When the Boogie Man comes calling, we want all the odds to be in our favor. One upgrade that is worth considering is tritium-powered night sights. Tritium sights glow in the dark and are effective for shooting in low-light conditions. While it’s true that they will not help illuminate your target in low light, they definitely will be much easier to see. And that is a big part of the battle.
Today we’re examining the Ameriglo Classic 3 Dot Sights. They are effective for shooting in low-light conditions and are at a price point that won’t break the bank.
Ameriglo Classic 3-Dot Sights
Ameriglo offers different color combinations for their sights. With the Classic 3 Dot sights, you can choose a green front sight with yellow rear dots (which is the combination I chose to review), or you can have all green. Some of their other sights have different combinations of colors to choose from. Options are always nice, and they offer plenty of them.
Visibility
Each dot has a vial of tritium, which is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen that glows in the dark. Its typical half-life is around 12 years, give or take. Tritium is harmless, with beta particles being unable to pass through even the outermost dead layer of human skin.
Because these sights glow at night, it’s easier to find your gun in the dark. Naturally, you’re probably going to have your pistol in the same spot for continuity’s sake, but having those little glowing dots will make it all the easier to find at oh-dark-thirty if the zombies come calling. And if things become crazy (as they are known to in lethal force encounters) and you drop your firearm during battle, it will be easier to spot on the ground in the dark because of those glowing sights.
Each of the dots has a white circle around it, making these very similar to standard 3-dot sights that so many pistols these days are equipped with. The white circles on these sights are bright and easy to pick up with the eyes. Because of this, there is a very small learning curve, as most people will be at least somewhat familiar with the 3-dot system.
Another aspect about these sights that I really like is: they’re made in the USA! These days, I try to make a point of patronizing businesses that sell products that are made here.
They’re a steel!
These are stainless steel sights with a corrosion-resistant coating of Nitride, so they will be plenty durable. Much better than the Polymer sights that come from the factory.
One of the only things that bug me about Glock sights is the fact that the factory sights are made from Polymer. Virtually everyone I know prefers steel sights. They’re more durable, which helps if need to rack your slide on a hard object. All in all, steel is just more durable than Polymer for the job that sights need to do. As an aside, I do like the “goal post” markings on Glock sights very much. They help my aging eyes to pick them up more easily.
Final Verdict
I took my pistol out at night in varying light conditions and tried out the sights to see how they’d show up. The answer is, they are excellent. I like how the green front sight contrasts with the yellow rear sights. It helps draw my eye to that front sight, which is important.
These sights increase my confidence with my Glock 43X drastically. I already have night sights on my Glock 19X (they come factory equipped with night sights), and I feel the same way about the sights on the 19X; they increase confidence. There’s no doubt that my ability to hit targets in dim light is far better with night sights than it is with plain sights that are not illuminated. I’ve trained in low-light conditions and know this to be a true fact.
These sights sell for $69.99 on the GunMag Warehouse website as this is written. That price, coupled with the high quality of the item, makes this an intelligent buy in my book. I cannot recommend these too highly, they are a vital addition to your pistol. Ameriglo makes them for most pistols on the market, and GunMag Warehouse carries many varieties. Check them out!
And remember, you still need to practice. Merely having night sights installed will not ensure your success. Get familiar with them, as you should with any piece of gear that you will be using to defend life and limb. The same advice goes for lights, lasers, and other tools that you might use.
