When you want to go to the range and have some fun with your buddies, but night creeps up on you, you don’t have to pack up and leave. You could continue to have fun if you find the right accessories for your gun. Handgun lights help a great deal, but they are not the only thing you need. What you also need is a reliable night sight. Using one will make aiming at night as easy as pie. In the last couple of years, there has been a growing number of companies that produce sights you can use both day and night. The number of existing models is simply amazing. If you’re looking to purchase the best night sights for Glock 19, read the following article. We tested dozens of night sights and picked only the best for you.
PRODUCT | DETAILS | ||
---|---|---|---|
Ameriglo Pro-IDOT for Glock 17/19 Orange |
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Big Dot Tritium Sight |
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TruGlo Bright – Site TFO Handgun Sight |
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Trijicon HD Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols |
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Meprolight Glock Tru-Dot Night Sight |
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Trijicon GL01 Bright & Tough Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols |
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Best Night Sights For Glock 19
1. Ameriglo Pro-IDOT for Glock 17/19 Orange
It is one of the most common Glock 19-night sight set that has a green tritium front lamp and a green tritium rear lamp. The sights themselves are made of steel and have a black oxide finish on them to prevent corrosion if you’re carrying inside the waistband or you’re out in the rain. The tritium lamps made by Trijicon are inserted in an aluminum housing which is then inserted into the steel sight itself. The lamps are protected by a sapphire screen to prevent residue from getting in there and damaging the actual tritium insert. They fit the Glock perfectly and have really nice quality finishes.
In terms of putting it on the gun, the Ameriglo Pro-IDOT offers just a dovetail installation. If you can’t do the installation yourself, visit your local gunsmith to do it for you. If you are not used to the straight-eight types of sight, but usually use a 3 dot night sight it will take some time to get used to this system. After you get used to it, it will actually be easier and faster to use.
The orange tritium on the front sight is very bright in daylight. The size and spacing of the rear sight are perfect. At night the tritium dot is clearly visible and target acquisition is fast. You just have to remember to charge the sights in the sun or with artificial light. If you are looking for good daytime shooting as well as good nighttime shooting capabilities and you are comfortable with the straight-eight types or the IDOT configuration then you are definitely going to like these sights.
2. Big Dot Tritium Sight
The Big Dot Tritium sights developed by XS Sight Systems are made for fast target acquisition in all light conditions. The Big Dot front sight has a big tritium dot, while the rear sight has a tritium line. The sights are made out of steel with an anti-corrosive black paint on them. They are only slightly thicker than your factory sights, so they should fit most holsters without any difficulty. They have a snag-free design.
The tritium inserts are barely visible during the day, but they are extremely visible at night. Proper sight alignment is done by “Dotting the I”. At close range, from 0 to 15 yards, you should use the center of the dot for your point of aim, as that should be the point of impact. At ranges of 25 yards and beyond, you should use the top of the wide dot as your point of aim, as that should be the point of impact.
If you like to shoot at long distance targets, these are not the sights for you. Keep in mind that this model was developed for self-defense purposes, and that’s exactly what it does right. Most self-defense situations don’t require you to shoot over more than 15 yards. From that distance, you just have to aim and point the center of the dot on the assailant’s torso. These sights might be difficult to use for long-distance shooting, but the wide gap between the sights makes short distance target acquisition very easy and quick.
3. TruGlo Bright – Site TFO Handgun Sight
The TruGlo Bright handgun night sight for Glock 19 is a highly appreciated sight that uses a combination of tritium and fiber-optic technologies. It is made out of CNC-machined steel. It has a snag-resistant design and is supposed to fit all of the standard model holsters.
The green tritium highlight of this model is clearly visible in daytime and nighttime both. The fiber optic makes the TFO very effective in low light and no light conditions. They can be seen as two bright green dots during the daytime. This model is slightly larger than your stock sights, but the snag-free design makes it possible for it to fit most, if not all holsters.
These sights are more sensitive than most other models, so if you don’t have a lot of experience with sight installing, you might want to practice with another set. The front sight is very easy to mount, but mounting the rear one is slightly difficult. If you don’t want to have some nasty surprises, we recommend you send a little extra money and go to a gunsmith to install them.
The single downside of this model we could find is that if you have a strong light source, such as headlights or a flashlight behind you, the green dots are not quite visible any longer. The TruGlo is a 3 dot sight type, so you can use them for close-up or long-range shooting without any kind of difficulty. They are perfect for your carry gun.
4. Trijicon HD Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols
The Trijicon HD Night Sight is a model specially developed for tactical shooters. It comes in two color options, yellow and orange. The sights are made out of steel and they are protected by a jeweled screen. The front sight has some photoluminescent paint around the tritium inserts that you can pick up easily during daylight. The paint is going to maintain the charge anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes at full capacity, after which it will dim until it stops being luminescent. After that period of time, you need to charge it again with a light source. Any kind of light source will do direct sunlight, flashlight or artificial light from your house.
The rear sight has some serrations that will prevent any kind of glare you acquire in your sight picture. The tritium lamps have no kind of outline and that will help you focus directly on the front sight, particularly in daylight situations. The rear sight has a “U” notch that should help most shooters to aim quicker. It also comes with a hook design that will help you handle the gun one-handed, should you need it.
Trijicon has really set the industry’s standard for tritium lamps. A lot of other manufacturers use them, so it’s only natural they use them, as well. The lamps have a 12 years warranty from the date of their production. You should check the date inscribed on the box when you make the purchase and keep that date in mind. The three-dot system this model uses is one preferred by most people entering competitions. As a day capable, as well as a night capable model, this is one of the best Glock sight out there.
5. Meprolight Glock Tru-Dot Night Sight
The Meprolight Tru-Dot is one of the cheaper sight models we picked for our list. They are made out of metal and come in different color combinations. We suggest you pick out the green/green combination, as the green/orange might disappoint in the nighttime. The yellow front/green back combination could also be a good one, especially if you like to have a contrast between the sights, so you can take aim quicker.
The Tru-Dot has a 3 dot system, so it will be appreciated by most of the tactical shooters out there. This model comes with a 12-year warranty, which is pretty good. You can check the date on the box to see when your warranty expires.
The tritium lamps on this model work very well during nighttime, good during the daytime, and only average in low light conditions. The rear sights are slightly curved to the back, so one hand manipulation will be difficult with this model.
So why did we put them on this list? Well, they get their job done. Some people don’t want to buy a sight that does great in both daytime and nighttime, they are only looking for night sights. This model will make a great accessory for your home defense weapon. For your carry pistol, don’t pick out this model, as it doesn’t handle extremely well in all light conditions. All said, good value for money for a night sight for Glock 19.
6. Trijicon GL01 Bright & Tough Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols
The Trijicon GL01 Bright & Tough Night Sights are three-dot iron sights developed to increase your accuracy at night. The manufacturer says they are five times better than the stock sights your Glock comes with. This model comes with three tritium lamps that are housed in protective aluminum cylinders. White photoluminescent paint is added around the lamps to increase visibility, especially during the day, when the tritium doesn’t help much. All the lamps are capped with sapphire so the light is even distributed and debris or solvents will not harm them. They mount on silicone rubber, so they should be highly resistant to shock and recoil.
They have a 12-year long warranty, so you have to keep the date inscribed on the box in mind. The tritium is colored green for this model and you can clearly see it in low light conditions and during nighttime. The white circles around the lamps really help your aim in daylight, and the “U” notch is a much better style of the notch than the square type the stock sights have.
One of the downsides we noticed in multiple other Glock sight reviews for this model is that the paint can go away. That’s not much of a problem, as it will be fixed for free, granted you have the warranty, but it’s annoying to have to take them to the service and stay without sights while they’re fixed. You can use this model for long-range target or close quarters practice. You can have it installed on your carry weapon or on your home defense handgun.
Night Sights for Glock Buying Guide
Before you start looking for a night sight for your Glock model, you should think about what you really want from them. Do you want to use them for your carry weapon? Do you want to use them for target practice? Do you want to install them on your home defense weapon, just in case? Depending on the answers to those questions different models should be the right choice for you. Read the following guide to know exactly what to look for when you’re shopping for the best Glock sight for you.
Sights Types
If you’re looking for your first sights, or even if you’ve been using different sights over the years, you should know that there are multiple types of handgun sights.
- The 3-Dot Sights – many handguns come with 3-dot stock sights. The standard sights have three painted dots on them, two in the rear and one in the front. The night version of this sight will have fiber optic or tritium inserts instead of paint. Some models incorporate both fiber optic and tritium.
- The 2-Dot Setup – this setup displays a small dot on the rear sight, right under the notch and a bigger, brighter or colored dot on the front sight. This should make you able to notice the larger dot quickly and acquire the target really fast.
- The I-Dot Setup – This setup is made out of a line painted on the rear sight under the notch and a large dot on the front sight. When you want to aim, you have to “dot the I”, so the center of your aim will be the center of the dot.
- The Sight Ledge – The sight edge is a less common type of sight developed for shooters that want to train in the one-handed operation of semi-automatic handguns. The rear sight is elevated, and the front sight is in the shape of a triangle.
- The U Shaped Rear Sight – This is a sight preferred by many of the shooters that enter competitions. When you use such a sight, you can easily take aim at long-distance targets.
When it comes to sight picking, it is largely a decision based on the preference the shooter has for a certain type of sights. But that’s not always the case. A lot of cross-eyed dominant shooters tend to like the straight-eight or I dot type of sights.
Night and Day Capabilities
When it comes down to night and day capabilities you’ll notice that all sights have different strengths and weaknesses. Some of them might work great during the night but are lousy during the day, and some might work great during low light conditions, but suck in full darkness.
- Night Use Only – If you want to buy a sight model that’s great at night, there are a lot of models out there for you. You can actually save some of your hard-earned money if you plan to purchase one of these. They come in all kinds of setups: two-dots, 3-dots, I-dots, you name it. You have to find a setup you’re comfortable with and select one of the existing models. Most of them come with tritium or fiber optic technologies, but some of them employ both. You can find models that have photoluminescent paint around the dots to make you able to aim quicker and more precise.
You can choose this type of sights if you plan to put them on your home-defense gun, which doesn’t get used very often and isn’t for shooting long range.
- Mixed Night and Day Use – If you plan to buy night sights for your Glock, but that is your carry weapon, you definitely need a model that offers good overall aim, day and night. Keep in mind that if you want to buy a sight that has great overall aiming abilities, you will probably have to spend some extra money to get it. This kind of sights should be able to help you shoot short and long-range. It should be able to withstand a lot of practice rounds fired. It should enable you to take aim fast and precise. It should be easy to handle one-handed.
Purpose
Having a general-purpose you’re buying a night sight for your Glock 19 is essential in determining the right model for you. You need to take a couple of minutes and think about the situations in which you’re going to use it. This will help you with your decision.
- Home Defense – When you buy a night sight for home defense purposes only you don’t necessarily need to go ahead and buy the most expensive, top of the notch model. A home defense weapon is usually stored in a drawer or in a cabinet and is rarely used. Furthermore, some people have more than one home defense weapon. If this is the case, you don’t want to spend a fortune on sight tools to have them sitting idle for years. You don’t need a sight that is able to aim accurately at 50 yards and above unless you own a mansion. Most home defense situations are decided within close quarters and at night. Keeping that in mind, the models that suit this type of purpose best are the ones that have strong night lamps, no matter if they can aim for 15 yards or 50.
- Range Practice – Every time you go for target practice you want to overcome your limits. You want to shoot faster, more accurately and over longer distances. If you’re a weapon enthusiast that visits the range a couple of times every week, you probably shoot thousands of rounds each year. This means that your choice of night sight for Glock 19 should be a sturdy, durable construction.
- Everyday Carry Weapon – Your everyday-carried weapon is the one that you’re most likely to use in every situation. That’s why we recommend installing only one of the best Glock sights for it. You need sturdy construction, the ability to glow brightly in the darkness, low light levels, and to be visible in bright lights.
Aiming Distance
Every night sight model has an aiming capability. This is normal, it happens to all types of sights, no matter the weapon. Before making a purchase, think about the distance you want to be accurate at.
- Sights for Short Distance Aiming – Some sights are specially developed for a short distance aim. They are made with home-defense in mind and make aiming and target acquiring very easy and reliable. Most of these models have the “Dotting the I” setup. You can aim in the center of the dot and that will be your point of aim and the point of impact. With this kind of setup, it is almost impossible to miss your target close range.
- Short To Medium Distance Aiming – Some sights are perfect for short to medium-range shooting. They are developed with home-defense in mind but fare a little better at other tasks as well. These models are also “Dot the I” setups, but some 3-dot setups with square notched rear sights can be included in this list. Due to the large space between the edges of the rear sight, aiming accurately over large distances can prove to be pretty, though. The stock rear sight is a good example of this setup.
- Medium To Long Distance Aiming– This category includes most 2-Dot, 3-Dot and Sight Ledge models out there. These night sights can accurately put a bullet in a target situated at up to 40 yards. They are a little more expensive than the rest of the models, but you get quality for your money.
- Long Distance Aiming – These are the best Glock sights out there. But that’s not enough. In order to hit a target at night or in low light conditions at 50 yards or above, you need to be an above-average shooter, to say the least. These models are usually 2-Dot or 3-Dot setups.
Cost
We know cost is usually one of the top points on every list or Glock sight reviews online, but we put it at the back of the list because night sights are not very expensive. The only way you could invest a lot of money on these sights is to have a lot of handguns. Most of the models are built to be durable and reliable for a long period of time, so you don’t have to buy new night sights every 6 months. That’s why we placed it last on our list.
- Low-Cost Models – There are no major problems with low-cost models. But there are so many small problems that you would better avoid them. We recommend avoiding cheap metal Chinese night sights because, as you will notice in many Glock sight reviews, they have many problems with the installation. Most of the time the front sight will fit right in without a problem, but the rear site is sometimes impossible to install, even by a gunsmith. They are not made to fit in a Glock dovetail, even though they are supposedly made especially for this type of handgun. Sometimes you can’t file them enough to fit in the dovetail, and even if you get the filing part right, there is always the possibility it will bend when you try to push it in place. Some models can be relied on, even though they’re cheap. They will have limited capabilities but will get the job done.
- Medium and High Priced Models – These are the models we recommend. They can do most things right, some of the high-end ones can do all things right, and you have to think about this as an investment. You’re investing in your family’s safety, in your shooting skills, in your moments of fun. Why shouldn’t you buy the right accessory?
How to Install a Night Sight on a Glock?
Changing and installing a sight on a Glock can be time-consuming but no matter if you’re going to put on fiber optics, competition sights or a night sight for Glock 19, the procedure is going to be the same.
Here is a list of tools and items you’re going to need to get the job done. Make sure you have all of them before you start. You’re going to need a vice or another clamping device, a punch set – it’s better to have some aluminum or polymer ones, a Glock front sight tool, or the appropriate hex screw – the 3/16”, some tape, pliers, two pieces of wood or cardboard, rubbing alcohol, cue tips, a triangle file or sandpaper, a thread locker and a hammer.
Firstly, you’re going to take the pieces of wood or cardboard and tape them to the sides of the vice jaws. You want to fix the slide in place, but you don’t want to scratch it. Take the slide, remove the existing front sights with the pliers and fix it in place. Place a punch on the side of the rear sight and push it. We’ve seen in other reviews that you should only push the sight only one way, but that’s not true. Any side will do.
Once the sights are off, put some alcohol on the cue tips and clean the slide. After the alcohol dries, take your new rear sights and fit them in the dovetail. Push them with the punch until they are centered. If you can’t slide it, back it out and file it down a little with the file or sandpaper. Remember to file only a little bit at a time. You can always file more, but you can’t put more on. Make sure the sights are lined up using a micrometer.
Take the front sight, put some thread locker on it and fit it on the slide. Tap it a little with the hammer to make sure it stays in place. Place the screw in the front sight tool and tighten it by hand.
Don’t use the slide in the next 24 hours, so the thread can tighten. Your job is complete.
How to Use a Night Sight Properly?
Using a night sight is pretty easy and straightforward. You install it on your handgun or you take the gun along with the sights at your local gunsmith and have them installed.
- Initial Test – After the installation, we recommend you go to the range, even if the lights are not really low or it’s not dark. Fire several rounds at targets to get used to the feel of the sights. Some night sights for Glock 19 are really different from the factory sights, both in shape and style. You need to get a little used to the new style of shooting before you take them out at night. Try to increase your shooting range after each clip or so. Keep in mind the maximum distance you shot.
- Low Light Test – Once you consider you’re comfortable enough with your new sights, take them with you and go shooting in the evening before the sun sets. You need to test them in low light conditions as well. Start shooting at targets placed at different ranges. Increase your range after each clip. Try to compare the range you shot comfortable during the day with the one you are comfortable shooting during the evening. Are distances approximately the same? If they are, you made a great choice in picking those sights.
- Night Time Test – The night time test is up next. You need to go and test the gun and its new night sights in pitch black conditions as well. Try to do this by raising the shooting distance once in a while. Compare this distance with the ones you got before to see what range you can shoot accurately in all the light conditions.
Once you make the tests use the gun as you see fit. Always make sure the gun is unloaded each time you show the new sights to your friends.
If your sights have photoluminescent paint, remember to charge it before you go out shooting at night.
Best Night Sights For Glock 19 Comparison Chart
PRODUCT | PRICE | COLOR | DESIGN |
---|---|---|---|
Ameriglo Pro-IDOT For Glock 17/19 Orange | $$ | Orange | Front sight acquisition |
Big Dot Tritium Sight | $$ | White | Snag free design |
TruGlo Bright - Site TFO Handgun Sight | $$ | Green | Snag-resistant design |
Trijicon HD Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols | $$$ | Orange | Rear notch enhances front sight acquisition |
Meprolight Glock Tru-Dot Night Sight for 9mm | $ | Green/Green | Steel front and back |
Trijicon GL01 Bright & Tough Night Sight Set for Glock Pistols | $$ | White | Steel body construction with silicon rubber cushions |
Final Thoughts
Choosing the best night sights for Glock 19 may not be as easy as it seems. The high number of models out there makes the decision even harder. Going through all Glock sight reviews on the Internet can prove to be tedious and boring work. Most of them don’t explain everything you need to know about night sights. That’s why we made this guide for you. After reading it you should have a clearer perspective about how to, and most importantly what to look for when you intend to buy a night sight for Glock 19.
No matter which of the setups you prefer, it’s always better to keep your options open when you’re going to make a purchase. Go through the reviews above to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the most wanted night sights.
Keep in mind you can use the night sights by themselves or in combination with other weapon lights or reflex sights.