Night sights can greatly help with sight acquisition in low light conditions. Assuming one of the roles of your handgun is home defense, that would be one good reason to have night sights, since low light conditions are very probable in that setting...among others...

-Jeff-

Night sights are extremely helpful for that first shot aquisition in a dark environment. Once you have been exposed to muzzle flash it takes awhile to see the night sights again. We train in a "clearing house" in the late evening, early night at the S.O. and the best thing I have depolyed is a guide rod laser sight as I can aquire it very quickly. Each individual varies as to recovery from muzzle flash. Generally we practice point-shoot method in the clearing house as we keep the weapon close to our body and check corners as a team. Never do the TV thing, clearing the house with the weapon at full extension, especially at a corner. You're just asking to have it pulled from your hand if the bad guy is waiting at the corner and has the presence of mind to do it. That being all the weapons we carry have some sort of night sight on them, department purchasing procedure.

Buy the Nitesiters - for 10 bucks, they work fine for the rare occasion you may need them. The downside is that you have to hit the decals with a flashlight for a few seconds. However - I have tested them on my nighstand before. When I wokr up the next morning, they were still glowing enough to be of use. Just gotta do that once per night and you are good to go for the rest of the night.

As good as nightsights? U decide. It requires no gun alterations and is only $10...

http://www.nitesiters.com/

Night sights are nice to have, and I have them on my Glocks, but they are not totally essential for a practiced shooter. In low light, a shooter with good technique can make short-range hits by simply using his stance and grip. However, while this is fairly easy on the range, it gets exponentially more difficult when the shooter and target move (as is practically guaranteed in a real fight).

A good technique for those lacking night sights is to use the muzzle flash to confirm that the sights were aligned at the shot. This is easier to do than it sounds.

We did some fairly extensive night fire at Gunsite a couple weeks ago, and no one was even close to being blinded enough by muzzle flash that they were unable to see their night sights. I call BS on that claim.

I've got the Nitesiters and am happy with them. Even if they are not charged up, you still have a nice bright, clean white dot.

I have done a fair ammount of night shooting. They help a lot and are worth the money.
I have never had a problem picking them up for the second shot.
I like Trijicon. Mepro are good, and the XS is ok.

I gave an honest opinion based on my experience in actual situations from an 8 year stint in the Marine Corps to experience as an investigator in a South Georgia police department. Muzzle flash affects me as it did 30 years ago. Say what you will, I know that all I or we can submit is our opinion from our experience. Have a good weekend.

Most of us value experience and opinions here.

As a novice, focus on improving your skills before worrying about night sights. If your marksmanship needs improvement with the lights on, night sights won't make a difference and might just distract you by encouraging you to try to align your sights in the dark instead of moving and shooting.

Build your skills and upgrade to night sights when you become proficient.

Originally Posted by Scratchshooter40

I gave an honest opinion based on my experience in actual situations from an 8 year stint in the Marine Corps to experience as an investigator in a South Georgia police department. Muzzle flash affects me as it did 30 years ago. Say what you will, I know that all I or we can submit is our opinion from our experience. Have a good weekend.

Maybe your eyes are especially photosensitive. We had 19 people (all recent OIF/OEF vets with "experience in actual situations") at Gunsite and no one had any issues with muzzle flash blinding them. Not saying it's totally impossible, but it seems like a poor reason to avoid night sights.

To me the only thing night sights are going to do is give you your first shot. In low or no light the flash is going to mess with you a lot. I like night sights OK but they are no substitute for practice. Get used to where your gun is when you bring it up. Get to where your muscles know where the right spot is. If the time comes heaven forbid that you have to draw your weapon to save you or your family things are going to be moving really fast. You will need to be able to bring your pistol up and aimed all the while your freaking out. practice is the only thing you can do that will help you when your out of time to think.

I have some pistols with night sights and others I have used sight paints to make them easier to see in all kinds of light, Some even can glow if introduced to a light source for a few seconds. Midway has some stuff I like a lot. (Product #168586) http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpag...586&t=11082005

There are some model paints that can work pretty well too but I don't think it lasts as long. Testers model paint is best I've seen as to model paint. I personally like the paints from midway.

HmmmMMmmm I seemed to ramble on again...Sorry about that
Night sights are pretty neat but not always the best choice I guess I wanted to say.

Not trying to start an argument, but what kind of ammo are you guys shooting that mess with your eyes when shooting in the dark or low light? I have done a lot of night shoots, both as a shooter and instructor and never had any problems, nor seen others have problems with the muzzle flash.

I could see a potential problem with maybe a .357 Magnum but the 9mm, .40S&W, .45ACP and .38 Special I have never experienced anyone who had issues.

I think someone mentioned guide rod lasers earlier. This is what I did for my G27, rather than night sights. Much more expensive, but here is how I look at it; Anything that may potentially aid in saving your's or your family's lives is worth the money, whether it be your night sights, lasers, etc. Afterall, this is why we buy the guns in the first place.

The Muzzle flash can be drasticaly reduced through ammo/powder selection.

Being a handloader, I try different powders from time to time. Using 2400 in .357 loads produces a 2+ ft. diameter fire ball in mid day whereas a bit more pricey powder Vihta Vuori N340 produces none.

Similar differences will be found with other powders in other calibers.

Some ammo manufacturers do a better job of flash reduction than others so you need to search out what works for you regarding cost vs. flash and other characteristics.

Get them

In low light, lining up night sights is a lot easier than lining up white dots. However, if there's no light, you won't see your target. But if it's pitch black, the BG can't see either, and unless he's got night vision, he'll just hurt himself running into walls and tripping over tables.

As far as muzzle flash, it depends on the ammo. Blazer Brass always produces a 12-18" wide flash, but I've never had even similar results from premium defense JHPs. I don't recall how much flash I had from Gold Dots or Cor-bon DPXs, but the Hornady TAPs produce virtually nothing. They advertise it with a low-flash propellant, and they're right. If you're worried about muzzle flash, test a few different brands/loads of JHPs, and I think you'll find there won't be much, at least not enough to blind you in low light. Also keep in mind my testing is out of a 3" barrel...a shorter barrel will often produce a larger flash because some of the powder is still burning when the bullet exits the muzzle.

For home defense, nothing accompanies a gun better than a flashlight. Even if you can put your sights on the chest of a dark figure in the middle of the night, a flashlight can tell you if it's friend or foe. Get one that can easily be flicked on and off with your weak hand, and keep it next to the handgun at night.

Originally Posted by fivehourfrenzy

For home defense, nothing accompanies a gun better than a flashlight.

I'll just say that the best accessory I have to my pistol is my cell phone, because in the statistically improbable senario where someone breaks into my home, I'm not gonna go looking for them, I'm going to barracade myself in the room I'm in and wait for them where I control the environment. I'm gonna call the cops, I'm gonna tell them I called the cops, I'm going to listen to them run out of the house, then I'm going to speak with the officer and go back to bed.

Zhur

If your concern is the possible use of your handgun for self-defense in a low or no-light situation, then you first need to buy a good flashlight. And I don't mean one that you put on the handgun. If the light levels are so low that you cannot see your sights, then they will be too low for you to identify your target. Once you have a decent, bright and reliable flashlight, then you can consider a set of night-sights.

Last spring, a police officer in NJ shot his delinquent daughter when she sneaked back inside the house late at night. She had just entered the basement of the house, and dad shot her. I think there is a good chance that if he had been able to identify her, that he would not have shot her (most dads will *not* shoot their daughters). Keep in mind that this is a trained professional, and since he successfully hit her in a darkened basement, there's a fairly good chance that he had night-sights on his service handgun.

One last thing to consider - if you have a decent flashlight and light up an intruder, you will not need night-sights. Your regular sights will stand out in silhouette quite well. I am also *not* saying that night-sights are useless, as I have them on my primary home-defense handgun. It's just that my HD handgun sits next to a very bright flashlight. Also, I have no problem hitting a man-sized target at bedroom-width distances without using the sights anyway......

PhilR.

I have night sights - and a Surefire Z2 flashlight that puts out 128 lumens! This light will definitely cause momentary blindness to a perp.

Best accessory you can buy. Plunger switch that allows you to operate the flashlight with a two handed gun grip via the Rogers technique.

Keep in mind, that once you "light up" an intruder, in an environment that is dark enough for you to REALLY need a flashlight for identification, the effects are about 60% as bad for you as they are for the person on the receiving end of the light bath. That's why it's best to barricade yourself and wait. This assumes you know where all the friendlies are in your home. You never want to go looking for a BG regardless of what kind of light you may have. Again, the statistical probability of someone actually breaking into your home is small, and can be reduced by some simple measures, like motion lights and such (aka dogs). Now, that being said, the statistical probability of a break-in happening to someone on this forum is even lower, so we are talking about millions to one here. Sure, prepare for the worst and hope for the best, but a lot of this talk is just wishful, or should I say unwishful thinking.

Zhur

Agreed Zhur, on the strategy. My plan is definitely not to go room to room clearing my house. However, I can tell you for a fact the effect to the shooter of my Z2 is not 60% as bad as it is for the perp. I've been on the receiving end of that light too and it is no fun. Believe me, it is a big advantage to me, at least in the set up and lighting in my home. Once it has been flashed in your eyes in a low light situation, you can't see anything for quite a few moments, and most definitely cannot acquire a target with a gun. In the meantime, I'm emptying my weapon at COM.

60% was an arbitrary number... 50%...40%... 30% either way, sure a flashlight gives you an advantage, I just wanted to point out that it's a skill that must be practiced. Flashing a light is much different than holding a beam on someone. Keep in mind, on internet forums, you often times talk to the lowest common denominator. No offense to you personally. When I present information, I try to keep that in mind. If you haven't practiced with, and do not know what to expect, a person could be just as blinded as the BG.

I used to do some drills with a guy I know indoors, at a range, and we had to discern good guy from bad guy targets with a momentary flash of the flashlight. Flashlights that don't have a 'momentary on' switch are not real practical in this scenario. The Z2 qualifies as it has a momentary on press button. The problem is, some people think that big old D4 lights are the pinnacle of awesomeness, but they have a toggle button, which is too much light for too long. Sure you can partially depress them, but again stress is the killer here.

Either way, light is bad for dark, and dark is bad for light. Meaning, if you are in the dark and show light, you are exposed, even if momentarily. If you are in the light, anyone in the dark can see you. Turning your light on too long can blind you just as it is blinding the BG. We used to talk about splash lighting. Lighting the wall vs. the BG. It serves two purposes, most people will look to where the light splashes, turning them off of you, if just for a second, and it isn't directly coming off of them. Either way, you are splitting hairs. Take into consideration that this is information from a guy I know, who showed me a lot of good stuff, it doesn't mean that it's from the bible by any means. If someone has contradictory information, I will accept it if it is from an accredited source. People go off what they've seen, or been trained in, I may be wrong, but it made sense to me. The Z2 with the upgraded bulbs are pretty damn bright, and I know for certain that in my house, given a break-in, however unlikely, I'd probably just turn the lights on and find cover. I'd also yell out that I'd called the police, which would likely end the encounter. There are thousands of scenarios, not all of which fit every person/home/situation. It's all just base line advice.

Zhur

I'll dissent with the knowledgeable PhilR. a bit and say that there are some lighting situations in which the target can be identified but the sights can't be seen. Anyway, an enemy combatant can also sometimes be easily identified by muzzle flashes directed at you.

House lights are much better to use in most circumstances, assuming you feel the need to wander through the house asking the bad guy to shoot you.

Learn how to "flicker and move." And for gawd's sake, if you think you might have to shoot a guy while using a flashlight, train yourself to move laterally after putting the guy down and dousing the torch.

I agree that turning on the house lights is better, assuming you have electrical power. I always leave certain lights on throughout my house anyways. Obviously owning a hand held flashlight is common but I like the idea of having a light attached to my gun so I can either have one hand free or both hands holding the gun. I also agree that searching through your house for a BG is not the best thing to do, but depending on where the bedrooms are situated and if there are other family members in other bedrooms (specifically children) than one may have no choice but to encounter the BG with the intention of protecting family members in other areas of the house.