I am looking into getting tritium sights for my 1911, My question is front and back, or just front. And does any color have an advantage over the other.

all i have ever seen is green. ig you get one for the front might as well get a rear sight. if for anything else get them and they add $$$ for trade in purposes...

Some folks use front only as it's the most important in confrontations.

Get both front and back, anything that help you pic up a sight picture faster is beneficial. They do add value to the gun. Lots of arguments out there about low light shooting, do and don'ts, but it is better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them

Also go with Trijicon, they are leaders in tridium sights and they stand behind their products. The green is the brightest, but they offer orange and yellow.

I would go with the green front and rear, if you mixed go with the green rear and the yellow front. Just my $.02

I really like the green Trijicons on my G17. They also make good daytime sights, at least better than the stock Glock fare.

On all but one of my pistols that has night sights, I have both front and rear night sights. On one pistol I have front only, and it works well. I haven't tried a set up with differing color front and rear yet.

Ameriglo had some 1911 front night sights on clearance a few months ago. You might want to check them.

the green trijicons on my m&p are great..well worth the $.











































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do these use the ambient light that exists at night or do the "store" light that they are exposed to during the day? If they were kept in the dark (like a drawer) would they illuminate?

Most night sights use radioactive tritium gas. They're self-luminescent. They last 8 years or so before they start dimming substantially. I have a set of 15 year old Trijicon sights on my P226, and while they still work, they're not anywhere as bright as the Glock night sights on my issued gun.

I had brand new factory night sights on my Kimber Elite Carry, and they were always dim (not sure of the brand) and hard to see.

I had used night sights (I think they were Trijicon) on one of my USP handguns, and it lit up my nightstand... if someone barged into the room, they could easily see it, so I had to turn it so they weren't as visible, or hide it under the bed or something.... I was also afraid if I were to use it at night, that a perp would see me since it emitted a bright glow.

I don't have night sights on any of my handguns now.

This post has been edited by Energizer: January 6th 2009 1:17 AM

They do not use ambient light, they do not store light and yes they will illuminate if kept in a drawer. As Pepper stated the sight has small capsules that contain radioactive gas(Tritium, radioactive isotope of Hydrogen)), that emits a "glow" for several years, up to and sometimes past a decade.

I believe that Meprolight and Trijicon are the #1 manufactures of this type of sight. This technology is used in Trijicon and Meprolight reflex light and some of there other optics.

Meprolight. Fixed. Green front/green rear.

bc

1.) XS Big Dots.
2.) Mepros.
3.) Trijicons.

If using both front and rear, you may want to have contrasting colors. Typically, the front sight should be the more visible of the two sights. Green tritiums are probably the brightest of the available colors, and your best bet, IMO. Red tritiums suck, avoid them at all cost!