Better sight picture

[KenpoTex]

Just wanted to share a tip I picked up.

On one of the other forums I frequent, one of the guys mentioned that he always paints his front sight "dayglow orange" for better visibility and that it worked well for him. I decided to give it a try.
I got a little bottle of paint from the model-airplain section at wally-world and used a tiny brush to paint the front sight (leaving the white dot in the center unpainted). It definately makes a difference. I shot this past weekend and my groups were quite a bit tighter. It didn't make any real difference at short ranges (7-10 yards) but beyond that it helped. It's a lot easier to pick up the front sight, especially when shooting rapid-fire. Since then, I've done the front sights on all my handguns.

The nice thing about this is that it won't interfere with many types of night-sights since many of them just use a white dot in the center of the black sight post. Also, if you don't like it or don't notice a difference, just scrape it off again.

 

[dearnis.com]

I have had good luck with white. The problem with day glo colors is that they work on a wavelength that isn't really natural to the human eye. It makes them easy to see, and draws the eye, but it can be hard to hold focus on them. Same reason I don't really like orange targets.

 

[KenpoTex]

Interesting. I don't care for orange targets either but I never really spent any time thinking about why I don't.

Just for the sake of research, I'll have to try the white on the front sight to see if there's a difference.

 

[arnisandyz]

I did the same thing...dayglo orange are on all of my front sights. Handgun, rifle and shotgun.

 

[Lisa]

I have had good luck with white. The problem with day glo colors is that they work on a wavelength that isn't really natural to the human eye. It makes them easy to see, and draws the eye, but it can be hard to hold focus on them. Same reason I don't really like orange targets.

I didn't know this about the dayglo orange. When I was competing the gun I used had white tape on the end of the site, I found it difficult to see the target at the other end of the range so I removed the white. Any other color someone could suggest. How about a lime green, or will this cause the same problem?

 

[arnisandyz]

Its really one of those just try it things. Paint is cheap enough to try different colors. For me, and the type of shooting I'm doing, the orange works great and doesn't bother me. I tend to not stare at the sight but catch it in my peripheral vision. Other people do the opposite, focus in on the sight and the target is blurred behind it.

 

[dearnis.com]

I just don't care for day-glo. It does draw the eye fast, but, for me makes precision work difficult. Like I said, white works for me pretty well in low light, and to get contrast on black targets.
You can always go to a tritium front sight; you get the black base, a white dot to draw your eye, and a green or orange in reduced light where you are less likely to get a good picture anyway.
That said, the guns I shoot the best have plain, crisp, black front blades.