Trebor1415's Full Review: Trijicon Night Sight Sets for Sig
The Sig Sauer line of pistols are high quality firearms primarly designed for the military, police, and civilian self defense markets.
Originally introduced to the U.S. in the 1980's, the earliest Sig Sauer model to achieve widespread popularity was the P 226 pistol. This is a 9mm pistol with a 15 round magazine that utilizes a traditional double action design. The 226 was in contention to replace the 1911A1 .45 ACP pistol as the U.S. military's primary sidearm, but ultimately lost out to the Berretta 92 model due to the Berretta's slightly lower bid. The 226 did go on to achieve popularity as a police sidearm with agencies across the country, such as the Michigan State Police.
Since that time, Sig Sauer, often refered to as just Sig, has developed and introduced several new pistol designs. Among these are the Sig 228, which was later adopted by the U.S. military as the M 11 for issue to criminal investigators and some aircrew, and the 239, which was designed for concealed carry.
Although the details differ, all the pistols share the same heritage of quality in both design and manufacture. The Sig line of pistols has earned a well deserved reputation for good ergonomics, quality craftsmanship, reliability and accuracy.
As with any defensive pistol, being able to see your sights in order to make your shots count is vital. The standard base model Sig sights are rugged, high profile, and offer a good sight picture. They are easy to use in good light conditions.
However, FBI statistics have shown that most defensive shootings occur in low light situations and the standard sights offer no advantage in the dark.
That's why anyone interested in using a Sig pistol for defensive purposes should consider installing a set of Tritium "night sights" from the Trijicon company of Wixom, Michigan.
Trijicon makes replacement night sights for a wide variety of pistols, including the various Sig Sauer models. This particular sight unit fits the Sig 225, 226, 228, 239, Sig Pro, and Sig Pro 2009 models. This model does NOT fit on the Sig 229, although a different unit is manufactured for that specific pistol.
The Trijicon sights contain small vials of a radioactive material called Tritium that is embedded in both the front and rear sights. The tubes are installed end-on so that from the shooter's perspective they appear as small dots in the sights. The front sight has one dot and the rear sight has two, one on each side of the rear sight notch. When lined up properly the three dots form a straight line.
Since the Tritium is radioactive, it emits phosphers that make the vials, and therefore the visible dots, glow slightly. This glow is unoticeable in daylight, but is quite visible in low light. Don't worry though: Unlike the old radium clocks, the level of radiation is so low as to be completely safe. The only effect is has is to make the vials glow.
This glow is a good thing and is why these are commonly called "Night sights." For defensive pistol shooting, being able to see your sights is critical to making accurate shots. Since most defensive shootings occur in low light conditions, anything that helps you find your sights in the dark is vital.
There are several color options available for the Trijicon sights. The more-or-less standard option is to use green on the front sight and yellow for the rear sight dots. Studies have shown that bright green is the most highly visible color, so using that on the front sight helps the shooter find the front sight quickly. The contrasting yellow dots on the rear sights keep the shooter from confusing the dots on the rear sight with the front sight.
The particular sight variation in the Epinions database is the green front/green rear set up. This is not my preferred combination because having all the dots the same color makes it easier to confuse which dot is the front sight under stress.
I have Trijicon sights on a variety of pistols and have always been impressed both the visibility of the dots and the durability of the sights themselves. The sights are made of metal and are rugged and durable. The Tritium vials are well protected and breakage is not a concern.
As with any aftermarket sights, the Trijicon do have to be installed into the factory sight dovetails. While this can be a "do it yourself" project if you have the proper skills and tools, most shooters would be better served to have a gunsmith install the sights. Anyone buying these sights does need to budget the gunsmith installation into the total cost.
The only real disadvantage of any Tritium night sight, not just the Trijicon brand, is that the Tritium does have a relatively short "half life." In practical terms this means that the Tritium decays at a rate where the sights will cease to glow after about 10 years or so. Even "dead" night sights still provide a good sight picture during the day, but no longer offer any advantage in low light. The only fix is to replace the entire night sight unit.
For defensive pistol shooting the advantages of any type of night sight are worth the cost and limited life time of the sight. As they come from the factory, the Sig Sauer series of pistols are well suited for defensive use. These Trijicon sights make an excellent pistol even better.
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Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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