M&P Shield sights

[TrickyNicky]

Hey guys, my father bought himself a shield last weekend after months of debate, and generally loves everything about it. He's going to pass on the Apex trigger and honestly I agree that stock it's already just fine for what it is. He would like to change out the sights however and that's where I'm needing some advice from those of you who have upgraded. What have you got, how do you like it? He's going back and forth between night sights and fiber optics, I seem to recall a company paints over FO with a glow paint, but can't recall who and no idea how effective they may be.

Any feedback welcome, doesn't have to be from a shield as long as it's from a company that makes a model for it.


Thanks guys!

[pops572]

I have a Ameriglo Proglo front sight, similar to Trijicon HD, and a 10-8 rear.

[pops572]

Meant to add the front is tritium surrounded by orange ring.

[z0mbies fear me]

I'm a big fan of truglo TFO sights. They are tritium night sights with fiber optic light pipes. I have them on a Glock 26 and on an XDS 45.

Pic of them on the XDS :

[jimmydeuce]

I'm a TFO guy too. I've got 'em on 4 Glock. Best of both worlds... fiber optic for day and tritium for night.
I use yellow rear/green front. The green front really stands out.

Edited June 26, 2014 by jimmydeuce

[JohnC]

I'm a big fan of truglo TFO sights. They are tritium night sights with fiber optic light pipes. I have them on a Glock 26 and on an XDS 45.

Pic of them on the XDS :

Nice! How much they run for the XDs and how much do they cost to have installed?

Or is it easy to DIY? Not sure I could get them perfectly center unless the gun has a notch it clicks in to.

[z0mbies fear me]

I got them on black Friday last year. I can't remember where I ordered them from but they were running a buy one get one half off deal.
I installed them myself using a punch. There are marks in the dovetail that you can use to line them up with but I just marked the slide with a pencil and lined them up that way.

Another pic:


Pic in dark. Not a very good one I'll take a better one tonight:

Edited June 26, 2014 by z0mbies fear me

[maroonandwhite]

If by some chance you were to break the fiber optic tube on the TFO's will the tritium portion still stay in place or is it attached to the tube. I haven't held them in person but that's been my only reservation about them. I had a set of William's Fire Sights on a Taurus way back when and broke two sets of them. Granted they weren't as protected as the TFO's seem to be.

[crashgordan]

For a fighting gun this small, Xs big dot. Awesome

Best deal I could find.

http://www.manventureoutpost.com/products/XS-Sight-Systems-24%7B47%7D7-Big-Dot-Tritium-Sight-S%26W-Shield-Green-w%7B47%7DWhite-Outline-Front%7B47%7DRear-SW%252d0024S%252d3.html?google=1&gclid=CjkKEQjwia-dBRC07eeatYGe-78BEiQArZhbgL9XCWA7SCDlWXpEJOAKNuW5NfbvJ8g0We2MmnuCkqHw_wcB

[z0mbies fear me]

Truglo says that the Tritium will stay in place if the fiber optic breaks

[TrickyNicky]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, I'm sending him a list of your recommendations and some pics. So far the TFO look like winners, but I wonder if a setup like Pops only with a TFO front and a black rear might be the way to go. It sure makes the front site pop. I guess we'll see what he thinks.

[hipower]

I have a Ameriglo Proglo front sight, similar to Trijicon HD, and a 10-8 rear.

 

TR, I'm guessing that your dad and I may be of similar age and possibly having some of the same issues seeing sights; with or without glasses. So far, I use only magnifying readers, but that's likely to change very soon. With almost any set of magnifying lenses, I can see the front sight or the rear sight pretty well, but not both and line up on my target.

 

So I've been using my highest power readers for shooting glasses, and then looking out over the top of my glasses to see my front sight picture and target. Not the best, but it works.

 

He might get a different result, but the notched rear and dot on the front doesn't work well for me. I have trouble with aligning them correctly. It may be just me, I don't know. I really should get my eyes looked at by an  eye doc that understands the needs of shooters.

 

Graycrait, recommended one to me, and I've forgotten his name, but the man was in the Clarksville are and did a lot of glasses for people like us.

[TrickyNicky]

You too are likely about the same age HP. He does ok with his glasses which I think are tri-focal.

I need to get to an eye doctor. It's been near 20 years since I've been and despite all those carrots I've ate, I think my eyes aren't quite at the perfectly balanced 20/20 they were back then. :rolleyes: Anyone know a 2A friendly eye doctor for me and Hipower?

[bubbadavis]

For a fighting gun this small, Xs big dot. Awesome

Best deal I could find.

http://www.manventureoutpost.com/products/XS-Sight-Systems-24%7B47%7D7-Big-Dot-Tritium-Sight-S%26W-Shield-Green-w%7B47%7DWhite-Outline-Front%7B47%7DRear-SW%252d0024S%252d3.html?google=1&gclid=CjkKEQjwia-dBRC07eeatYGe-78BEiQArZhbgL9XCWA7SCDlWXpEJOAKNuW5NfbvJ8g0We2MmnuCkqHw_wcB

 

I have XS Big Dots on my shield. Can't beat them on a carry gun, IMO. 

[beevans]

+1 on the XS Big Dots. I put them on my Shield as soon as I got it and love them. Simple design and very easy to see.

[E4 No More]

Reviews that I've read for the Truglow fiber/Tritium sights have been pretty poor. Biggest dig is that they use metal injection molding making them a weak base for the other materials. I went with the AmeriGlo I-Dot: http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/glock/night-sights/complete-sets/i-dot

[maroonandwhite]

Reviews that I've read for the Truglow fiber/Tritium sights have been pretty poor. Biggest dig is that they use metal injection molding making them a weak base for the other materials. I went with the AmeriGlo I-Dot: http://www.ameriglo.net/catalog/sights/pistol-sights/glock/night-sights/complete-sets/i-dot

 

I too like the I-Dots. Not the pro's, just the regular.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Pretty sure I was the one who mentioned painting a fiber optic sight with glow in the dark paint. 

 

Before he buys you might try some glow pigment and two part epoxy. I will gladly send you enough pigment to do a set of sights. It is very, very easy to do and requires no power tools. Just a drill bit that you can turn by hand.

 

The best way to use it is to mix it in with the epoxy. If you just sprinkle it on top it will wear off pretty quickly (ask me how I know). As long as you use clear epoxy the light will charge all the particles, even the ones way deep.

 

I normally use a small drill bit that is the same size as the current white dot. I drill out the white and go about another 1/16" deeper. Then I mix a little bit of epoxy up really well. Then I move a small amount about the size of my pinky fingernail away from the big glob of epoxy. Then I slowly mix in the glow powder until the epoxy starts to thicken from the amount of glow in the dark powder being added. If you add too much powder you can mix in some more epoxy. Then I use a tooth pick to pick up a small glob about the size of the hole. Then I force as much as I can inside the hole. Then I grab another glob about the same size and drop it on top of the hole. Next I use a clean tooth pick to clean up any excess. What you should end up with is a glob that is about a 1/32" proud of the sight and the same diameter as the hole. Next you need to set the gun in a position so the rear of the sight, where the glob is, is level with the ground. After a few minutes the glob will round itself and then become shiny as the powder settles below the surface of the epoxy. Then you just wait a few hours until it is dry.

 

If you mess up just wait 15-20 minutes and pick the glob back out or use the drill bit to pull it back out. The most important is to not add the powder to the main glob of epoxy. Only separate enough epoxy to do the sight a few times over. This keeps you from wasting powder if you have to do it over.

 

I have literally done at least a dozen pistols using this method. And they are all brighter than any tritium sight I have ever used.

Edited June 30, 2014 by Dolomite_supafly

[hipower]

Pretty sure I was the one who mentioned painting a fiber optic sight with glow in the dark paint. 

 

Before he buys you might try some glow pigment and two part epoxy. I will gladly send you enough pigment to do a set of sights. It is very, very easy to do and requires no power tools. Just a drill bit that you can turn by hand.

 

The best way to use it is to mix it in with the epoxy. If you just sprinkle it on top it will wear off pretty quickly (ask me how I know). As long as you use clear epoxy the light will charge all the particles, even the ones way deep.

 

I normally use a small drill bit that is the same size as the current white dot. I drill out the white and go about another 1/16" deeper. Then I mix a little bit of epoxy up really well. Then I move a small amount about the size of my pinky fingernail away from the big glob of epoxy. Then I slowly mix in the glow powder until the epoxy starts to thicken from the amount of glow in the dark powder being added. If you add too much powder you can mix in some more epoxy. Then I use a tooth pick to pick up a small glob about the size of the hole. Then I force as much as I can inside the hole. Then I grab another glob about the same size and drop it on top of the hole. Next I use a clean tooth pick to clean up any excess. What you should end up with is a glob that is about a 1/32" proud of the sight and the same diameter as the hole. Next you need to set the gun in a position so the rear of the sight, where the glob is, is level with the ground. After a few minutes the glob will round itself and then become shiny as the powder settles below the surface of the epoxy. Then you just wait a few hours until it is dry.

 

If you mess up just wait 15-20 minutes and pick the glob back out or use the drill bit to pull it back out. The most important is to not add the powder to the main glob of epoxy. Only separate enough epoxy to do the sight a few times over. This keeps you from wasting powder if you have to do it over.

 

I have literally done at least a dozen pistols using this method. And they are all brighter than any tritium sight I have ever used.

 

Very good. I had forgotten your comments on this. What color pigments have you used?

 

Would I be asking too much to have you post a pic of one of your jobs?

[Dolomite_supafly]

I have used titanium dioxide, which is extremely white but does not glow at all. I have also tried red oxide but I didn't like how it worked out.

 

As far as the glow in the dark pigment I have always used Glow Inc green powders but I might try some of the powders from United Nuclear. They have green as well as blue.

http://www.unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_45&products_id=383

 

I will say you ALWAYS want to mix what ever powder you use with epoxy so it is impervious to most solvents.

[crashgordan]

I have used titanium dioxide, which is extremely white but does not glow at all. I have also tried red oxide but I didn't like how it worked out.
 
As far as the glow in the dark pigment I have always used Glow Inc green powders but I might try some of the powders from United Nuclear. They have green as well as blue.
http://www.unitednuclear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=28_45&products_id=383
 
I will say you ALWAYS want to mix what ever powder you use with epoxy so it is impervious to most solvents.

Cool stuff. Awesome link