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Painting front Tech Sight post?

Started by UwharrieTrail40, March 22, 2009, 11:09:27 PM

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UwharrieTrail40

March 22, 2009, 11:09:27 PM
I noticed the post on the front Tech Sight is pure black. Most front sights are painted white or gold or something to give you a contrast when taking a bead. Should I paint the tip of the front post white with some type writer white out or maybe red or gold or something? Midway USA USA has a cheap gun sight paint set to paint your front post.

Tech Sights are the only front sight Ive ever seen that dont have the front post painted something for contrast.

Anybody painted their front post?

Eric
"A medal for me, a bodybag for you." Colonel Charlie Beckwith, USA (Retired).

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

wcmartin1

#1
March 22, 2009, 11:11:00 PM Last Edit: March 22, 2009, 11:12:57 PM by wcmartin1
I like black.  The blacker the better.  Not gloss - Matte.

I also use a 6 o'clock hold.
"Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast and that the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by a race of slaves.  Sad alternative!  But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" - George Washington - from a letter to a close friend after the events of April 19, 1775

"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our (the United States) overthrow.  Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter.  From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.  I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

UwharrieTrail40

#2
March 22, 2009, 11:15:09 PM
Quote from: wcmartin1 on March 22, 2009, 11:11:00 PM
I like black.  The blacker the better.  Not gloss - Matte.

I also use a 6 o'clock hold.

What are military issue M-14s, M-1 Garands and M-16A4 front posts painted with? Anything? The tip painted white?

Eric
"A medal for me, a bodybag for you." Colonel Charlie Beckwith, USA (Retired).

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

wcmartin1

#3
March 22, 2009, 11:16:43 PM
Quote from: UwharrieTrail40 on March 22, 2009, 11:15:09 PM
Quote from: wcmartin1 on March 22, 2009, 11:11:00 PM
I like black.  The blacker the better.  Not gloss - Matte.

I also use a 6 o'clock hold.

What are military issue M-14s, M-1 Garands and M-16A4 front posts painted with? Anything? The tip painted white?

Eric

Matte black.
"Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast and that the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by a race of slaves.  Sad alternative!  But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" - George Washington - from a letter to a close friend after the events of April 19, 1775

"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our (the United States) overthrow.  Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter.  From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.  I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

Old Dog

#4
March 23, 2009, 12:20:20 AM
I've never seen a military rifle with painted front sights.

Not US Enfields, 03's, 03A3's, M1 Garands, M14's or M16's.  The sights made of steel are parkerized, the same matte, rust inhibiting finish that is on the rest of the steel rifles.  The M16 sights are steel but some of the rifle parts are aluminum and those are anodized with a dull dark gray or black finish.

I'd be careful about painting a front sight.  Most colors that seem "bright" in good light disappear in low light conditions (tried lots of colors years ago on handguns sights).  White may not "disappear" but in strong light you may get some glare off it that would "move" your POI depending on the angle of the light.

Is your vision good?  Is the dark/black front sight sharp and clear, or is it fuzzy and hard to distinguish?  If you're having trouble seeing it you might want to consider prescription shooting glasses or a scope.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

UwharrieTrail40

#5
March 23, 2009, 12:41:52 AM
Quote from: Old Dog on March 23, 2009, 12:20:20 AM
I've never seen a military rifle with painted front sights.

Not US Enfields, 03's, 03A3's, M1 Garands, M14's or M16's.  The sights made of steel are parkerized, the same matte, rust inhibiting finish that is on the rest of the steel rifles.  The M16 sights are steel but some of the rifle parts are aluminum and those are anodized with a dull dark gray or black finish.

I'd be careful about painting a front sight.  Most colors that seem "bright" in good light disappear in low light conditions (tried lots of colors years ago on handguns sights).  White may not "disappear" but in strong light you may get some glare off it that would "move" your POI depending on the angle of the light.

Is your vision good?  Is the dark/black front sight sharp and clear, or is it fuzzy and hard to distinguish?  If you're having trouble seeing it you might want to consider prescription shooting glasses or a scope.

Nah, I can see the front sight post just fine. I was just thinking in terms of comparing the front sight post to all other civilian rifles Ive seen...they all have the top of the front post painted flat white or gold. For example, the Wal-Mart 22" Ruger  10/22 I just bought, came with a factory front sight with the tip painted gold. And my Marlin factory front sight, the tip is painted white (I replaced it with Williams red firesights...its a hunter thing).

I wont paint it now. Maybe paint it flat black, like WC mentioned. I was never in the military like many on this board, so I dont know this stuff like many of you do.

My eyes used to be perfect, like 20/10 in the left eye, 20/20 in my right eye. I dont know if they are still perfect, I plan on getting an eye exam before I attend an Appleseed, NRA or CMP events. I plan on doing all three in the next six months. Last eye exam I had, I was 26 and the eye doctor told me my eyes were perfect and said literally, "your eyes are good enough to be a jet pilot."

But that was fourteen years ago and all Ive had since then is a few routine office eye exams done by a Family doctor or Internal medicine doc. Not real eye exams by an eye doctor. Maybe my eyes have changed.

I do have an old, cheapo Bushnell 3 * 7 .22 scope I could put on the Ruger 10/22. Or if I have to scope it, maybe a Nikon Prostaff scope, they dont cost much but are excellent quality.

Eric
"A medal for me, a bodybag for you." Colonel Charlie Beckwith, USA (Retired).

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

Nishnabotna

#6
March 24, 2009, 11:04:21 AM
I switched to a scope so I could see clearly, but now I have a hard time focusing on the reticle.  :p

douglas34474

#7
April 13, 2009, 06:46:45 PM
Smoke your sites to blacken them. Soot from a lighter, candle, even matches will work.

I would be careful with the TS not to heat them too much.

Francis Marion

#8
April 13, 2009, 08:57:27 PM
Quote from: UwharrieTrail40 on March 23, 2009, 12:41:52 AM
... I was just thinking in terms of comparing the front sight post to all other civilian rifles Ive seen...they all have the top of the front post painted flat white or gold. For example, the Wal-Mart 22" Ruger  10/22 I just bought, came with a factory front sight with the tip painted gold. And my Marlin factory front sight, the tip is painted white (I replaced it with Williams red firesights...its a hunter thing).
...

Nearly all 22 rifles you find in sporting goods stores have "minute-of-tin can" notch and post sights, which, although fun, are imprecise in contrast to US military style sights.  Paper punching is better served with GI type sights than by the typical cheap, uninspired, imprecise sight you'll find standard on most 22 rifles. 
The Tech Sight is a precision instrument compared to the 1022 factory sight system.  If you want to really see how well you can shoot, give yourself the benefit of decent sights, and that usually means replacing the factory sights.

Rhodes

#9
May 03, 2009, 02:25:31 AM
Painted sights work much better on a pistol than a rifle. Love then on my XD, hated every rifle I shot with painted front sight except one and he used radium paint. Fiber optics though look promising, anyone got any experience with those on a rifle?
The finest thing a man can do is hold to the wisdom his forefathers shed blood to teach us. Fear and Trust in God, Respect for American ideals and heritage, and always strive to be a better Rifleman. All other things flow from these.

Nishnabotna

#10
May 03, 2009, 08:58:16 AM
I've got a set (front and rear) on my shotgun.  Fixed, but seems to work pretty well for what they are.  Nice and bright in the daytime and usable even into the evening.
Never had painted sights, so can't compare them, but I like them much better than the notch and bead they replaced.

Rhodes

#11
May 03, 2009, 11:48:53 AM
Thanks
The finest thing a man can do is hold to the wisdom his forefathers shed blood to teach us. Fear and Trust in God, Respect for American ideals and heritage, and always strive to be a better Rifleman. All other things flow from these.

Old Dog

#12
May 03, 2009, 11:45:57 PM
Colors, lack of colors, or all the colors?

White may sound good but it can be too bright during the day and just right under low light (early morning and late evening) - on a handgun.  I used to use/carry a handgun a lot and I've tried white, red, orange and black.  On a rifle?  Black sights are good(er) for a longer part of the day.  Under low light conditions a scope (the right scope) is better than any color of front sight.

Red/orange is okay (on a handgun) in good light but it disappears quickly in low light condtions.

Black (flat black) is best for rifles that you will use for longer range shooting.  That sight has got to be sharp and clear on top and the sides for you to get a good consistent sight picture.  Anything designed to "catch and reflect" light probably won't give you a good sharp image of that front sight post.

Remember, the handgun is for up close (target's usually pretty large compared to the front sight at 50 yds. or less) work.  The rifle on the other hand (if used as intended) needs to be able to hit targets that appear to be much smaller. so a sharp clear front sight is much more important.  A small error at 25 yds. is a big error at 400 yds.

Anyway, try to different color model paint (so it's easy to remove) under different light conditions on an AQT and see what the groups on those four hundred yard simulated targets look like when the front sight isn't sharp and clear.

Have fun trying/learning.  If you learn some stuff come on back to this thread and report it.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

2336

#13
May 04, 2009, 02:02:45 PM
On a rifle, blacker the better!  Most of the retired or former military guys probably remember the smudge pots burning just behind the firing line.  I never fired before blackening the front sight post first! O0
"To err is human, to forgive divine.  Neither of which is Marine Corps policy!"

RacerDave6

#14
May 04, 2009, 07:05:39 PM
I tried white and yellow on the front sight post, but it blended in with the target paper. So I painted the side wings (on tech sights) and left the post black.
When seconds count, the cops are minutes away

Humvee

#15
May 04, 2009, 08:48:20 PM
As stated above, a front sight post on a rifle should be matte black, especially for a military-type sight system.  I have used the smudge pots for M-16s, and if I could figure out an efficient way to carry one around I would.  Having a good matte black front sight post will be MUCH more accurate than a colored one, IMHO.  Ever notice how it's hard to tell if your front sight post is "dead center, fuzzy black" of the target?  That is the sun shinning off the top of your post.  This is also true of the rear peep hole.  Make sure it is clean and clear of fibers, etc.  If it still doesn't look "clean" when you look through it, it may just be light reflection.  Blacken it out.

Birchwood Casey makes a can of sight black that is a little more transportation and rifle range friendly.

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/maintenance_index.asp?categoryID=2&subcat=3&prodcat=108

The match trick will work, but as stated, you're not trying to heat it, just get the soot on it.  I was out shooting one day my front post was reflecting like a mirror (the very top tip).  Found some charcoal an old campfire pit, and solved the problem (although not as good as a smudge pot!  ;)).

Old Dog

#16
May 04, 2009, 10:21:20 PM
Dive into the nearest trash can, find something made of plastic, light it with the match or lighter and you get a nice thick plume of sooty black smoke off the burning plastic.
"The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter cannot be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles."

—Jeff Cooper, The Art of the Rifle

zercool

#17
May 06, 2009, 12:37:45 AM
Quote from: Rhodes on May 03, 2009, 02:25:31 AM
Painted sights work much better on a pistol than a rifle. Love then on my XD, hated every rifle I shot with painted front sight except one and he used radium paint. Fiber optics though look promising, anyone got any experience with those on a rifle?

I have a set (three-dot) on my T/C inline muzzleloader. Love 'em. Bright well past legal shooting light. :) I kind of wish the center dot was a hair smaller, but it's still a minute-of-deer rifle offhand to 100+yd.

Antibubba

#18
May 10, 2009, 05:30:01 AM
I've had a difficult time staying on sight with the Tech Sights.  I painted the front post blaze orange, but it didn't help.  I got a red plastic translucent bead, and I'll try that soon.  Eventually I'll find something that works, but I'm not ready to give up on the TS yet.
A rifle cannot win a war; it is just a tool.  Wars are fought and won in the hearts and minds of the people.
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