Does anyone make a tritium post front sight?

[Creeper1313]

My carry weapon is a SA Mil-Spec with a plain post front sight with a white dot on it. Considering most self-defense incidents happen at night I'd kinda like the added visibility of a tritium front sight. I also understand that such an incident is likely to be at such close range that only point shooting will be needed... but I'd still like to be able to spot my front sight a little easier in the dark.

Secondly, I'd like to avoid cutting a dovetail into the front of my slide because I'd like to keep it close to it's original "Mil-spec" look... but I am having a hell of a time finding anything but dovetail night sights.

[Ludacris]

Do like I do and wear night vision goggles all the time.

[Wildpony]

Trijicon ( I think I spelled it right) makes stake-in front sights with tritium inserts for narrow tenon Colt models, and I'm pretty sure that they make them for the medium tenon on springfields.

If you look real hard you can find them. My advice is to just get a brownells catalog and order from them.

Also, Trijicon makes a dovetail rear sight with tritium inserts that fits into a standard dovetail without having to mill or otherwise altr the standard slide.

I think you can get the conplete Trijicon set for $110.00 +S&H.

Ed Brown also makes a stake in tritium insert front sight that will likely run $40 to $45.

[Creeper1313]

Brownells sells stake-in night sights, with the option of buying just the front one, made by Meprolight.

Here are two listed on Meprolight's website:

ML-20771 Adjustable set for Colt Gov't .055 front tenon
ML-20776 Adjustable set for Colt Gov't .125 front tenon


Brownells lists them as (I'm assuming they're the same):

387-500-211 1911 Auto (narrow tenon)
387-500-212 1911 Auto (wide tenon)

Is the .125/wide tenon the size that Springfield uses?

[W Turner]

I have an almost identical set-up on my RIA. I found a Trijicon stake-on at a gun show for $5 and had my 'smith install it with a Colt factory rear and it works great. The dot pulls your eye to the front sight and the tritium is a bonus in low-light.


The factory rear on the SA should work fine with the Trijicon or the Meprolight.


Bull

[Creeper1313]

Wow $5 is an awsome deal... especially if new, but even if it was an older sight with a few years of the tritium burned off.
How much did the gunsmith charge to swap the sights? I imagine it's a pretty quick job.. I was almost thinking of trying to do it myself... but I think I'll pay someone who is qualified so I don't risk messing up my slide.

Oh and once again: Is the .125" tenon the size that Springfield uses in their mil-spec?

[Wildpony]

Im not sure what the tenon size is since I don't own a Springfield. I believe it is niether the large or the narow but a size in between that I keep hearing people call "Medium". Other than that I have no clue what size the hole is. it could be the .125 but Im not sure.

[Creeper1313]

Hmm. I'll call Springfield customer service on Monday to see what size they use... I suppose if they use an oddball medium post that might mean Trijicon doesn't even make one... I guess I could buy the large and see if I can get it machined down to the springfield sized tenon.

[WalterGA]

You wouldn't have to get it "machined down"...you'd just need to hit it a few strokes with a file.

[Brian Dover]

Creeper, our friend WalterGA is quite correct about dressing down the .125 tenon a bit for Springfields, which usually have, yes, an "in-between" sized slot for the front sight. Any good friendly local gunsmith (FLG) can do this trimming, though the guy I use says it's a bit tedious. In fact, he says he'd rather just cut a dovetail up front and be done with it. And since does this cut for $20 or so, (he works too cheap for his own good sometimes ;)), I usually take him up on it. bull68, ain't it great to find stuff like that at gunshows? It pays to keep a sharp eye out, eh?

[Mushinto]

In my experience, most "street-level" gunsmiths do not like to stake tritium sights. You might be better off sending the slide to Trijicon.
ML