night sites or laser?

yankee · July 10th, 2009, 08:17 PM

does anybody have any advice as to which form of aiming is better? i am sure there are advantages and disadvantages to each. but those of you with experience with both which do you prefer and why. also which is your preference cost being a factor and not being a factor. and do you have a preference when it come to manufacturers (who makes the best)? thanks for your input everybody.

HK Dan · July 10th, 2009, 09:59 PM

Eh.

Night sights are fine...but if it's too dark to see the sights, why are you shooting? If it's light enough to see the sights, why do you need night sights? So if I had a choice of a gun with free night sights or without, I'd take the night sights, but if they had a bump, I'd skip it.

Lasers-no opinion. I figger most defensive encounters (or as my favorite instructor puts it--"Dynamic critical incidents") occur in a time frame that essentially invalidate anything but the most rudimentary sighting, OR utilize shots from retention--it don't really matter.

Honest injun--I'd spend the money on ammo or reloading components and practice more. I think you're looking for a hardware solution to a software problem, bro.

Dan

crzy4guns · July 10th, 2009, 10:05 PM

Lasers are better as it allows you to keep both your eyes on the BG and you don't have to worry about using your sights.

Crimson Trace. Cost not a factor.

Tritium night sights. Cost a factor.

Glock 19 - Factory tritium night sights and factory tactical light.

Ruger LCP - Crimson Trace red laser.

P.S. Keep a good small flashlight handy such as a Surefire or Streamlight for target identification. Make sure that it is not a loved one up at night getting a midnight snack from the refrigerator, or a cat knocking over a flower pot from a ledge that is making all that noise in the dark.

JMHO. On handguns that can have their sights replaced, I prefer Trijicon night sights. On those handguns whose sights are integral to the slide or barrel and frame as on a J frame S&W revolver I prefer Crimson Trace lasers.

Ram Rod · July 11th, 2009, 12:01 AM

I'm all in favor of the night sights right off the bat. With sights on the pistol, you must use the basic principles of sighting and target acquisition. Lasers are nice, however....I would never have a defensive sidearm with a laser unless it had night sights on it in the first place. Switches, batteries, adjustments, interfering objects, etc....all make the typical laser less than 100% dependable/reliable. Lots of folks however place their complete trust in them. For me, that would be a mistake. I do have a couple of lasers for my various firearms though...they are an aid, and they are fun to shoot with, and cats love to chase the little red or green dot. You can actually drive a cat bananas with a laser. Have fun, but invest in night sights first IMO.

limatunes · July 11th, 2009, 12:43 AM

Night Sights.

If you forget to turn on your laser (on some models) or your battery dies, you don't want to be wasting time trying to figure out what's wrong, you just want to be shooting. If you get too reliant on a laser it might be a hindrance.

I'm a little old school. The simpler the better and the less that can fail. Murphy's law and everything.

shooterX · July 11th, 2009, 12:49 AM

Night sights, for sure, not sure about lasers, I guess I'm more inclined to keep it simple as limatunes said.

bonehead · July 11th, 2009, 12:58 AM

I have TLR-2 which spends most of it's time in the range bag. Great tool, but as others have said, just another piece of equipment that can fail on you at the worst possible moment. Plus, Crimson Trace doesn't make a laser for HK's. My only option was a rail mounted light which adds that much more weight to an already sizable .45 (although it's a 'compact') and MUCH more difficult to conceal (would rather not take the thing on and off everyday).

Have a set of Trijicon NS incoming to replace the crap factory sights.

mcp1810 · July 11th, 2009, 01:05 AM

Pros and cons to each of them. Right now I have one pistol with night sights, one with night sights and a laser, one with just a laser, one with nothing. Eventually I hope to have all equipped with both. Lasers can offer some advantages but they can also become a crutch. Murphy's law of course dictates that if you become accustomed to using your laser instead of your sights it is going to hit the fan and it will be at that instant your batteries die.

If it is a choice of one or the other I would go night sights first. Always on and basically maintenance free.

But RamRod is right, nothing, and I mean nothing, gets my cats going like a laser dot moving across the floor!

bonehead · July 11th, 2009, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcp1810

But RamRod is right, nothing, and I mean nothing, gets my cats going like a laser dot moving across the floor!

Dogs too. My little feller goes berzerk when a laser hits the floor

SIXTO · July 11th, 2009, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HK Dan

Eh.

Night sights are fine...but if it's too dark to see the sights, why are you shooting? If it's light enough to see the sights, why do you need night sights? So if I had a choice of a gun with free night sights or without, I'd take the night sights, but if they had a bump, I'd skip it.

Lasers-no opinion. I figger most defensive encounters (or as my favorite instructor puts it--"Dynamic critical incidents") occur in a time frame that essentially invalidate anything but the most rudimentary sighting, OR utilize shots from retention--it don't really matter.

Honest injun--I'd spend the money on ammo or reloading components and practice more. I think you're looking for a hardware solution to a software problem, bro.

Dan

Agreed. I do have an opinion on lasers, but I'll keep my mouth shut for now.

July 10th, 2009, 08:17 PM	#1
yankee New Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: central texas Posts: 10	night sites or laser? does anybody have any advice as to which form of aiming is better? i am sure there are advantages and disadvantages to each. but those of you with experience with both which do you prefer and why. also which is your preference cost being a factor and not being a factor. and do you have a preference when it come to manufacturers (who makes the best)? thanks for your input everybody. __________________ A citizen who shirks his duty to contribute to the security of his community is little better than the criminal who threatens it. Taurus PT1911AR, SA XD .40c S&W M&P 9c, Kel Tec P3at

July 10th, 2009, 09:59 PM	#2
HK Dan Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Iowa Posts: 361	Eh. Night sights are fine...but if it's too dark to see the sights, why are you shooting? If it's light enough to see the sights, why do you need night sights? So if I had a choice of a gun with free night sights or without, I'd take the night sights, but if they had a bump, I'd skip it. Lasers-no opinion. I figger most defensive encounters (or as my favorite instructor puts it--"Dynamic critical incidents") occur in a time frame that essentially invalidate anything but the most rudimentary sighting, OR utilize shots from retention--it don't really matter. Honest injun--I'd spend the money on ammo or reloading components and practice more. I think you're looking for a hardware solution to a software problem, bro. Dan __________________ "You can't miss fast enough to win."

July 10th, 2009, 10:05 PM	#3
crzy4guns VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 2,272	Lasers are better as it allows you to keep both your eyes on the BG and you don't have to worry about using your sights. Crimson Trace. Cost not a factor. Tritium night sights. Cost a factor. Glock 19 - Factory tritium night sights and factory tactical light. Ruger LCP - Crimson Trace red laser. P.S. Keep a good small flashlight handy such as a Surefire or Streamlight for target identification. Make sure that it is not a loved one up at night getting a midnight snack from the refrigerator, or a cat knocking over a flower pot from a ledge that is making all that noise in the dark. JMHO. On handguns that can have their sights replaced, I prefer Trijicon night sights. On those handguns whose sights are integral to the slide or barrel and frame as on a J frame S&W revolver I prefer Crimson Trace lasers. __________________ Kick the bums out of congress. Vote in 2010!

July 11th, 2009, 12:01 AM	#4
Ram Rod VIP Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: crawford county, arkansas Posts: 8,816	I'm all in favor of the night sights right off the bat. With sights on the pistol, you must use the basic principles of sighting and target acquisition. Lasers are nice, however....I would never have a defensive sidearm with a laser unless it had night sights on it in the first place. Switches, batteries, adjustments, interfering objects, etc....all make the typical laser less than 100% dependable/reliable. Lots of folks however place their complete trust in them. For me, that would be a mistake. I do have a couple of lasers for my various firearms though...they are an aid, and they are fun to shoot with, and cats love to chase the little red or green dot. You can actually drive a cat bananas with a laser. Have fun, but invest in night sights first IMO. __________________ RamRod-----sans remords live, eat, breathe, sleep Glock

July 11th, 2009, 12:58 AM	#7
bonehead Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Copper State Posts: 474	I have TLR-2 which spends most of it's time in the range bag. Great tool, but as others have said, just another piece of equipment that can fail on you at the worst possible moment. Plus, Crimson Trace doesn't make a laser for HK's. My only option was a rail mounted light which adds that much more weight to an already sizable .45 (although it's a 'compact') and MUCH more difficult to conceal (would rather not take the thing on and off everyday). Have a set of Trijicon NS incoming to replace the crap factory sights. __________________ HK45c V1

July 11th, 2009, 12:49 AM	#6
shooterX Distinguished Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Posts: 1,567	Night sights, for sure, not sure about lasers, I guess I'm more inclined to keep it simple as limatunes said.

July 11th, 2009, 01:05 AM	#8
mcp1810 VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 2,101	Pros and cons to each of them. Right now I have one pistol with night sights, one with night sights and a laser, one with just a laser, one with nothing. Eventually I hope to have all equipped with both. Lasers can offer some advantages but they can also become a crutch. Murphy's law of course dictates that if you become accustomed to using your laser instead of your sights it is going to hit the fan and it will be at that instant your batteries die. If it is a choice of one or the other I would go night sights first. Always on and basically maintenance free. But RamRod is right, nothing, and I mean nothing, gets my cats going like a laser dot moving across the floor! __________________ Waiting on the research and verification.......

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