Followup - BrightSight Paint

[NoJacketRequired]

Hi Folks,

A month or two ago I posted a message concerning Bright Sight Paint. This is a glow-in-the-dark paint to be applied to sights to aid in making iron sights more visible in low light conditions. Several folks here advised me of cheaper alternatives and I'd like to report that I tried one of these with good success. I've applied Testors white gloss enamel model paint to the front sight bead and have applied two round dots of this same paint to either side of the rear sight notch. I then went to WalMart and bought a container of their glow-in-the-dark paint and applied this over the white paint.

After allowing the paint to dry for a couple of days I tried out the "new" sights in both bright and dim lighting conditions. Target acquisition is slightly more difficult in bright light against a bright background, but acquisition in low light is vastly improved. I suspect this will give me an additional 10 minutes of hunting time in the evening. Obviously this is a new addition to my rifle (Traditions Hawken) so I can't comment on how well the paint will perform over time. But if it yellows or flakes off, it will cost me about ten cents to re-apply it so I'm not too worried!

As always, thanks to those who shared their opinions and helped me arrive at this solution.

 

[bulletman]

cool beans :applause:

 

[txhunter58]

Wouldn't this only work in the evening? I would imagine that glow in the dark paint would only glow after exposure to light, which means it might work in the evening, but not in the morning? I suppose that you could shine a flashlight at it for a few minutes?

Just trying to decide how practical it would be to change from my fiberoptics to this. The fiberoptic sight does well in low light morning or evening. Am I missing something?

 

[NoJacketRequired]

txhunter - your points are valid, and from my point of view, entirely correct. I was using this paint as an alternative to a much more expensive conversion to fibreoptic sights. I hunt from my home so "energizing" the sights for early morning use isn't a problem - I'll have to have the lights on in the house or I'll stumble over something! It only takes a few seconds of exposure to charge the glow-in-the-dark paint enough to be quite visible for 15-30 minutes. And as the sun starts to rise, the white dots automatically become more visible in ambient light.

If I weren't so darned cheap I'd probably buy the fibreoptic sights, but Traditions wants too much $$, and they look kinda cheap too. So, I'll try the paint for this deer season and see how it works out.

Tritium would be the real answer, but that's twice the cost of fibreoptics!

 

[txhunter58]

What is tritium?

 

[txhunter58]

A little reasearch aswers my own question:
http://www.chris.cc/tritium.htm

Interestingly, they say that in bright daylight, they are inferior to regular sights.

 

[BrownBear]

I've used paint for years on non-ML sights, as well as various "after-market" models with lines, dots, or whatever. The biggest hassle with the paint is abrasion- It's easy to knock or peal it off. As for morning vs. evening, even in the morning it's easier to see the sights because of their light color against dark backgrounds- without any effect from the "glow" whatsoever. I think your work will pay dividends all the way around. Good hunting!

 

I have found the English Express rear sight, wide, shallow "V", with an ivory or silver(brazing)bead, is easily seen in any legal light, (1/2 hour before sunrise and 1/2 hour after sunset-in this Province) As well, most of my moose and deer, have been shot at 09:30 and 15:30 hrs., even though I've been in position when since legal time arrives, whether stand or still hunting.

 

[roundball]

FYI...I've always used a tiny dab of white paint on the front sight...and to avoid the abrasion/rub-off problem, I take a tiny drill bit and just barely dish out the face of the front bead, so the paint is protected inside that slight depression.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Daryl - you make a good point. This gun came from the factory with black-on-black-on-black sights, so I had to add some colour. Our deer generally show up about 5 minutes before the end of legal light so I need all the help I can get...

roundball - on a previous thread you had commented about creating a recess for the paint to sit in. I thought I'd try just the paint for effect first. If it works as well as I suspect it's going to, then I'll be using your suggestion the next time I apply it to make a more permanent job of it.

As for tritium, it's great stuff for the military guys, but I don't generally make a practice of shooting things after dark so I guess my cheap alternative will suffice. Besides, there are enough things around here that glow in the dark with nuclear radiation that I don't need to add another!

I'd also agree wholeheartedly with a previous poster that the painted sights are more difficult to see in bright daylight. So far my tests have shown this to be the case, so my targetshooting will have to wait 'til cloudy days. NOT!

 

[roundball]

I tried a few different colors but white always won out.

Here in North Carolina, the fall colors are just peaking during the November rut so using orange paint is the last thing I want to try and find quickly among all the yellow and orange leaves.

But there's really not much in nature that's pure white, and since I don't hunt on white snow, the white front sight seems the best contrast to me through the colors right into the drab blacks and grays of winter woods.

 

[cayugad]

I was in the craft section of a Wal Mart and got 8 different glow in the dark colors and a little paint brush for $3.99. I changed colors on the sights and it is amazing the difference it made.

Then the next year I went with a cheap set of fiber optics from Wal Mart. Again, what a difference it made. My recommendation is, if your going to go to the fiber optics get a good set...... My front sight on the cheap set has broke twice, but the company keeps sending me a replacement when I mail them the old one, so what the heck....

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Such a shame... Wally World on this side of the border doesn't stock any hunting supplies other than a few of the barest of necessities (ie mass-produced low-end camo clothes) and a bit of ammo. And when I travel to visit my customers in Ohio I've found the same darned thing there. Oh well...

BTW - the flourescent paints in the craft section at my local WallyWorld were water-soluble. Definitely not good for those rainy hunting days! The flourescent paints stocked in the paint section are considerably more expensive, but NOT water soluable, so I'm hoping they'll stay on when I hunt in the rain.