LogFAQs > #880298750

Gun post incoming.

I picked up some new pistol irons. Trijicon HD night sights, specifically.



Without the originals to compare, the main difference(besides the radioactive gas) is the shape of the rear sight. It angles backwards, as opposed to being perpendicular to the frame to help cast a better shadow over the rear notch, making it easier for your eyes to blur it out. This is important, for reasons I'll explain soon.



Different angle of the rear notch sight. The face is serrated more aggressively than the factory sights, which reduces glare from light that hits it. You can see an example of that happening in the pic, on the corner where the serrations end and the smooth sides of the sight begin. While I didn't get the best angle, you can see two inserts on either side of the notch, which are two vials of tritium-phosphor, which gives off its own dull green light, and are protected by a tiny sapphire jewel to help evenly distribute the light. The slightly radioactive gas has a life of 12-16 years from manufacture date, which was last year for mine, shown by the large 16 on the side.



Here's the front post, and the reason why these are known as self defense, or combat sights. It has the same tritium-phosphor vial as the rear, but it surrounded by a vibrant yellow circle which the eye immediately focuses on. It's very sensitive to light, appearing vibrant even in low-light situations, like in a home late at night. It also bursts to life in the day, making it very easy to find and center on a target. This is important, because when shooting a pistol, you actually focus on the front post, letting the rear sight, and even the target, blur in your vision.



Tritium; because someone, somewhere, thought putting radioactive gas in a glass tube capped with sapphires was a good idea, and would be the next biggest thing for pistol sights. And they were right.
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4/15/1951 - 3/18/2014 "But not forgotten."