Heinie Ledge: Tritium- Yes or No?

[HCountyGuy]

I think Todd made a good argument for utilizing tritium with his article “Why Night Sights?”

https://pistol-training.com/archives/7668

[JTQ]

Then there is Tom Givens, by Sherman House on maybe you don't need night sights

https://civiliandefender.com/2016/04...vens-glock-35/

and Frank Proctor on fiber optic sights

http://www.recoilweb.com/a-few-thoug...ght-59795.html

Sight choices, like just about everything gun related, is really kind of personal. I'm not in LE or the military, so my thinking is night sights are not a major need for me, as I'm not out in the dark hunting for people. However, I can see their potential advantages.

On the downside, their lifespan is only around 10-12 years, and breaking a vial or having one fall out is a little more of a deal than snapping a fiber optic rod. When I was in my 20's, 10-12 year active life-span for a tritium vial would have seemed like a long time. Now, I don't own a gun that if equipped with tritium sights, wouldn't be on at least their third set. I just don't rotate through guns fast enough that a 10 year tube life span doesn't seem awfully short.

[JTQ]

I'm not sure I want a tritium rear sight, so I was looking at options other than the HD XRs. I've read about people pairing an HD XR front sight with a 10-8 rear.

Henning Battlehook sights

https://www.henningshop.com/glock_cu...s_pr-9248.aspx

[That Guy]

I've thought about just a front tritium sight

My PX4 is equipped with only a front tritium. I do not recommend this setup. I really prefer having some sort of tritium in the rear sight as well, since only one dot really doesn't give you much of an aiming reference. Or if you don't think tritium is useful in sights, the front tritium is an unnecessary expense. Either way, I think tritium is something you should either go for all the way, or not at all. The front dot alone really is not terribly useful for aiming.

(My PX4 is equipped with a weapon mounted light, so getting new sights is not that big of a priority. I still plan to do something to them, one day, when I have the money for it.)

On the downside, their lifespan is only around 10-12 years

That is incorrect. 12 years is the half-life of tritium, not the shelf life of the sights. I've had tritium sights that are over 10 years old and still produce a usable glow. Now granted, new sights are a lot brighter than 12+ years old ones, but the sights don't just die when they reach 10 or 12 years.

(Besides, is a new set of sights once per decade that big of an investment? I guess that depends on how many guns you are replacing the sights on.)

[BillSWPA]

My low light training has shown me that tritium definitely has value. I would not be without 3 dot tritium sights on a pistol for serious use. Although they are useful in a narrow range of conditions, those conditions seem to be those that were relevant for the vast majority of close calls I have had.

Despite the 12.3 year half life, I find myself replacing my tritium sights about every 6 years for maximum brightness.

I would also not waste money on any tritium sights that do not use Trijicon vials, since these seem to last the longest.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jim Watson]

Sorry, I don't know the brands and alphabet soup, but a front tritium lamp with a bright colored surround would be my choice. I have a homemade one and it is very versatile. Black rear or maybe unpainted tritium.

[lwt16]

All my serious use pistols have high vis front sights with tritium.

The smaller ones such as the G42s, my one G26, and my G43s have blacked out rears with no tritium vials. My G19, G17s, G30s, Sig P320C and M&P 2.0 Compact all have trits in the rears as well.

The biggest reason I have the full and mid sized pieces with both tritium is that in low light, my 48 year old eyes have a hard time finding sights at all. Pistols that I use for just target shooting don't have any tritium at all. I find that all black sights with a narrow front work best for me when it comes to 25 yard informal bullseye shooting.

I do find that a weapon mounted light essentially turns my night sights into something that resembles target sights when I throw the beam on. The light overpowers and washes out anything on the sights themselves (high vis paint or trit vials).

If I were younger it might not matter as much.

Regards.