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Night Sights on CCW

phokur
I plan to send my G19 back to Glock, and I see they offer a night sight upgrade. I am convinced they are a good upgrade but I am afraid of the risk of exposure because of the glowing sights. Is there any chance of the glowing sights being seen through your t-shirt or catching somebody's eye?
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Comments

9 comments

Date Votes
  • He Dog
    Pretty negligeble. The tritium sights are mounted so they are really only visible from the rear of the gun and even in an open holster someone would have to be closer than you would allow to see them from in front of you or to the side. Mounted lasers or lights are other options. I have factory installed tritium sights on an M&P, but I am not sure I would fork over the price to have after market sights installed. they do have a limited life and are not all that bright to my old eyes. They are most effective in total darkness, where you could not see an adversary anyway.
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  • phokur
    Thanks for your insight! I did not know they had a limited life, so that makes them even less appealing to myself.
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  • shilowar
    It would be cheaper to have a local gunshop install night sights for you rather than shipping your gun back to Glock....also much faster

    Find a gunshop in your area that is an Authorized Glock Dealer...

    It is very easy to change out the sights and I wouldn't waste the money on the shipping, or the turn around time if I could do it locally.

    I would also order Glock Night Sights...or GNS they are cheaper than Trijicon, have a larger diameter and longer warranty...15 years...and GNS are steel sights...


    You might be able to find a Glock armorer in your area on here by putting up a want ad in the want ad forum....they can order the sights much cheaper from Glock and install them for you.
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  • shilowar
    You might also consider...saving yourself some money and just installing a front night sight...

    In a self defense situation you should consider that you will firing reflexively...relying primarily on your front sight...any self defense shooting you get into chances are it will be less than 7 yds....all you need for a 7 yd shot, especially a quick shot is your front sight post...

    In LE we focus on front sight post shooting, especially since 80% of our shooting situations are 10 feet or less...

    If you only have a front night sight you may focus more on it, especially in a dark...self defense situation...chances are your not going to have the time to line up your sights all nice and neatly...


    I carry my Glock 19 with a front night sight, and the standard rear sight....my 19 is my favorite carry gun off duty
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  • phokur
    Good info shilowar. I am actually sending my Glock back to them anyway to get it upgraded and maybe the slide refinished. I figured while it was in there, might as well upgrade the sights, but then I was worried over it being easier to spot. I really like the idea of just a front sight, I'll see if they are willing to do that.

    That brings me to a different question. I did have a LaserMAX internal at one point and hated it. Partially my fault as I'd leave it on and kill the batteries but I really did not find it all that useful. However, it did prove that my Glock shot alittle to the left as seen here:
    dsc00735q.jpg
    Will they be able to fix that you think?
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  • dcs shooters
    IWI has a lifetime warranty on the night sights they have. You can get green front and yellow rear that show up very good. I have them on one of my Glocks.
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  • glabray
    Night sites contain very small vials of a phosphor with a small amount of tritium mixed in. The tritium emits beta radiation which makes the phosphor glow. The half life of tritium is about 12 years meaning that half the original amount is gone in 12 years. That accounts for the experience that a lot of us have had of fresh night sights being pretty visible in dim light but after a few years they dim considerably. If you buy a set, make sure they are fresh and haven't been sitting on a dealer's shelf for 5 years.
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  • Colt Super
    I don't use the sights on combat pistols.

    Doug
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  • beantownshootah
    Even brand new, tritium night sights are not all that bright, and they are generally recessed a bit meaning you have to be looking at the sights end-on to see them.

    In short, while they *could* be seen if you are carrying the gun in a open holster, they should NOT be seen if you are carrying the gun using any normal concealment method. I wouldn't worry about that.

    As to decay, the night sights do last a pretty long time.

    I have factory night sights on a Smith pistol that is probably 7-8 years old, and they're still quite visible in the dark.
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