sight question

[1911man]

Have any of you changed out your sights to either night sites orfiber optic?
I'm wanting to do one or the other. So if you did, which ones did you use?
How did / do you like them? were they drop in or have to be fitted?
thanks

[steel609]

I haven't installed either, but I did just order something new from http://nitesiters.com/ . I have read many places that they work great, easy to install, are cheap and stay on your gun.

Once I get them, I'll give a report to everyone.

[PacketStorm]

These sights could be useful, depending on how you are going to use them.

I've got Tru-Glo sights on my Glock and they work great. Take your pistol through your basement and you will see how you lose sight of your pistol in various areas. The Tritium doesn't have to be very bright. It just gives you a perspective where you are pointing the pistol in the dark corners.

I store my pistol in a locked box with a digital combination. I won't have the chance to charge the sites when I really need them. About a month back, the dog started barking late one night. I checked around the house (unarmed) and didn't see anything. A little while later, my daughter was walking to her brothers room and yelled to me, "Daddy there is a man at our front door". (The door is glass with a decorative finish and you can see through various slats and cuts in the design.) Well with the ruckus from the dog earlier and then this, I quickly grabbed the Glock from the safe and got the kids and wife into our bedroom. Turns out it was just the flag in the front of the house that was blowing in the wind. Moving shadows from a turning car were cast into the house when my daughter was going by.

From the time I thought there was an intruder to the time I had the pistol out was bout 15 seconds. Those nightsiters would not have been effective in any way in that situation. If I have enough time to charge the Nitesiters, I will be going for the shotgun with the pistol as a backup.

[steel609]

The negative is that they have to be charged. I don't have small children at home, so I keep mine on the nightstand in the open. The only positive is they are cheap. For your situation, tritium is the way to go.

That's why it is good to post subjects like this, everyone has an opinion and usually some good real world experience to share.

Thanks for the post PacketStorm, very good point you made.

That actually brings up a good point for a thread.

"What firearms and equipment do you use for home defense, and why"

I'm sure everyone can learn a few good techniques or tips to use from others experience or training.

[PacketStorm]

I agree. It is great to be able to bounce ideas of other people. My wife was pretty concerned about having guns in the house and what if the kids get into them. Having the locking safe was a great plus. I can get in quickly and the kids have no access.

My wife has always voiced concern about "what would you use the gun for?" or "when would we ever need it?". That night when we thought there was someone trying to get into the house, I was able to take charge. I ran over, unlocked the case, grabbed the glock and chambered a shell. I then tucked the Don Hume holster into my shorts and holstered the weapon and grabbed the kids. Once they were in our bedroom, I instructed them to stay upstairs and not come down until I came back and be ready to call 911 if I holler.

I shutdown the lights inside and then sent the dog downstairs and followed quietly behind her. The dog was pretty loud and went round the corner and didn't make a sound. I waited at the bottom of the stairs and when she came back, I sent her around the other side of the stairs in to the dining room. While she was smelling and making a racket, I was able to quietly move into the rooms behind her without making much noise at all. Once it was verified everything was cleared up inside, I checked the outside by lighting up the front and back with the flood lights - I stayed inside to watch out the window back a bit.

Once things were calmed down, I was able to holster the weapon (Don Hume 715 Clip on appendix in waist band AIWB). When I came back up stairs with my mag light and explained that everything was ok, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was helpful to not have my Glock in hand when coming back up to the wife and kids. I put the mag light down on the night stand and we got the kids tucked back in bed. I was able to have the Glock on my person discreetly, put the kids away and was still prepared in case I was wrong with the initial house clearing.

I did check things out again about a half and hour later and everything was fine. I then opened up the safe and tucked away the pistol (while still in the holster, round chambered). The safe is quick to open and I could have a ready pistol in no time flat. The wife didn't give me any greif about having the gun or what would I have done. I think by taking charge and giving clear instruction when I was upstairs, she did feel more comfortable knowing that I was there and we were prepared to handle a difficult situation (even though she herself may not be able to shoot an intruder).

Some gear benefits from my case:

1. The electronic safe. I have a couple of the cheap Honeywell electronic lock boxes. They are pretty tough and have the number key pad or key to unlock them and they are cheap. The one set of batteries has lasted about a year with many openings and closings per week. You can screw it into a 2x4 or tuck it under a dresser/bed.

2. Concealable holster with clip. I have the Don Hume 715 holster with the metal belt clip. Mine isn't real tight on the Glock, so the pistol can be pulled very easily without worry that the clip is going to come out. It is tight enough to hold the pistol properly without fear it will fall out. Because of the metal clip, I was able to tuck it into my shorts waistband also. Very quick to do so also.

The holster also gave me the option to stay armed while finishing up other duties and I didn't have to hold the firearm at the end of it all.

3. Night sights. The night sights were nice. I did try to keep the house dark so people could not see me if they were outside.

4. Dog. It was great to send in the dog first. While we all love the little girl, it is much better her than me run into the intruder first. This isn't a real big dog either. Just check around the corner and smell into the back areas while I stay back kind of thing.

Hope these thoughts will help someone else out there. I know I have learned a lot from others on this forum and other forums.

Stay safe - good shooting.

[locoduck]

PS,

You handled that situation with the utmost expertise and concern for your family's safety, emotional as well as physical. JOB WELL DONE sir! Thanks for sharing your experience. It is extremely helpful with many great points to consider.

I have always struggled with the idea of keeping the guns locked (read safe from young hands) while making them quickly accessible late at night with the house dark. I have a 20 gauge Remington Express youth model behind the closet door in our bedroom, but I keep a trigger lock on it which means I need to keep the keys close by at night. But there again, just having the keys handy doesn't get the shotgun ready to go unless I can see to take the lock off. I also have a Beretta PX4 Storm .45 in my night stand, but again, to keep it safe the magazines are stored in a locked location. I really like the idea of having a lock box that can be opened quickly and quietly with minimal lighting. My situation is a bit different now though in that my youngest son is almost 18, and while I'm less concerned about him getting into my guns with a potentially bad outcome I still feel the need to be prudent and do the right thing in keeping my firearms safe. So I think it's something we all struggle with and hope we never have to deal with.

Recently however, we had some hooded men ringing our doorbell at 9 PM. I first looked out the peep hole and then went upstairs and grabbed the aforementioned 20 gauge. I came back downstairs with our black lab going nuts. I got her calmed down and looked one more time and they hadn't budged. So, I racked a shell with authority into the little Remington, waited about 30 seconds and looked a 3rd time. They were GONE! Now, they may have been perfectly legit, but at 9 PM at night, not wanting to show their faces, I couldn't take that chance. Now, whether it was the ruckus of the dog or the sound of me racking a shell that put the fear of God into them I will never know. But a good dog, a good weapon and a good plan are three things that can mean the difference for the safety of one's home and family. I heartily recommend all three!!

Kind regards,
L'duck <><

[PacketStorm]

It is sad that we are still facing these types of threats. I think I would have called the Police on that one. Especially with the fact that they were hiding their faces.

I have seen others with a little different approach to the shotgun in the closet. They hung the shotgun up real high above the closet door. This would prevent younger kids from getting access to the firearm while still having it on the ready for you right away.

I'm not sure about the racking sound from the shotgun. I when I picked mine up a few years ago, the dealer came out and said "This is the universal sound for get the f@%# off my property" and then pumped the action. That is a very agressive, distinct sound, but if you do rack a round into it in the presence of the intruders, you just gave away your advantage. If it were an armed invasion, they might have bullets flying back your way at the sound of the shotgun chambering a round.

Glad to hear everyone was ok.

[locoduck]

PS,

All great points to consider. There are so many possible scenarios that can unfold in any given situation that it's always a good idea to reassess one's actions and consider alternatives. I probably should have just called the police, but we live out a ways from town and had these jokers gotten persistent it would have been over long before the police would have arrived. But, still, you are probably right and it should have been my first option to call them. Unless you run into a very determined villain I'd say most are looking for something or someone easy to prey upon. Standing my ground could have ended up bad, but I think once they realized the house had a dog and was occupied they didn't give it a second thought and bugged out.

This is a great discussion and it dovetails onto another thread over on ShotgunWorld where one of the members recently found themselves smack dab in the middle of a manhunt at 4 in the morning, complete with cops, dogs and a hovering helicopter. We indeed live in some very precarious times. Being aware, maintaining your composure, assessing the situation and acting appropriately are the best mechanisms to safety.

All the best,
L'duck <><

[PacketStorm]

Crazy Duck:

I think my post got mis-interpreted a bit. I think it was good to be armed ASAP in your situation. I think that having a means to protect your home and family was priority #1. I was had meant to say - call the police afterward and let them know that you had some trouble. I agree that it would take the police far to long to get to your home for help if those men decided they wanted to get into your place. Glad everything did turn out ok.

[steel609]

Hey guys,

These are great stories of bad situations you handled very well.

I have created a thread called "What firearms and equipment do you use for home defense, and why" in the Off-Topics section so that we can keep these stories together for review and reflection.

Good job to all on protecting your families!!!

[z3406]

I have had a set of nitesiters on my CD EFS for a few months now.

#1 They need help to stay on your gun, The first time i put them on they came off , the second time I wicked some superglue off a toothpick around the edges of the dots and they have stayed put.

#2 The website and owners information package that comes with them tell you how to get them to glowing immediately with a commonly used battery light source.

3# If its too dark to see your sights it probably too dark to know what your shooting at. While not applicable in all cases illumination is a light switch away.

[PacketStorm]

Interesting points z3406. I'll have to ponder that for a while. Once I have a good head count in of my people (kids and wife in the bedroom) all others are uninvited trespassers.

[steel609]

I have had a set of nitesiters on my CD EFS for a few months now.


Welcome to the forums z3406!

I should recieve mine today in the mail, thanks for the tips to keep them on.

[The Guinea]

Since I have tapped and drilled my own sights, I am thinking of getting some quality (meant for gunsights) glow in the dark paint. (Link at the bottom)

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u286/guinea72/CDFrontsight.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u286/guinea72/CDRearsight.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u286/guinea72/CDSights.jpg

http://glowinc.com/detail.aspx?ID=37

The Guinea

[PacketStorm]

Now you guys have gone and done it again. I saw this thread and was hasing it over and I did another job of "home gunsmithing".

I followed in Guinea's footsteps and put my own two dot system on the CD EFS. I also added the paint from Glow Inc. I don't have an extra $85 for the tritium sights right now, but thought "what the hell". It was about $13.00 for the glow paint (weatherproof with shipping) and I started going crazy with it. I've got marks on my flashlights and I figured I can also hit the AK sights, but I digress...

Procedure:
First I used a Center Punch to mark my holes in the sights. Then I used the smallest drill bit I have and slowly worked it in with the cordless drill. The holes are not very deep at all, but allow a little paint to get in. The base paint is Krylon high gloss spray paint. Sprayed a whole bunch into a plastic dish and then used a pencil to dip a little paint right into the hole. You can sharpen/dull the point to get exactly the right sized drop of paint into the newly drilled holes. After the paint dried, I added a little of the Glow Paint. It really seems like it is a nail polish with the glow particles inside.

Durability:
I don't know how durable this concoction is, but I don't really care. I still have the spray paint and the Glow Paint. If it comes off, I can do them again and look for another sealing layer to put over the top.

Night Sights
I tested the sights a bit in the evening. I have a small LED flashlight that puts out about 45 lumens. Closed my eyes (to avoid night blindness) and lit up the back sight for 3 seconds, then moved down to the front sight for 5 seconds. They were really bright then at first and then stared to melow down. They were still usable after 7 minutes. I was working through the house with minimal lighting on. The sights were very useful for the amount of time it would take to clear the house. Still have to see how long they keep their usefulness with the short charging period.

[PacketStorm]

Here are the pics. One dot in the back center. The other is out on the front sight. Much easier to pick up the sights during the daytime also.

12

Here are the night sights. You can see a slight reflection of the front sight off the slide if you are not aligning the sights properly (or are looking over the top of the pistol too high).

13

I was curious about how much these would give you away at night... would a bad guy be able to use them against you and spot your glowing sights. ?? I put the pistol down in a dark area and then started walking away. At 6 steps I can just make out the sights. At 7 steps they are gone (and I have an advantage that I know that I'm looking for and exactly where to look).

[steel609]

I was curious about how much these would give you away at night... would a bad guy be able to use them against you and spot your glowing sights. ?? I put the pistol down in a dark area and then started walking away. At 6 steps I can just make out the sights. At 7 steps they are gone (and I have an advantage that I know that I'm looking for and exactly where to look).

I thought of this too, but I figured the bad guy was on the wrong end of the sights to see anything glowing but the muzzle flash. :D

Also, like was stated before, these will only help you identify where your pistol is pointed. They will not help identify what your pistol is pointed at. Confirm your target!

[McQ68]

Reminds me of Heine sites-which many people use and swear by(not at). As for flipping a light switch for illumination-many people use a weapon mounted light or handheld-like Surefire or comparable, for home defense scenarios. But, if you use the handheld, you definitely want to practice shooting and holding a light at the same time. But, it looks like your system is an inexpensive method that works:D