New Sights for Aging Eyes

[smitty_bs]

I just had new Trijicon HD sights put on both my M&P Shield and M&P Full Size (pictured). I wanted to have the same sight picture so had them both done. I don't want to start a debate on whether or not night sights are really needed. I'm 55 going on 56 and the fact is I just don't see as well as I used to. These seem to do the trick and I'm very pleased.

 

[berudd]

Glad to hear they worked for you. My eyes ain't the best anymore either. Well, who am I kidding, my eyes have always been bad. I was shooting today and could see nothing but black blobs for my sights. The white dots might as well not be there. I might give these a try.

 

[SOS24]

I like Trijicon HDs for how easy it is to see the front sight. I find the orange front is especially good for daylight.

 

[gqllc007]

I am 55 as well. I ended up going to XS Big Dots on my carry pistols

 

[bananaman]

I just had Tru-Glo T.F.O. sights installed on my Sig 239. Combo fiber optic/ night sights. Front is green, back 2 dots are yellow. Sure are bright with F.O. Bob

 

[CB3]

There are lots of options out there that improve sight pictures for aging eyes over the OEM offerings. I tried many of them before going to the most expensive option, a Trijicon RMR 06 milled onto my M&P Full Size.

That was the biggest leap in improving my accuracy, although I did it when I was 65, about 10 years after getting Lasik done on one eye for better distance vision. Lasik did very little to help my shooting.

The shifting focal planes of rear/front sights to target were not working beyond 10 yards. The Red Dot Sight fixed that by letting me focus ONLY on the target. It has been the most substantial solution for me.

 

[NevadaBob]

I tweaked my "sight picture" by going to Walmart and getting some reading glasses. These 66 year old eyes need some help!

 

[coachray]

I bought my shield with the trijicon sights on it and that works for me also

 

[bigwheelzip]

Ah, the age old, old age problem. On a slow day at my gun club/LGS, the owner's son and I looked through every type of handgun sight in their new and used cases. The only one that was really clear to me, were OEM sights on a Walther PPX. They seem like Big Dot's with slightly oversized dots.

 

[fallhunter]

TruGlo TFX sights for me. They are awesome. The only thing I don't have them on is my guns that came with factory night sights. Besides that, the TruGlo is all I would use.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Amp]

Re-lamped the 3913 with Trijicon. Good upgrade.

 

[Brian in Oregon]

As I get older, I get more farsighted. Iron sights are a blur now. I can just make out tritium three dot sights at night, and fiberoptic sights work OK in the daytime.

Tru-Glo has come out with what they call their TFO sights (Tritium FiberOptic). They combined both tritium lamps and fiberoptic rods to make true day/night iron sights.

Since my SIG P227 .45 is going to be the new home defense gun, it made sense to test these sights on it. They work well under almost all conditions. I can distinctly make out the three dots in daytime and night, indoors and out. They are adequate in a dim house, where you have no lights on but there is some dim light coming in from windows. Use of a flashlight or strong light on the target will cause the sights to look like ordinary iron sights, but that's common to any tritium or fiberoptic sights.

Drawback are some reports of the fiberoptic rods coming loose. So far that has not been an issue on mine. The sights are also elongated, and have an unsupported area beyond the dovetail. I would hope they would not damage the dovetail if the gun were dropped, but of course no one should be dropping their gun. Some users have put a drop of superglue or clear nail polish on the exposed rods.

I have the green/green set. These are also available in a yellow/green set. And the TFX series has the option of a white or red circle around the front dot. I wish they would have a white circle around the rear dots, but maybe that will be a future release. They're made for most popular autos including S&W M&P.

 

[hostler]

I ended up with a laser on my "stay at home" home defense gun because of my bad vision. I know that there may be a circumstance where I won't have a chance to grab my glasses, without them, sights are just a blur.
A suggestion for you guys who depend on corrective lenses, take your home defense gun to the range and see if you can aim it well without wearing your glasses, it may change your approach.
Since my vision is mostly bad up close (at pistol sight distance) I do a lot better focusing on a laser dot out at a distance.
My carry gun wears Heinie Straight Eight sights. Without my glasses the two dots blur into a straight vertical line which, for me, is easier to align than three horizontal dots.

 

[Raisin]

I have both Tritium night sights (Ameriglo SW-745) and a laser (Crimson Trace) on my M&P Compact stay at home gun. First I put on the night sights then realized that it took me to long to see them after waking up from a sound sleep. Then I put on the laser and I can see it right away when woke up in the middle of the night. Maybe the time it takes my eyes to focus after waking up is just an old guy thing but think about it. I doubt anyone would have too much time to focus during a home invasion.

 

[Bill Bates]

I'm another person that loves the Trijicon HD sights because I can see them without my reading glasses.

As you all know the trick to shooting a hand gun accurately the key is to keep that front blade smack in the middle of the rear sight notch. As I have gotten older and my eyes sight has deteriorated that has become much more difficult. The front sight without my glasses is just a blur and if the rear notch is on the narrow side it is hard to tell if the front blade is in the middle of the notch. The finer the sights the hard it is to discern where the blade is in the rear notch.

The large U notch on the Trijicon HD sights leaves plenty of light on both sides of that big dot on the front blade. That big U notch is almost like a peep sight on a rifle. My old eyes, glasses on or off, can put and keep that dot smack in the middle of the U.

The first time I picked up a Nightguard series revolver with its big U notch and XS big dot was when I saw the light. Big U notches and dots are now my preferred sight combination.

 

[gqllc007]

On some of my carry guns are the XS Big Dots. On the others are the Truglo TFX and I have also added lasers to my handguns as well.

 

[Steved13]

There are lots of options out there that improve sight pictures for aging eyes over the OEM offerings. I tried many of them before going to the most expensive option, a Trijicon RMR 06 milled onto my M&P Full Size.

That was the biggest leap in improving my accuracy, although I did it when I was 65, about 10 years after getting Lasik done on one eye for better distance vision. Lasik did very little to help my shooting.

The shifting focal planes of rear/front sights to target were not working beyond 10 yards. The Red Dot Sight fixed that by letting me focus ONLY on the target. It has been the most substantial solution for me.

^^^this^^^

Except, I went with the Performance Center so I didn't need to mill the full size. I liked the red dot so much I had my Shield milled and added one to it...and I love it. Once presbyopia takes hold far enough, you just can't get 3 feet, and 30 feet in focus at the same time, no matter what iron sights you use.