a selection of colors for the rear sight. For some reason the front sight color is fixed.

This might be an appropriate time to bring up the subject of "How Much Sighting Effort Does One Need?" The thinking 'gunnie' will have resolved that actual self defense is not and never will be a shooting range exercise. The problem might be one or multiple bad guys. The range to the BG might be from contact to way out there. Given that the requirement for the shooter in using sights, positions, grips, stance becomes very fluid to the point in an actual fire fight no two shots will be made with any of the above being the same...... Now, back to sight requirements. It can be; none, probably you can't even see your gun. This is usually called Point Shooting. Or it can be just the silhouette of the gun and your familiarity of the ergonomics while the gun is below your line of sight. Or it can be the the silhouette with the gun up at eye level. Or it can be quick acquisition of just the front sight and shoot. Or it can be the traditional, acquire the full sight picture and a controlled trigger press. ...... There are slight variations to all of these generalities......My point is that standing in a shooting lane at your favorite indoor shooting range is not going to give you the muscle memory and training to be proficient with all those possible sighting requirements.

I like all the positive options that I can give myself if forced to face the fact that I'm in a fire fight that I can't avoid. Good night sights are just one of them. I will grant you that some of you are going to have all the physical assets, training and muscle memory to make the 'need' for night sights to be on the lower end of the scale. I know I'm not in that category. I need all the help I can get and I will gladly accept the possible help those night sights are going to provide when necessary. ...........

 

[Ranger514]

I was trained to ignore my sights at close defensive ranges, although I do think they can be useful beyond 10 yards in dim, low light situations. Personally, I think a good tactical flashlight is a better investment for personal defense and home defense. To each his own.

 

[Arc Angel]

Night sights? Really! I once lost a rapidly moving target behind the brilliant green glow of my humongous Meprolight front sight. If I had fired at that exact moment then I would have shot where the target had just been instead of where it actually was. (A heck of a lot closer to me!)

Since that night I haven't been overly keen about what are actually way too bright, 'low light sights'. I'm not saying that so-called, 'night sights' aren't useful; under the right circumstances they can be. Only that these sights are NOT the panacea for all of the target acquisition problems that occur after dark.

Personally, I doubt that, 'night sights' are going to change very much during the remainder of my lifetime; but, someday, I expect the: design, use, and collective perception of, 'night sights' will become significantly modified from what presently exists; and I've read a few Israeli articles on weapon sights and human vision to bolster this opinion.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

The Gen3 Glop19 I purchased about 20 years came with factory night sights. I think manufactured by Meprolight. It was something like $40 more than a Glop with standard sights.

At the time I figured why not. Pretty much the same way I look at it today. And... to my surprise they are still glowing 24/7. Now they're supposed to dim by half after 12 years and half again the following 12 years. So based on that assumption I'm probably glowing at 1/3 capacity and maybe need to do something about it... eh... maybe not. I'll have to do some deep thinking about the economics-- $40 over 20 years... Anyone got a calculator?

Anyway... In certain low light conditions I can more easily pick up the night sights than regular sights-- low light conditions that still allow me to identify the target. So in that regard I disagree with the notion that night sights are necesarily of no help unless lighting is so minimal that you can't identify the target anyway.

Shooting at an indoor range with the lights off years ago... (it helps to know the owner)... after the first shot the muzzle blast makes the target more difficult to see but I could still well see the night sights.

All in all... I haven't found the amortized cost much of a downside nor the potential practical advantage something to be a great advocate for. But in a particular situation under certain light conditions they may be useful in a self defense situation.

 

[Gamecock]

I like them on home defense guns, where range might be up to 25'.

I believe that if I ever have to shoot someone in public, it is going to be at very close range - probably from retention position - so sights cannot be used, regardless of type.

 

[diyj98]

I've got a few just because that's the way they came, but I've never spent money to add them. I'm also in the camp that if I ever have to use a handgun in self defense, it will be so close and so fast I won't be using sights anyway.

 

[Lee's Landing Billy]

To answer the title to your post....NO. I took the "you" in your post to mean "me". So, naturally I was only answering for me. As others pointed out, it is a personal choice. I would never presume to decide for someone else. I do not need them. Thanks LLB

 

[kthom]

If I have color on my sights, I only want it on the front sight. I too bought into the night sight business, for a time. I did not find them to be really helpful back when I could still see well. These days, I generally use a dab of green paint on my front sight which allows me to know for certain that my front sight is positioned "on" the target. If I am able to hold my gun in my normal way, I am going to be looking down the top of the frame or slide at that front sight. And these days, for the kind of shooting I mostly do, I don't have to have a crisp focus on that front sight. I do, however, wish to have that front sight in my field of view while looking down that frame or slide as a point of reference. We all know that we don't always have the opportunity to take our normal "hold" and stance. In those cases, we do the best we can. That's when, for me, I take comfort in having the option of my CT laser dot available.

There is a lot more I could say about what works for me, but with respect to the question here, I want my rear sight to be black, with any color present to be only on the front sight. And the dab of florescent green paint on my front sight works as well for me as anything, day or night. That makes a good point of reference and keeps me as focused on where my front sight is as anything I've tried. I've spent a lot of time over the years learning to use my body to keep my windage close to right. But it all depends on how much distance is involved and how alert I am to the need for pointing (aiming) my gun.

FWIW, I also found in my case that if a serious threat presents itself, even with some experience dealing with those, it is VERY hard not to be focused on the threat (the gun, the knife, what ever it is that will hurt me bad!) instead of firmly and clearly on my front sight. That's just human nature, at least for me! But if I can recognize where my front sight is within that picture, I can at least have a pretty good idea where my round will land. This is about the best I can do at this time in my life with the abilities and skills I possess (in diminishing capacities!).