Favorite night sights for a carry gun - Trijicon HD XR, XS Big Dot, or something else?

[Joe Link]

After shooting my Glock 19 at dusk the other day, I realized I really need to spring for a set of night sights. I've been wanting to try an FNS 9c for a while so I figured I'd see if I could find a used one in the classifieds. Found one and messaged the guy to ask if his had night sights. It doesn't, but he made me an offer I can't turn down. Now it seems I'm looking for two sets of night sights

I was originally thinking of going with the Trijicon HD XR but I've also heard good things about the XS 24/7 big dot sights, and they're about the same price. Maybe there's something else out there I should consider? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

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[Dungannon]

I have XS sights on my Glock 19 and S&W Shield. I'm not wearing reading glasses when I shoot, day or evening, and they make it easy for me to quickly pick up the front sight and keep it on target

 

[osprey]

I just put the Trij hd xr's in orange on a glock 19 and they have been working out very well for me. I have not shot them in low light yet but their daylight performance has been great. I have dry fired it in lower light conditions and I think they will be gtg.

 

[Member 34319]

I put Truglo TFX Pro on virtually all of mine.

 

[titsonritz]

Still in search of, but after installing them on my G19, I must say Trijicon needs to mellow out those edges on their HD sights. I do like a U notch, I'm getting ready install a set of Vickers sights and will probably get set of 10-8 sights as well. I would suggest putting tritium on the front only and keeping the rear clean.

 

[BSG 75]

Maybe there's something else out there I should consider? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

A laser.

pres·by·o·pi·a
/ˌprezbēˈōpēə,ˌpresbēˈōpēə/
noun

1. farsightedness caused by loss of elasticity of the lens of the eye, occurring typically in middle and old age.

Anyone who is middle-aged or older knows what I'm talking about. If you don't have presbyopia yet you will have it eventually. It makes it hard to focus on near objects, like things you are reading and the sights on a handgun. I had special eyeglasses made to use when I shoot at the range. They allow me to keep the front and rear sights in focus without blurring the target too much.

But I'm not going to be wearing those special glasses in a self-defense situation. If I'm wearing any kind of glasses it would be my usual bifocals.

If I look through the upper far vision part of my bifocals then the sights are completely blurry. If I look through the lower near vision part of my bifocals then the target is completely blurry. Plus, do I really want to be squinting through the narrow part of my bifocals in a self-defense situation, trying to see my fancy night sights?

I realized that because of my presbyopia my sights - any kind of sights, night sights or not - are going to be pretty useless in a self-defense situation, most of which take place in low-light conditions.

So I decided to put lasers on all of my self-defense handguns and practice shooting using just the laser and not the sights.



Even if you don't have presbyopia (yet) lasers also let you focus on the threat instead of on your sights, enhance your ability to maintain peripheral vision and situational awareness, and allow you to shoot from awkward positions or from behind cover without having to get your head behind your sights.

So if I buy a self-defense handgun and it has night sights, that's great. But if it doesn't I'll still buy it. And I don't install night sights on handguns if they don't come with them. I'd rather put that money toward a laser.

 

[Kcboats]

TFO on all mine. I like green front with yellow rear for my aging eyes...the green glows more aggressively at night/day and lines up faster.

 

[Stomper]

Trijicon HD's on all my carry pieces.

 

[GOG]

Another vote for TFO's.

 

[No_Regerts]

For Glocks, I like Ameriglo Agent sights. The front has a big orange dot like Trijicon HDs, but the rears are just vials without surrounding dots. I prefer that for daytime shooting. They are also shorter than Trijicon HDs.

 

[Stomper]

Shorter in height, or length?

 

[spookshack]

I just recently bought a set of Hackathorn sights for my G48. I would have preferred slightly more daylight between the front and rear sights. Other than that, I'm really liking them a lot.

Glock Hackathorn Sets

 

[powermad]

I need two sets of sights to replace the burnt out ones I have.
I like the Von Stavenhagen sights that are on my P220 and have been looking at the Ameriglo i dots.

I like these too and my give them a try

 

[KEMOSABEJR1]

I bought a slide cut for an Rmr, mounted it, and won't go back. Put suppressor night sights for back up, Incase it has sat in my safe for4 years and the battery died. I have a hard time with aging eyes ( damn reading glasses disappear when you need them!), and not practical in the middle of the night when things go bump! Spendy route, but easy to pick up the dot, day or night!

 

[KEMOSABEJR1]

Carry pistol has TFO's though. TFO+1

 

[Boss]

I greatly prefer the 'Bar(rear, under notch)/dot (front)' or Heinie 'Strait 8'-type configurations. Very straight forward, no confusing which is which. If you do go with the 3-Dot config., a contrasting front sight is worth consideration for the same reasons.

Boss

Are you paying attention? HB 5340 is a Big Deal Folks, and currently under consideration (among others):

From page 9:

A person who legally possesses an assault weapon or large capacity magazine under this subsection (2)(a) may not sell or transfer the assault weapon to any other person in this state other than to a licensed dealer, to a federally licensed gun smith for the purpose of service or repair, or to a law enforcement agency for the purpose of permanently relinquishing the assault weapon or large capacity magazine;

From Page 11:
(2)(a) A person who lawfully possessed, has a purchase order for, or completed an application to purchase an assault weapon before January 1, 2020, and who has registered the assault weapon with the Washington state patrol may:

Best wake up and get involved - Contact your legislators, etc.

NRA-ILA | State Legislation

 

[Brane Frees]

Without hesitation - XS Big Dot. Have a set on a Glock 19; putting a set on a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm, M2.0 Compact. Older eyes just love this sight...

 

[Fishonshawn]

I put the xs big dot ( well I got the standard dot size not big dot, same thing but a little smaller dot) on my fns9c and i dont care for them. If i take my time and really aim I do alright for but for quick shooting I'm terrible with them. Got a set for my shield, dont remember the brand but they have a black out U rear sight and a red dot up front with tritium in it. They are ok but I'm not a huge fan of those either. Put TFX pro's on my CZ PCR and those are the sights I will buy from now on if I want night sights. No more shopping around for something cheaper that I may or may not like and wasting money. The TFX pro's are awesome. Super bright during day, easy target acquisition and bright at night.

 

[DirectDrive]

I put Trijicon HDXR orange ring on my G19
I think it's one of the best day or night sight systems available.
I paid $124 on sale.

A very similar sight is the Amerglo Agent (or Bold)
GT Distributors has these on sale right now for $80.75

 

[Jeedia]

Trijicon rmr06 type 2. Best night sight for a pistol.