Blacken-Out Rear Sights

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EdInk

New member
I was wondering if anyone else prefers to have a white/color dot front sight but solid black rear sights?

I blacked out the rear sight on my CW9 because I didn't like the dot
the "i" set-up and found I shot much better. I found it quicker to get on target from the draw, too. A buddy's 1911 had a white dot and solid black Novak-style sights and it was super accurate. I have not blacked out the rear sights on all my handguns and really like it better than even the 3-dot format.
 
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drail

Moderator
Depends on the lighting and color of your targets. Most of my shooting was at IPSC tan colored targets so black/black sights worked well. But I also love the gold bead front/black rear setup for general practice plus the gold bead will allow you to see the front sight when shooting at a traget in the shade or against a dark background or in dim light. We used to take the rear sight out and reverse it when everyone started making 3 dot sights on everything. I hate 3 dot sights.
 
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SVO

New member
For my carry guns, I like having night sights on them, but will use them as is. When I go to the range, unless they have night sights, I like to use Birchwood Casey sight black on the front & rear sight. Other than white, I've never found the red or yellow colored insert sights on pistols to work for me.
 
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carguychris

New member
Me too.
I just black them out with a sharpie.
Click to expand...
FWIW I prefer Polly S "NATO Triple Black" plastic model paint. It's more durable and less reflective than permanent markers.

The reason I use this specific shade is that most so-called "black" plastic model paints are actually very dark grey because a true black makes fine details disappear under indoor light. This is annoying on a gun sight because the greyness is obvious when you shoot outdoors. OTOH the NATO Triple Black is truly BLACK and nothing else. :D
 
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kozak6

New member
A lot of target shooters even use a lighter to apply soot to sights to darken them.

There's even dedicated carbide lighters produced for this task.
 
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drail

Moderator
Yup, sights blackened with soot are the absolute best. Zero reflected light. Just nice sharp edges. But ony on light targets.
 
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jfrey

New member
I have the all black rear sights on all my target and carry guns. I do like and use the fiber optic front sights. That green or red dot just helps me line things up better. At night they all look black anyway.
 
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sakeneko

New member
Black on black does *not* work for me, and unfortunately was what I got when I bought my S&W Model 60 a year ago. I finally replaced the front sight with a HiViz fiber optic sight, which has a yellow-green dot that's lit up by concentration of ambient light. It's *wonderful*; I can actually see the front sight against whatever the background is.

I can't imagine wanting the back sights to be anything but black, however.
 
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EdInk

New member
Where do you buy the NATO paint?

I have noticed the sharpie is a little shiny on the Kahr and my Ruger.

On the XD, I (carefully) scratched out the factory white dots with a pin. The melonite finish is good enough to keep you from getting to the metal.
 
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Locoweed

New member
I saw on this or another forum where a poster claimed that you can light a styrofoam coffee cup and hold the sights in the black soot that comes off the cup. Very dull and black and easy to clean off.
 
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Slopemeno

New member
Sight black

You can buy a small aerosol can of sight black. I found it to really help. I also thing having enough gap around your front sight so you can see it clearly enough is key.

FWIW I've gone all the way around the horn....black stock sights, to red ramps, green, yellow, beads...then back to black.
 
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crazy charlie

New member
Be careful with the carbide and lighter sight blackening methods as a lot of sights are not steel, but some sort of plastic. With heat they may melt or become distorted.
 
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