Tritium Sights

MTT TL · May 25, 2023, 08:49 PM

It's been almost 20 years and the factory sights on my Kimber 1911 TLE/RL2 no longer light up well enough for me to see them in low light conditions. New Kimber tritium factory sights are $162, but are a proven quantity.

TruGlo sights on their factory site are $82. Strangely the same ones on Amazon are $62, assuming they are legit, which with Amazon is very much a hit or miss proposition, with cheaply priced gun accessories often being a miss.

Curious what opinions are on TruGlo sights after 12 years of use? I am tempted to get the factory sights for $80 more and having no regrets later but wonder what the consensus view is?

tangolima · May 25, 2023, 10:01 PM

I have truglo on my Glock for more than 10 years. It has gone dim. But I don't really pay much attention. I don't have much use it. Can't shoot if I can't positively see the target. I quite like their light pipe sights thought, for day time use. They help sight alignment.

-TL

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**44 AMP** · May 26, 2023, 07:08 PM

Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen. It is radioactive, but is not harmful under normal conditions. Since it is radioactive there are Fed regulations covering its disposal. Tritium is normally a gas, but it can be bound in any chemical compound that uses Hydrogen. Tritium sights are usually either a small tritium capsule mounted in the sight where it can be seen, or tritium in some kind of paint, applied for the glow.

Might be worth contacting Kimber to see what they can do. They might say you need to replace the entire sight unit, or the might be able to just replace the capsule or repaint the sight, depending on how its made.

Can't hurt to ask.

If they say complete replacement is all they can do, fine, send them the slide and have them do it, that way, THEY get to comply with all Fed regs for disposal.

May 25, 2023, 08:49 PM	#1
MTT TL Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 2009 Location: Quadling Country Posts: 2,780	Tritium Sights It's been almost 20 years and the factory sights on my Kimber 1911 TLE/RL2 no longer light up well enough for me to see them in low light conditions. New Kimber tritium factory sights are $162, but are a proven quantity. TruGlo sights on their factory site are $82. Strangely the same ones on Amazon are $62, assuming they are legit, which with Amazon is very much a hit or miss proposition, with cheaply priced gun accessories often being a miss. Curious what opinions are on TruGlo sights after 12 years of use? I am tempted to get the factory sights for $80 more and having no regrets later but wonder what the consensus view is? __________________ Thus a man should endeavor to reach this high place of courage with all his heart, and, so trying, never be backward in war.

May 26, 2023, 07:08 PM	#3
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,860	Tritium is an isotope of Hydrogen. It is radioactive, but is not harmful under normal conditions. Since it is radioactive there are Fed regulations covering its disposal. Tritium is normally a gas, but it can be bound in any chemical compound that uses Hydrogen. Tritium sights are usually either a small tritium capsule mounted in the sight where it can be seen, or tritium in some kind of paint, applied for the glow. Might be worth contacting Kimber to see what they can do. They might say you need to replace the entire sight unit, or the might be able to just replace the capsule or repaint the sight, depending on how its made. Can't hurt to ask. If they say complete replacement is all they can do, fine, send them the slide and have them do it, that way, THEY get to comply with all Fed regs for disposal. __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

May 25, 2023, 10:01 PM	#2
tangolima Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2013 Posts: 3,829	I have truglo on my Glock for more than 10 years. It has gone dim. But I don't really pay much attention. I don't have much use it. Can't shoot if I can't positively see the target. I quite like their light pipe sights thought, for day time use. They help sight alignment. -TL Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk