View Full Version : For those with fiber optic front sights.
Mauser KAR98K
11-24-15, 20:14
Looking into placing night sights on my USP, but am curious of fiber optic fronts. Wanting a red front sight that can be used in low light a night conditions. With a weapon light, does the fiber optic "glow" like a tritium sight might?
The answer to your question is no. It won't pick up enough light from a weapon mounted light to make it glow in the dark. Fiber optic sights aren't generally considered a good option for low light shooting.
It will be more difficult to see with just a FO front sight.
I had a set of TFOs on my issued Glock. They were bright in the day from the FO and the tritium behind them lit them up well at night. Never had a problem with them in the thousands of rounds I shot from it during training.
Maiden3.16
11-24-15, 21:10
In my experience, GREEN fiber optic sights are very visible at night with a weapon mounted light, as opposed to tritium night sights which completely black out at night with a weapon light.
As long as I still have a black outline with the fiber optic sight for use with a weapon light I would be happy.
Hemoglobin
11-24-15, 21:43
Yeah. I just made the switch to FO front(red). It's unreliable at best. Sometimes it catches enough light from the walls or something to pop. I assume it's going to look like a plain black sight at night. I chose a fairly wide rear, that helps as well.
My PPQ has Dawson Precision fiber optic sights, red front and green rear. I just put an X300 (non ultra) on it and took it into a dark room. With the X300 on I could just barely make out green dots on the rear. I couldn't see any red on the front at all.
As long as I still have a black outline with the fiber optic sight for use with a weapon light I would be happy.
This is what I settled on. I really like a red FO during the day, it really helps my aging eyes. I found that at night after the first shot I couldn't pick up the night sight so I always use a flashlight and use the black outline.
Nocalsocal
11-25-15, 00:23
My Glock 19 with Vickers green f/o front and plain rear works great in the day. And is still somewhat visible with a nearby light source in lowlight conditions
You get the TFO , NOT FO, T being the operative word. And you will be very happy.
It will be more difficult to see with just a FO front sight.
I had a set of TFOs on my issued Glock. They were bright in the day from the FO and the tritium behind them lit them up well at night. Never had a problem with them in the thousands of rounds I shot from it during training.
You get the TFO , NOT FO, T being the operative word. And you will be very happy.
I've seen some mixed reviews on the TFOs. Do you guys think they're durable enough for serious use?
What the hell is TFO?
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JackFanToM
11-25-15, 09:11
Tritium/Fiber Optic
What the hell is TFO?
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http://www.truglo.com/firearms/handgun.asp
Auto-X Fil
11-25-15, 10:11
Trijicon HD are GTG. I have the older ones with tritium and fiber front and rear, and they are still bright and bomber years later.
FWIW I just put TruGlo TFXs (not sure of any difference between TFOs and these ... ) on my pre-ban CZ-75B and I'm really pleased! The FO is green, super bright for daylight use and then there's the tritium for night use. I also like the 3-dot (2 rear) system over some 1-dot fore & aft systems.
After a BAD experience w/ Trijicon customer service, they'll never ever get any of my $$ again, so I'm really pleased TruGlo makes viable options.
TheChunkNorris
11-25-15, 10:59
I have a factory Custom Combat USP 9 which comes with fiber optic sights... I guess it all depends on what you're doing. HK's come with Novaks like this:
http://www.hkparts.net/shop/pc/Novak-HK-USP-Combat-Competition-Sight-Set-Green-199p2422.htm
I'm looking at a set of Heine Slants like so and they're tritium:
http://www.hkparts.net/shop/pc/Heinie-SlantPro-Tactical-Raised-Eight-USP-FS-199p2122.htm
Here's what the first set would look like on a full-sized USP.
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/11/25/84ddd7cfc7b1371da6c203f54e2aaa20.jpg
sidewaysil80
11-25-15, 12:08
In my experience night sights are inferior to a fiber optic sight IF a weapon mounted light will be used frequently. Here is why:
With the variety of Glocks and a USP Tactical that I used as a nightstand gun, the light of a Streamlight TLR-1 or HK WML (w/ led upgrade) washed out the tritium and effectively turned the night sights into plain black sights. HOWEVER, when using a fiber optic front sight the light from the weapon mounted light is brightens the fiber optic rod; and since its translucent I have never seen one wash out. Now, in full disclosure I cannot speak as to wheter or not it is bright enough to get the fiber optic rear sights to glow. But that is just one guys experience so take it with a grain of salt.
I didn't know anyone actually used the TFO sights.
In my experience night sights are inferior to a fiber optic sight IF a weapon mounted light will be used frequently. Here is why:
With the variety of Glocks and a USP Tactical that I used as a nightstand gun, the light of a Streamlight TLR-1 or HK WML (w/ led upgrade) washed out the tritium and effectively turned the night sights into plain black sights. HOWEVER, when using a fiber optic front sight the light from the weapon mounted light is brightens the fiber optic rod; and since its translucent I have never seen one wash out. Now, in full disclosure I cannot speak as to wheter or not it is bright enough to get the fiber optic rear sights to glow. But that is just one guys experience so take it with a grain of salt.
Mike Pannone says the same thing I believe.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In my experience night sights are inferior to a fiber optic sight IF a weapon mounted light will be used frequently. Here is why:
With the variety of Glocks and a USP Tactical that I used as a nightstand gun, the light of a Streamlight TLR-1 or HK WML (w/ led upgrade) washed out the tritium and effectively turned the night sights into plain black sights.
This has not been my experience in no ambient light environments. With X300 Tritium front doesn't wash out and is quite visible as opposed to FO.
This has not been my experience in no ambient light environments. With X300 Tritium front doesn't wash out and is quite visible as opposed to FO.
Every weapon light I've ever mounted to a pistol has turned tritium sights into solid black sights.
globetruck
11-25-15, 17:05
Very happy with my TruGlo TFX sights. Currently using them on my Shield 9 mm.
Auto-X Fil
11-25-15, 19:19
Every weapon light I've ever mounted to a pistol has turned tritium sights into solid black sights.
Same here. Even my fiber/tritium sights are just solid black with a hand-held G2, which isn't a very bright light.
I've been running 10-8 sights on my mp and Glock duty guns for about 3 years now. I've used both fiber and tritium fronts and carry a surefire x300. I work for major metro pd so I'm using them in a wide variety of lighting conditions from daylight to heavy ambient light to pitch black. For me both fiber and tritium wash out when you use a hand held or weapon light, and truthfully when searching and working through the sights I really don't notice either (tiritum or fiber) as your focused on other things.
My preference is fiber as it's very in daylight and does fairly well with ambient street light. The only draw back to fiber is getting the rods to stay in the front sight, but once they're in they're good to go. Also I like how mates well with my eotech, with both weapon platforms I'm always searching for a red dot, given lighting conditions of course.
Maiden3.16
11-25-15, 22:10
In my experience night sights are inferior to a fiber optic sight IF a weapon mounted light will be used frequently. Here is why:
With the variety of Glocks and a USP Tactical that I used as a nightstand gun, the light of a Streamlight TLR-1 or HK WML (w/ led upgrade) washed out the tritium and effectively turned the night sights into plain black sights. HOWEVER, when using a fiber optic front sight the light from the weapon mounted light is brightens the fiber optic rod; and since its translucent I have never seen one wash out. Now, in full disclosure I cannot speak as to wheter or not it is bright enough to get the fiber optic rear sights to glow. But that is just one guys experience so take it with a grain of salt.
I agree
I've been running 10-8 sights on my mp and Glock duty guns for about 3 years now. I've used both fiber and tritium fronts and carry a surefire x300. I work for major metro pd so I'm using them in a wide variety of lighting conditions from daylight to heavy ambient light to pitch black. For me both fiber and tritium wash out when you use a hand held or weapon light, and truthfully when searching and working through the sights I really don't notice either (tiritum or fiber) as your focused on other things.
My preference is fiber as it's very in daylight and does fairly well with ambient street light. The only draw back to fiber is getting the rods to stay in the front sight, but once they're in they're good to go. Also I like how mates well with my eotech, with both weapon platforms I'm always searching for a red dot, given lighting conditions of course.
any issues with losing the fiber optic or other issues?
I've ran and do run fiber on a few of my guns but I've found that it just doesn't "pop" as much as I would like unless out in direct daylight. I think a good compromise is the HD/Ameriglo fluorescent sights, they're hard to miss. There's always a chance of the fiber breaking but you still have a standard post with a hole in it. With a weapon light I think they all look the same, at least with the X300u I'm running.
Ameriglo on M&P
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg68/mstarmer/20140813-DSC_1965-2.jpg (http://s245.photobucket.com/user/mstarmer/media/20140813-DSC_1965-2.jpg.html)
Trijicon HD's on PPQ
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg68/mstarmer/20140930-DSC_1982-2.jpg (http://s245.photobucket.com/user/mstarmer/media/20140930-DSC_1982-2.jpg.html)
10-8 Fiber on Glock
http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg68/mstarmer/10_8_sight_picture.jpg (http://s245.photobucket.com/user/mstarmer/media/10_8_sight_picture.jpg.html)
That ameriglo really does pop! I have a set of trijicon hds on a 23 as well as my g42 and they work well. I think I'm going to try out a fiber optic front with an epp rear.
Mauser KAR98K
11-25-15, 23:05
My direction in this is running a red front sight as I run Aimpoint on my rifles. What I'm concerned-and many have addressed-is washout, and are the HDs front size large enough to have some marksmanship issues with a bigger front sight?
My direction in this is running a red front sight as I run Aimpoint on my rifles. What I'm concerned-and many have addressed-is washout, and are the HDs front size large enough to have some marksmanship issues with a bigger front sight?
I don't think it would detrimental to your accuracy in a self defense situation. They are definitely not bullseye sights though.
Every weapon light I've ever mounted to a pistol has turned tritium sights into solid black sights.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/rocketmanmtb/4554FC31-E72B-4D1D-A5E5-92AF7467196D_zpsnupds9lj.jpg
My direction in this is running a red front sight as I run Aimpoint on my rifles. What I'm concerned-and many have addressed-is washout, and are the HDs front size large enough to have some marksmanship issues with a bigger front sight?
I don't think it would detrimental to your accuracy in a self defense situation. They are definitely not bullseye sights though.
I agree with K1tt3n5.
Mauser KAR98K
11-26-15, 06:55
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/rocketmanmtb/4554FC31-E72B-4D1D-A5E5-92AF7467196D_zpsnupds9lj.jpg
What sights?
What sights?
Front: https://www.ameriglo.net/sites/default/files/GL212ORC%20copy_0.jpg
No they've been great sights. I've put severl thousand rounds through the gun this summer through training classes with no issues. They have handled the daily abuse of patrol also with no problems.
10-8 has a video showing how get the fiber in the sight nice and tight and once I followed their directions haven't lost a fiber rod. Even if you do loose the fiber rod it's really not a big issue as you have standard sights.
Maiden3.16
11-26-15, 18:58
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/rocketmanmtb/4554FC31-E72B-4D1D-A5E5-92AF7467196D_zpsnupds9lj.jpg
I believe he was talking tritium sights only, those sights are fiber optic as well which I imagine is what is illuminated there
EDIT: I may have been mistaken those are tritium only, looks good
Well that makes one sight that doesn't wash out. What weapon light? My x300u and apl both wash everything out.
Well that makes one sight that doesn't wash out. What weapon light? My x300u and apl both wash everything out.
X300...it will wash indoors in small rooms
sidewaysil80
11-26-15, 20:26
X300...it will wash indoors in small rooms
That makes a lot of sense. At least I know Tritium sights are good to go outdoors and for an indoor/strictly bedside gun fibers may be the way to go.
X300...it will wash indoors in small rooms
Mine do it outdoors as well. I'll have to try the ameriglos in the future.
andersenvincent7
12-03-15, 19:30
No they don't glow but even using night sights in conjuction with a WML the light normally overwhelms the tritium.
In the cases you guys are talking about, wouldn't the WML be front lighting the target and giving you a good sight picture?
I've done a lot of shooting at night, both with WML's and flashlights, much of the time at HD range (let's say 18 yds and in) reflected light gives you enough contrast that your sight picture looks like one of those black and white sight picture drawings in a book.
In the cases you guys are talking about, wouldn't the WML be front lighting the target and giving you a good sight picture?
I've done a lot of shooting at night, both with WML's and flashlights, much of the time at HD range (let's say 18 yds and in) reflected light gives you enough contrast that your sight picture looks like one of those black and white sight picture drawings in a book.
This has been my experience with all but sights with charged photoluminous fronts such as Ameriglo CAPs.
My direction in this is running a red front sight as I run Aimpoint on my rifles. What I'm concerned-and many have addressed-is washout, and are the HDs front size large enough to have some marksmanship issues with a bigger front sight?
Depends on how well you shoot. My G19 with HDs can shoot a 90+ on a B-8 at 25 yards all day long.
I greatly prefer a plain black/fiber optic sight combo if you're running a weapon mounted light. It won't matter what that front sight is made of the second you turn on your torch, so I go with what gives me the most advantage when I don't need the light.
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