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Trijicon Night Sights ???

drjinc
Hello
I am interested in getting a set of Trijicon night sights for my pistol.My question is how do these sights work? Do the need to be charged by light? The reason I ask is I keep my gun in my night stand so it does not see very much light and if they need to be charge by light then they would be useless to me. Thanks in advance for any info.

http://www.awbansunset.com/awcountdown.gif
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • muss
    night sites have a small capsule of radioactive isotopes inserted into a hole in the sight. the capsule is usually held in place by an adhesive or a clear cover. the sight has a typical half life of about 12 years, which means the capsule need to be replaced. you can store them in total darkness and the will glow when you pull them out.

    muss
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  • muss
    night sites have a small capsule of radioactive isotopes inserted into a hole in the sight. the capsule is usually held in place by an adhesive or a clear cover. the sight has a typical half life of about 12 years, which means the capsule need to be replaced. you can store them in total darkness and the will glow when you pull them out.

    muss
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  • muss
    there is a good discussion about this on the general discussion board right now.

    muss
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  • nmyers
    Tritium sights are of little value for LEOs, & worthless for civilians. They help aiming only during an extremely short period of twilight conditions. Remember, you must ALWAYS identify your target.

    A better choice would be a lithium-powered flashlight mounted on your pistol. It will blind/confuse an attacker in the dark, while illuminating him well enough that you can positively identify him as such.

    In any case, I recommend that you reconsider your entire home defense plan. Most guns used by criminals today are stolen from careless homeowners during burglaries; all guns should be kept locked in a safe/gun cabinet. If your local conditions are so serious that you need to keep an unsecured gun next to your bed, consider installation of a perimeter alarm system.

    Neal
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  • bambihunter
    Muss gave a good answer as to how they work. If you want a very cheap alternative, they make glow in the dark type paint that you can paint your sights with and then "charge" them with a bright light and they'll last for hours.
    I think nmeyers overstated when he says they're useless, but they are certainly not a required piece of equipment. For some situations however they definately have thier use. For instance:
    At our home, it's just two of us (my wife and I). When I hear something at night, I can reach across the bed to see if she's in there with me. If she is, then we've got problems. See, all our doors are locked at night and our alarm is set to go off instantly if any doors are opened, any windows are opened or broken, etc. So, if I'm in the bed and am physically touching my wife beside me, then there darn sure isn't anything else "friendly" within our home. Simply put, we're prepared to back ourselves into a corner with both of us armed with our trusted 10mm's (me a G29 with a 17 round G20 magazine, and her with a 17 round Glock 20 - both with night sights). Let me just say that if something moves in front of us it won't be pretty...[xx(]

    The 10mm - either you've got it, or you don't get it...
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  • Jim Rau
    Neal, you could not be more wrong about their value to Law Enforcement if he tried!!! They are more of an asset than a bullet proof vest in a night time conforntation. (Been there, saw that, done that, MANY times). The mounting of a light to the handgun is a very bad practice except for some very specific tactical situations.
    The rest of his post is right on though.

    Self defence is an ablsolute and natural right. Keep your powder dry! J. Rau, Alaska
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  • Mooseyard
    Sorry Neal, but your wrong about this one. Number one, a person with a flashlight may blind the perp for a second or two, but it also gives the perp a target. Number 2, the flashlight is forward of the sights, therefore not illuminating the sights. Sure you can see the perp, but you can't easily tell if your sites are lined up. Night sights allow you to easily line up the shot.
    Jess
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  • competentone
    Ignore what nmyers says; buy some quality tritium sights (tritium--which is radioactive hydrogen--is what is used in them) from a trustworthy dealer to help assure you're not getting 5 or 6 year old sights.

    They are great in low light conditions and extremely useful if you are hiding in the shadows (where you want to be) during any confrontation--which hopefully never happens.

    I'd also suggest having a gunsmith install them; if hit too hard during installation, damage to the glass holding the tritium can result in their premature failure. If you purchase them from a gunshop with a smith, they'll probably install them for free.




    "Strength is the outcome of need; security sets a premium on feebleness." -- H.G. Wells (The Time Machine)
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  • profesor01
    i spent 12 yrs in military sf and i was trained that a flash light makes the perfect target because there is always someone behind it.i do recomend night sights,trijicon is my personal favorite,but there are several diffrent ones to chose from and recomend talking to a gunsmith about wich one is best for your particular firearm
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  • JP146
    I've had better customer service experiences with Meprolight than with Trijicon personally and I like the white outlined dots that Meprolight provides as they're easier to see in the daylight. Like some have already said the flashlight is only a good tool if you're properly trained and the batteries are charged. In fact when I went through the Police Academy, recruits were trained to extend our weak arm fully and hold the flashlight away from our bodies while engaging targets with a one handed grip, leaves you at a disadvantage and I'd never teach my students to do that. You can't beat the tritium sights for low light conditions.
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