Night sites

[Christorbust]

I have a CZ SP-01 Phantom, it's bed is my nightstand. You all know it's job detail, and if you don't have young kids, your gun probably has a similar bed. When I bought it, the "night sights" were a nice selling point. They were supposed to glow, and they sure do, for about 3 minutes.

Unsatisfied with this performance, and not wanting to spend 100 on tritium I ordered some glow paint from http://glowinc.com/detail.aspx?ID=41 I would like to be able to see three little dots on the nightstand when I wake up at 3am smiling back at me telling me she's on duty. I don't need to be able to land a plane, I ordered one of wiljen's lights for that! :oD

I figured with a little jar of it I can paint up everything I would ever want to see in the dark. If it were as bright as they claim (it won't be) I could paint commonly misplaced items (read phone, keys, wallet, wife) and just cut off the lights when trying to find them. They claim they glow well enough to give the neighbors dog cancer, at an arbitrary 33,000 mystery units of brightness!!! [smilie=l:

I was wondering if anyone has experience with this company, glow inc, or glownation, or nitesiters. They all claim to be the best [smilie=b: . Or any experience with night sites, Tritium, whatever...

I will post pics and opinion when the stuff comes in.

Thanks for sharing your experiences....

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Years ago I bought a small bottle at the Indy Fairgrounds show (1500 tables) . No idea what company but the same claims. Painted the front sight on my SKS. It will glow visibly for about the same hours of daylight it receives. I have painted other items, sights and it is always the same. Leave it out in light for 5 hours and it will glow maybe 5 hours. If your SKS is placed behind the cold box then do not figure on much glow. If the Colt PP 38 sits under a rag during the day but on the stand at night no glow. Put the Colt out in the open all day and the sights glow OK at night.
Best appliaction I have is on my arrow knocks. Out in the sunny afternoon for several hours just may help find a stuck late evening corn cruncher after it gets dark.
Them Tritium sights will glow period. Actually at 3 am they are a bit to bright. Lat the weapon down and walk away behind it and the sites are visible from 10 feet.
You get what-cha pay for.
Mike in Peru

[andremajic]

There are also some cheaper UZI brand tritium watches with a quite a number of tubes inside that you could take and repurpose for your sights. I bought one for about 60.00 a while back and it has about 6 tubes.

http://www.google.com/search?q=tritium+watch&tbm=shop&hl=en&safe=active

I haven't torn mine apart because it's actually a really rugged watch. You can read stuff at night using the watch face. Really bright. Tritium has about 15-20 year life.

[Christorbust]

Missionary515: it sounds like if the glow stuff I ordered was just a little stronger than yours, it could almost suit my purposes for now. I would really just like to be able to locate it in the night and have a better idea where it's pointing... Being that I don't mind having to charge it before night, I can't imagine a dedicated Tritium sight being 10 times better for me (to = the 10 times more costly). The arrow knocks, that's a heck of an idea... I've lost more than a few of those just target shooting at dusk.

Andremajic:Tritium in watches, I didn't even think to look there. I was looking to buy some tritium earlier, and just drill into my existing sights, but couldn't really find a good cheap source. Apparently I just didn't think enough. 6 tubes would do 2 guns, that's 30 per tritium sight set... I could sell them for 60 here... Who wants custom tritium sites, I'm dropping out of school... :D

Good tip!

[happyfast79]

i have 2 pistols with tritium sights and an old romanian scope with a expired tritial reticle. then great thing about tritium is that it will glow bright no mater what and then front sight on both my pistols is brighter that the rears so you know what dot is which. also a set of sight will last 15+ years before they degrade to the point of being no use.

[redneckdan]

The tritium is contained in a glass vial that is coated on the inside with a phosphor. The tritium under goes beta decay, it releases electrons which excite the phosphor and causes it to emit a glow.

[Christorbust]

Well I did the glow night sights. I'm actually really pleased. They are not tritium obviously, but I would guess that right after you light them up they are BRIGHTER than tritium. They have about a 10-15 minute afterglow stage, in which they are very bright, unnaturally bright. Which I think will be nice for my dimly lit range, and shooting at dusk.

Then they glow a more normal brightness, but definitely still visible for many hours. The last few hours of their glowing seems as if it would need night sensitive eyes to use.
I have yet to test how long they glow, I haven't woken before the sun was up to check them, but they glow at least 4 hours at a usable light. I split the glow paint with some buddies, so a well worth it $5.

Plus it works nice on light switches, can't see it in the light... and the switch has a light glow in the dark:D

Pictures to follow....

[Christorbust]

In these pics I have only done the left rear sight and the front sight. I kept the right rear sight with the cz factory glow sight for comparison.

These pictures were in a room with the curtains drawn, but it is still pretty bright. The phone is also to give you a comparison of how bright the glow is.

The first pic is immediately after a minute charge (notice timer).

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j430/Christorbust/nights%20sights/IMG_4706.jpg

The second pic is at the end of what I would call the afterglow stage. They seem to stay fade quickly from incredibly bright (10-15 min), to at around this level of brightness for several hours or more. The factory CZ glow is no longer visible at this point. While it doesn't seem that bright in the pic, it is definitely easier to quickly get a sight picture with them, and the room is quite bright.

http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j430/Christorbust/nights%20sights/IMG_4707.jpg

I will try to get some of longer times later.

[Northface37]

You should run a trial involving a 30-60min charge under a nightstand lamp. then take a pic in the dark after 1hr, 2,3,5hrs to track the digression of the paint after hours simulating getting it in the middle of the night, and to see how visible it is after such time. I know Im looking forwards to seeing some more of your pics. keep up the good work.

[Matthew 25]

I know lots of folks like the glowing sights, I don't have any. I have done a little experiment with each of my buddies that are adequate to good pistol shooters. Facing an IPSC target at 5 yards, pistol holstered, eyes closed. Draw and fire. Each of my shooting buddies, and me, can hit the target in the middle every time without looking. This suggests anyone can do the same. I don't think you need sights up close.

[x101airborne]

I know we Texans can be a narrow minded bunch, but why is a 100 dollar set of never fail sights used to protect your LIFE too much to spend? I can understand not wanting to beat around with a 100 dollar pair of sights, but I can tell you they stand up to it well. When I bought a primary duty weapon (glock 22) the FIRST thing I did was put on tritiums.

I just cannot agree with skimping 50.00 more or less and relying on an inferior or tempermental set of sights.

I just put 350.00 set of lazer-grips on my wifes lady smith, so I am practicing what I preach. She loves them so much that she carrys her weapon all the time. She carrys more than I do now. I know there are drawbacks to everything, but she is pretty deadly at 20 yards or so on running opossums and skunks. If she can hit that, she can wack the **** out of a human. Best 350 I have ever spent.

[Christorbust]

Northface: I will hopefully get to that soon

Matthew: I'm going to try this blind shooting at 5 yds next time I have a safe place just for kicks... I still like knowing where its going to hit if I can. But given the 19+1 capacity, I think I could get it done blind if need be :)... If not I should just save the last one for myself! I really think they will come in handy at my local range, they have the dimmest lights, and people (cough Northface37) keep shooting them out.

x101airborne: I see what you are saying, and I expected a few responses of that mind to be honest, BUT if I can get done for basically $5 and save $95, I'm going to do it. I think the key point is this: I don't believe the sights will protect my life, I believe the 147gn travelling at xfps will (or hopefully one of the 19 behind it!). I think the sights might help give me an edge creeping through the dark, hence me upgrading my glow.

I don't mind the inconvenience of having it under a lamp before bed. I think if God forbid I get killed in the night, it won't be because my sights were glow instead of nuclear.

I very well my make my own trit sights if this glow stuff doesn't last all through the night, or I don't commonly have the lamp on before bed. (I found a trit source for 25 shipped). I suppose a lot of it comes with me feeling the night sites more of a luxury than a necessity, I most often have a 250 lumen light mounted on my rail. At my bedroom door distance it is about an 8 inch circle, and the POA is almost dead center. It might as well be a really blinding laser.

I'm still in college, and $95 dollars is a lot of extra dough to me, and I don't yet see the difference justified in my fixed income... but we'll see how my tests go. If I had lots of disposable income, sure trit sights immediately. For now that money will go to more range time and drills. I just recently dropped 95 on a CCW, I'd rather have it with me all the time and not let the whole world know.

Although, I would love to see a pic of your sights, possibly near something of common brightness (clock, xbox controller, phone). I only learned they existed when I bought this CZ about 6 months ago. I was reading through the manual and it said that if you owned 12 of the tactical sight upgrades that you had enough radioactive material that you would have to register with some governments!!!! Who knew?!?

[Northface37]

Christorbust: Little did you know, Ive been wanting some cheap trit alternative for awhile. I figure shooting out the lights at your only range 5hrs away would only help put this experiment of yours in motion.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I book marked this product (the paint) as I can definately see a use for it and it looks better than the stuff I've seen. $9.95 is not alot for a good product that actually works.

The only experience I have with tritium sights is at night shoot at FrontSight. All the cops in the class had night sight "tail lights" on and you could pick them out easily at 20-30 yards, even with their guns holstered. Wehn the guns were out from behind they were quite bright.

I do have a Tritium Cammenga Compass like the Military one except painted Orange. It will flat blind you on a dark night. Tritium is only supposed to last for 10-12 years. so the glow in the dark paint may be a good option for those of you who only shoot ocasionally.

The glow in the dark thing can be enhanced by just hitting the sights with your flashlight for a 1-2 second burst as you come out of bed and then they're charged up for 10-15 minutes. I'm sure you all have a flashlight right next to your pistol in the night stand? don't you?

One last thought. If you only have the Front Sight lighted then you are more likely to concentrate on the Front Sight when it matters. That IS what you're supposed to be doing! RIGHT,,,,, ?????

Randy

[Northface37]

Just put the paint on my sights, hit each post with around 480 lumens light (30sec each) and it was still visible 7.5hrs later. Good stuff! Much cheaper than trit.