Do You Really Need Night Sights?

Not according to Sage Dynamics.

Sage Dynamics makes a valid argument about the futility of night sights. Night sights are usually tritium installed into the front and/or rear sights. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen. The tritium vials give off a soft radiant glow. Which you can see in low to no light scenarios. Sounds great, right? One massive problem that Sage Dynamics points out. How can you identify your target if there is no light? You are literally shooting in the dark. Sage Dynamics goes on to explain a time of the day where it may be optimum to use night sights but it is a slim window in the day.

Sage Dynamics recommends the use of high contrast sights like Fiber Optics. Of course coupled with modern technology, every firearm owner could afford a decent flashlight and should learn how to use it while manipulating a firearm.

An interesting fact from Sage Dynamic’s article is about “Silhouetting the Sight”.

In fact, low-light training was so sight-dependent that there used to be a technique known as “Silhouetting the Sight” where, if you could not see your sights, you would aim at a better lit area….align your sights and then move them back to your target. Yeah, that makes exactly as much sense as you think it does which is none.

Shooting in the dark at an intruder seems rather poignant regarding the Sheriff who shot his daughter as she tried to sneak back in the house. While I don’t have any information regarding the circumstances of the shooting, why didn’t he use a flashlight to identify the intruder? If he did, he would have identified his daughter and probably not have shot her.

Find Sights

Also there is one benefit to night sights that Sage Dynamics did not mention, and that would be precisely the glow of the sights. Night sights may help someone find their gun in the dark. Say if you put it on a night stand. You wake up and you can see the glow of the sights. Making it easier to find.