TruGlo TFX Pro sights

[GJM]

When these first came out, I put one (just the front) on an HK.

My reaction was I didn't like it enough to buy more, or dislike it enough to take it off.

[Schmetallurgy]

I sent the following communication to TruGlo:

I installed a TFX set on my G43 and find the front sight to do a better job of catching my eye with an obvious reference point under any transitional and differential lighting condition, with any shade of target, compared to yellow Ameriglo CAP, SigLite, yellow Trij HD, Heinie, and Warren tritium fronts. However the the TFX rear sucks balls.

The internal walls of the rear notch are so long and parallel they reflect the front dot to the shooter's eye skewing perception of the light bars, the rear edges are dangerously sharp and close to the rear of the slide, you can't get the supposedly/believably brighter white ring in front with a rackable rear sight face like is offered in the TFX Pro set with the orange ring, the fiber optics make the rear dots too big and bright to encourage front sight focus, and the green rear color hinders rapid low light front sight differentiation. I'd give anything to be able to combine the Ameriglo yellow Operator rear with the TFX front sight, but the dimensions are nowhere near compatible.

I recently emailed (with confused responses) and then called TruGlo to explain my concerns and thoughts, and I asked them for exactly the combination you asked them for. I was told they'd pass it on, but they were dismissive and claimed no one has expressed any desire for such a package or color options and that they don't offer the ability to mix and match.
They also initially told me that you can't make yellow tritium sights because tritium lamps are only available in green as that's tritium's "natural color." This was technical support...

There was also this gem-- They said that it's intentional that the TFX front blade sits a little low in the notch when the dots are aligned and vise versa because you're supposed to shoot with the dots. After pausing to make sure I wasn't missing some obvious logic to this, like trends toward certain engagement ranges in different lighting conditions combined with various holds considering the ballistics (going with "no"), I asked why they don't just have both reference points align at the same time, and they said, because it's designed for a "combat sight picture," and if you align the top edges of the sights rather than the dots it will shoot high at 25yds (no shit). I said I'd never heard of any sighting theory that reflects this approach and asked what about a combat sight picture makes this desirable... what's their logic... and the rep didn't really have an answer beyond referencing all the military and police users of their products as an appeal to authority.

All this said, supposedly the Tritium Pro rear is identical to the TFX in all critical dimensions, and actually has dots that are ever so slightly higher than the TFX and thus should be closer to matched with the top edge alignment in combination with the TFX front without causing the opposite error.

Since no other sights seem to pair up with the TFX front, I went ahead and ordered some Tritium Pros and will try both the TP and TFX front with the TP rear, green as it is.

Oh well-- cue Mick Jagger.


Almost forgot, I got an RMA for the TFX front sight because the hole for the dot elements is drilled off to the left enough to mess with my head when the ring is backlit. I'm almost hoping the TP front is so badass I won't miss the TFX while it's off to be inspected and swapped, but I suspect the TFX will keep the crown. I'll find out tomorrow evening.

[Schmetallurgy]

Dat Swiss tritium tho...

Lots more to come...

[Schmetallurgy]

OK, so I received the Tritium Pro set and, long story short, I think I'm going to use the TP set for the foreseeable future, front and rear. It's more complicated than that, and details follow.

The TFX front does indeed match the TP front in blade height and height to center of dot. It even appears the TP rear dots are in better agreement relative to blade height with the TFX front than the TFX rears, but it's subtle and there's still a slight front blade low bias when the dots are aligned. I think the variance of blade vs dot hold with either pairing will be absorbed within ammo differences.

Brightness: The tritium front and rear glows much brighter in the TP than the TFX, no doubt due to the latter's intervening fiber optics. In fact, between the lit diameter of the front lamp and inherent brightness, the TP appears brighter by a hair than the SigLites on my P938, which are the brightest I'd tried prior. The lensing of the TP lamps provides an even, relatively large lit front dot which begins to catch the eye earlier than most in transitional lighting and when the gun is in low light aiming at a moderately or backlit but dimly hued target-- what I consider to be the most challenging lighting scenario possible. The white front outline is very big, flat, fairly glossy and stark white. It seems to be visible a hair longer than the white ring on the TFX with the exception of when the concave TFX ring catches some light from a very oblique rear angle, but the practical advantage goes to the TP under most circumstances This is especially true because, while the big green FO bead in the TFX helps catch the eye as its tritium takes over, it's significantly dimmer than the TP lamp when the gun isn't at least moderately lit from above. Basically the choice is a big, fairly dim green dot or a bright green dot about 1/3rd the area. Despite the TFX dot size it's dimness means the brighter TP rears distract from the front when used together.

The rear TP lamps are lensed to be a hair smaller by installed perspective than the front, though not by enough to really notice at speed, nor if target focused. Mostly the benefit is they don't appear larger than the front due to perspective. Slightly dimmed amber rear lamps would be a real upgrade. The rears are ringed in black fortunately. I can't really decide if I prefer the TP's U-notch or care either way.

I experimented with subduing and tinting the rear lamps with various color Sharpies and some Gun Scrubber for fairly complete removal. It's hard to tint the green light, but I found the orange sharpie gave a slightly more yellow hue and brought the brightness down to a pretty much perfect level that emphasizes the front sight while still providing reference points in all light.

The TP's rear serrations are nice, and the reduced rearward protrusion and slightly radiused rear corners make the rear much more comfortable on the stomach in AIWB carry, though the top is still very sharp and could pose a hazard in a struggled. The forward sloped charging ledge on the rear is too radical and sharp IMO and would be likely to gash the hand during a vigorous or slipped overhand charging motion, something that appears to have happened to a YouTube reviewer. I took a file to the front edges of the rear sight and tried using alumablack to kill the shine of the exposed steel, and it actually did make it more of a gunmetal color despite the material. It'll suffice.

The biggest cons, IMO, are a general imprecision and subjective "cheapness" of the construction. The glossy finish looks cheap and doesn't seem very abrasion resistant, and I suspect scratches or wear will prove rust prone. The dovetail fit isn't very precise or particularly secure and definitely demands use of the set screw (don't forget Loctite) to maintain position under recoil. The machining isn't nearly as crisp and precise as Ameriglo or Trijicon for instance.

My biggest gripe and concern is that the lenses and surrounding black and white rings for the lamps are soft, glossy vinyl plugs dyed with the outline pigments at the surface. They seem fairly well secured, but I can't help but suspect they may scuff and yellow with environmental and chemical exposure, and possibly even fall out. And the right rear dot's black outline seems a little imprecisely printed so the lamp appears a gnat's ass low, however it's not terribly noticeable, nor do I anticipate a functional impact on a G43.

All told, when new at least, and with a bit of filing and orange Sharpie, they're the closest thing to the sweet spot I've tried.

If Ameriglo had a front ring this bold and light catching and a nice even and equally big and bright tritium dot I'd still be using them cause they're otherwise beautifully made and designed. Some front ring luminescence that was worth a damn would be a nice touch as well. With the TPros the tritium takes over early enough that's not really a concern.

Looking forward to hearing other people's experiences with the TPros.