front sight color

[tx50cal]

I have both brass and silver front sights to put on. Which one do you guys think is best in low light deer hunting situations? Thanks gor the help.

 

[Billnpatti]

It is a personal preference but I prefer the silver sight. I think it shows up better in low light. One thing you can keep in mind is that you can use model airplane paint to add a small dab of paint to the back of your sight to change the color depending on the light conditions. Red and white are my favorite color choices. When you want to touch it up or change the color, just use a dab of nail polish remover or acetone on a paper towel to wipe off the paint and add a different color or return it to its natural silver color.

Another thing to do to improve your sight picture is to smoke your rear sight. You can do this with a butane lighter and the lighter is easily carried in your pocket for quick touch-ups in the field.

 

[necchi]

best in low light deer hunting situations?

That's a tuff call, because sunrise/sunset lowlight situations are transitional, and many times quite quickly.
My experience with silver is it's nice for about 10 minutes, then that silver color is lost for about a 1/2 hour until the background get's bright enough to see it again.

I carry a bottle of white out, and a black magic marker and change the color in field as the light changes and the need arises. I want to see that front blade.

The silver colored front blade I tried lasted about 2 weeks before I changed it back to plain old steel/iron.

 

[Big John]

On woodswalks light changes greatly,early in the shoot it can be clear iron sights,later it can be blury and occasionaly the front sight is gone (aim low, align the sight, Hold your sight alignment and aim at the target, this has done it for me many times when there was no front sight.In a hunting scenario, I place a dab of orange paint on the front sight.

 

[diana]

Florescent pink works well in low light.

 

[BrownBear]

I prefer the silver (or white) for low light, but reflections from the silver can be problematic in the sun- especially from the side (POI shifts). My solution is to carry a black Sharpie for dulling a silver sight in bright sun- or conversely on rifles with a steel front sight, carry a little jug of typing WhiteOut to mark the front sight in low light, then flick it off with my thumbnail once the light level comes up.

 

[roundball]

I have both brass and silver front sights to put on. Which one do you guys think is best in low light deer hunting situations? Thanks gor the help.

Black fingernail polish year round at the range...white fingernail polish in the colorful fall woods and darker gray/black woods during winter months seems to work best for me.
ALSO:
Something else I think is very important to consider for low light hunting in the woods, color aside, is that a front sight with a wider blade picks up a lot more light than the typical skinny ones that come with most builds.
I replaced the standard narrow silver blade on my first TVM Early Virginia with a .090" wide dark steel one from Track, and sent TVM the same front sight to use for other builds over the years.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have found the best front sight for my old eyes is a 1/32 ivory insert in a blued steel .095 front sight. I am having trouble with photo bucket so if you want a picture post an e mail address and I will mail you one. :idunno:

 

[Rifleman1776]

When my Jaeger was built I wanted to emulate a sight I had seen on another rifle. I asked for it to be made of white bone. The builder used ivory. Very pretty and somewhat precious. But, I found the sight to be a mistake. In the woods it did not pick up extra light as I had hoped. In open areas, especially with bright sunlight it simply vanished. IMHO, the perfect front sight, for our purposes, is the classic patridge in black. Black will contrast with dark, even black targets and is always visible. If it is too dark to see your front sight, that is time to go home.

[/URL][/img]

 

[M. De Land]

I agree although I often make my partridge blades with brass inlays.
Another sight that shows up good in dim lighting is an ivory bead. MD

 

[David W.]

Puuuuulease!

Florescent pink works well in low light.

 

[nchawkeye]

I like silver but I also put a dab of white enamel paint on the back...

More importantly, file a 45% angle in the back of the sight to help it pick up light from above...Then paint this "ramp" and you can also use the difference in the rear sight for longer shots....

 

[George T.]

I brown the steel on my rifles and in hunting I some times use a dab of white paint. I have found that early and late if the sun is not to your back little works for me anyway. I do like the ivory bead front but they look a little odd on a MLR!

Geo. T.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I like the silver sight. I blacken mine with a candle for normal shooting and in low light I can just wipe it with my thumb to get the silver shiny.

 

[Robert Egler]

Florescent pink works well in low light.

I thought of that or "safety green/yellow", but just couldn't bring myself to put those on my gun. I go with red, or brass.

 

[Vaino]

All my hunting rifles have browned steel front blades w/ a sterling silver insert soldered in. The face of the silver insert is filed at a 30-40 degree angle to gather light. The blade thicknesses are .100 and the rear sight notch has plenty of "daylight" on both sides of the blade when sighting.

This sight setup has taken many head shot squirrels in the early seasons when the sun doesn't penetrate the leaf canopy. A couple times a year, the silver insert is polished w/ a silver cleaner so it's nice and bright.....Fred

 

[cynthialee]

Florescent pink works well in low light.

I thought of that or "safety green/yellow", but just couldn't bring myself to put those on my gun. I go with red, or brass.

they make a buncha really neat fluorescent nail polishes that would work great on the sight when hunting, then before you get back to camp you use some nail polish remover on a patch to get it off the sight

 

[rdillion]

I'll be 50 years old this year and these rifle sights are getting hard to see. On my next build I'm thinking about a brass bead front (like TOTW sells)and a semi buckhorn rear. I have a similar set-up on my 357 model 1892 clone and it works well for me. It won't be traditional and may look out of place on a flintlock SM rifle but if it works I can live with it. :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

It won't be traditional and may look out of place on a flintlock SM rifle but if it works I can live with it.

You got it. The important part is to be out shooting. If the most traditional folks can't live with it, fine. There are plenty of other places to shoot.

 

[Billnpatti]

You can also do as many of us old farts do and go to peep sights or get one of the Meritt Optical Devices to attach to your eyeglasses. It has an adjustable iris that you can set for the lighting conditions and your eyes. The Meritt Device is not much good when hunting due to the slower target acquisition but it is great when target shooting. If you don't want to spend the money for the Merritt Device, you can also use a small piece of electrical tape with a pin hole in it and place it on your glasses in the exact position so that you can look through it when sighting. For hunting, you can get a Ghost Ring sight that is similar to a peep sight but with a much larger fixed diameter hole.