Warren Tactical 2 dot sights (M&P) Disappointed

[Pennzoil]

Warren Tactical 2 dot sights (M&P) Disappointed

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2349/warrensights.jpg
Picture shortly after installed with painted front sight

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/5826/warrentacticalsightrust.jpg
Picture after 6 months with the sights being cleaned/oiled 1 week ago


Upon switching to a M&P 9mm FS with thumb safety from Glock for AIWB I knew I wanted Warren Tactical sights on the gun. I've used Ameriglo, Mepro's, Trijicon, etc.. over the years and never had Warrens even though I always wanted to try them. Here was my chance.

I ordered the sights on 5/2/2011 and installed them on 5/9/2011 and have been using them ever since. I buy into the one gun concept and have only been using my M&P since for carry & practice so the sights have seen some use since install. I like the sight picture and the coloration of the tritium but find the rear dot to be dimmer then I would like in low light. The sights seemed to be working fine for me until October.

The big problem I had with these sights recently is that they rust like a 1980's Pontiac after a Michigan winter on salt covered roads. I contacted Warren Tactical about my sights rusting and they were quick to respond. The response was to wipe down the sights each time I clean the gun(Probably wouldn't work for some around here:p). Now I don't clean my pistol that often so I just made it a habit of wiping them down weekly and I can't keep up. The front sight seems to of stopped rusting for now. Looking back I'm embarrassed that I even considered keeping sights that require more upkeep then the gun they are on or my Harley. I've never had any issue with my issue or carry guns or sights rusting in the past even in salt water environments.

The last straw is the fact that they started rusting on the underside and the sight slowly started drifting as it seems the red lock tight & set screw were my last defense from losing my rear sight. After cleaning up the rust on the under side of the rear sight it's now loose in the dovetail. So after 6 months I'm disappointed and now back to a stock rear sight till I figure out what sights I want to replace the Warrens with......

[GJM]

I am running Trijicon HD sights on my M&P 45 mid-size with FSS trigger and thumb safety, and so far am quite pleased.

[JHC]

I've seen some rust under Warren rears too when they were changed out to eval a set of Trijicon HD's.

[Pennzoil]

Thanks, I'll check out the Trijicon HD sights. I didn't know these were available for the M&P.

[dsa]

Ameriglo ProGlo's are nice too. I am running the ProGlo front with a plain black rear on my M&P FS (that I plan on having a smaller tritium vial installed in). The front sight is .140" wide and the rear notch is .164" wide. I really like the sight picture of the Warrens but the rust problem turned me in another direction.

http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/smith-wesson/night-sights/front-sights

[JHC]

Thanks, I'll check out the Trijicon HD sights. I didn't know these were available for the M&P.

Oops, all mine are on Glocks. The HD is prob avail for M&P but I don't know that it is. But I do dig the Warren's and I've seen rust on other steel sights from Trijicon and XS also over the years.

[KeeFus]

You may want to try the Heinie S-8's. I've had no issues with them on my Glocks and they are what I am going to put on my M&P. The one thing that I do not like is the "QWIK" version of their sights. The wide notch (.156 wide) just leaves too much room on either side of the front post for my tastes.

[Pennzoil]

DSA- Sounds like a nice sight picture guess I should of checked them out more in SLC when we were working on your M&P but completely missed them.

Guess I've been lucky in the past with my sights holding up. In this case I'm sure the hole for the striker safety plunger in the slide under the rear sight on the M&P slide didn't help as it seems that area was the worst. These went down hill fast as I just installed the FSS kit recently and had the rear sight off with no sign of corrosion.

Thank you all for the recommendations and Keith I agree with you on not liking too much room on either side of the posts as the Defoor sights didn't work for me on my Glock for the same reason. I sent out some inquires to different companies about any finishes being applied to the sights so we'll see if I get anything back. I know Henie does a Melonite finish on their Glock sights but its not listed on the S&W sights maybe just an error.

[aboveandbeyond]

I had the same problem, my warrens had a light rust on it after a humid day of shooting. Arghhh!!! :mad:

The sights are great despite the occasion rust. I find them wicked fast. Rear tritium is very dim IMO

[DocGKR]

My 3-dot Warren's rust...stuff happens. If you don't like them, the Trijicon HD, Ameriglo, 10-8, or VTAC sights also work well.

[KeeFus]

Doing dry-fire realoads tonight I noticed that the M&P stock front night sight is already out! Gun was manufactured this year! :mad: Oh well, guess I'll be ordering the Heinie's sooner than I thought!

[Al T.]

Kieth, should be a warranty issue...

[KeeFus]

Kieth, should be a warranty issue...

It is. I was gonna replace them anyway...just not this soon.

[jlw]

Ameriglo ProGlo's are nice too. I am running the ProGlo front with a plain black rear on my M&P FS (that I plan on having a smaller tritium vial installed in). The front sight is .140" wide and the rear notch is .164" wide. I really like the sight picture of the Warrens but the rust problem turned me in another direction.

http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/smith-wesson/night-sights/front-sights

I'm running this setup as well on several pistols and really like it.

[msstate56]

Don't leave the warren's and get ameriglos thinking they are impervious to rust. They rust just like any other sight I've tried. Just learn to put some oil on them every now and then, or maybe put some clear nail polish on them. Believe it or not, running a black sharpie over them will slow the rust too.

[Pennzoil]

msstate56-Thank you for the tip on the clear nail polish. I do this on my front sights over the orange paint but never thought of doing the rest of the sight.

Got this back from Trijicon regarding their sights incase anyone is interested. Still waiting to hear back from Henie on if they Melonite their S&W sights like how they do the Glock sights.

"Thank you for your interest in Trijicon products. The Material- Housing is Steel with black passivated coating therefore the sights will not rust. They are warranty not to rust. If we can assist you further please feel free to contact us."

I'm probably going to run the stock rear with the white dot's blacked out for a bit as they seem to work well for me when I went out to verify POA/POI with them. Not to derail but before this happened I was already planning on trying a HK LEM in the near future after getting to shoot YVK's P30 recently. My M&P's will soon be keeping my Glock's company in the safe just incase the HK doesn't work out. This maybe just the excuse I need to speed things up and will probably hold off on new sights for now.

[Tamara]

I was planning on getting some sights and having them pushed onto the M&P next time I went to TN.

Trijicon HD it is, then.

[orionz06]

My Ameriglo rear sight is rusting on my M&P. Anything that is carried near a sweaty body will rust. The rear sight is something that can be checked every night when you dry fire, right?

[Tamara]

My Ameriglo rear sight is rusting on my M&P. Anything that is carried near a sweaty body will rust.

I do not sweat, I glow. (Once at an Awerbuck class, I glowed so much that it was getting hard to get the gun out of a cowhide Brommeland... :o )

[TAZ]

Unfortunately pretty much anything will rust over time, especially when it's near salty moisture AKA sweat. On the MP series, or any stainless slide, it's probably going to be a bit worse than on a Glock or other plane steel slide simply due to the dissimilar metals used on the slide and sight. Stainless steel and regular mild steel are far enough apart on the Galvanic series to cause concern over long term use, especially salty environments. Knock a bit of finish off the sight and slide as you're pressing them together and you can see issues. The warrens on my Glock shows no sign of rust after about 4 years carried IWB in the Tx heat; and I sweat like crazy. Possible though that when I pull them there may be rust in the dove tail, but nothing external yet.

[LittleLebowski]

Eezox worked OK for me in this problem area but a coat of Froglube buffed off works perfectly.