TargetTalk

I just got a new air pistol and the front sight is a black blade. Is there a BEST color to paint it for shooting at a 10M standard target?

I have to say... black.
What is better contrast to the target than black?

Have you tried a 6 o clock hold with equal light between the front and rear sight with the top of the front sight that same light gap from the bottom of the black bull? If you have not, you might want to try it, black on white sticks out quite well.

citygirlinthesouth wrote:I just got a new air pistol and the front sight is a black blade. Is there a BEST color to paint it for shooting at a 10M standard target?

Hi Paula, That color for me has always been BLACK

There nothing to stop you from trying different colors to see what you like best.

During your experimentation, consider best contrast to be the primary quality.

Tony

I agree: black is the color. In Europe you can buy an acetylene cigarette lighter that emits a sooty black smoke to deposit on the sights to enhance the blackness. It really works well, but you could use a candle stub.

If you don't like that idea: the most visible color to the human eye is green, a holdover from our apelike jungle heritage.

http://www.sbsdistributing.com/index.ph ... uperSmoker

I have one of these. It works. I have read that burning a bit of masking tape also works well and is a lot cheaper, but at an indoor range the smoker is better because it is self-contained. The RO's where I shoot told me that there is enough unburned powder on the floor of the range that if a spark hits it, the expansion joints in the cement will flame on like the intro to "Mission Impossible", only faster.

Roger

I have a white dot of White-out on my front sight, it lets me know when my focus is right, I see the dot clearly.

I use a sub six hold when I shoot iron sights. It is the best solution for me, and it is the one that most Olympic shooters use for a reason. It helps keep your eye from jumping back and forth between the sights, and the black bull.

There are some situations where it can be difficult to see the sight clearly against the target, indoors, and low light.


Do what you need to learn to focus on the front sight, and let your trigger finger do the rest.

You can also buy cans of spray on sight black if you like a sharper outline.

Birchwood Casey makes one.

White.

Black soot from burning masking tape works for me and it's cheap too.
Scott

A couple things on the sight blackening

The SuperSmoker is phenomenal. I have one in my Bullseye kit and one in my High Power kit.

For air though, make sure that your sight is actually metal. If it is hard plastic and you use the smoker you could have a rude surprise.

Personally, I don't like the spray on black. It can be inconsistent and go on thicker in places leaving a problem with the sight picture.

gulliver62 wrote:A couple things on the sight blackening

Personally, I don't like the spray on black. It can be inconsistent and go on thicker in places leaving a problem with the sight picture.

It can also clog the rear sight adjusting mechanism especially the notch width, the 'SuperSmoker' can also do this. I always brush it off with an old toothbrush before packing up.

Anschutz has a product like a cigarette lighter which I use and which works very well. I think it's a kind if carbide lamp. Vey convenient. It's called Black Match:
http://ahg.anschuetz-sport.com/index.ph ... duktID=344

Bob

Sorry, I took my answer back.
Vast majority of the time black. White ONLY if on the extremely rare occasion that the background is black/very dark/bad lighting etc. Filters can help and can determine whether you can use black, or have to forced to use white.

I carry both white and black blades just in case.

Front and rear sites should be black and black only.
Been down this road years ago experimenting with different colors.
Target lighting made no difference.
Guess what color proves to me as the best ?
Yeh, you guessed it, black.
Deal with it, work with it and enjoy it.
Site width and site picture are what needs to be experimented with.
And remember this, do not focus on the bullseye, just front site position in the rear notch.

Clarence

Sight black spray cans are good, but expensive. A good substitute is a matt black hair spray, a lot cheaper and stays on better.

David M wrote:Sight black spray cans are good, but expensive. A good substitute is a matt black hair spray, a lot cheaper and stays on better.

And you can use it on your bald spot. (boom ching)

Black sights for me. The Ray-Vin smoker works great and is very compact. Nice people to do business with,too.

Black...

That said, if you have the ability to change front sight blades, try drilling a 2 to 3 mm hole about 3 mm below the top of the sight and centered.

Use the sub-6 hold. The light coming through will demand that you keep your focus on the front sight.

Works very well!!

Tillman