I switched to plain black rears after my first week of low-light training. We had Beretta M9 and Remington 870 shotguns for the training, the shotguns hag ghost ring tritium rear sights and tritium front. The Berettas had white dot front and white post rear sight. After day one I sharpied the rears on both guns. The tritium dots on the rear of the shotgun were a total distraction, and the white post on the rear of the pistol easily became confused with the white dot once the glasses fogged up, or there was smoke or debris in the air.
If I could have put gold beads on them, I would have. And mounted lights, but that was not a thing back then.

 

I am sending my two Baer's out for some mods real soon, and one mod will be replacing tritium with straight black rear and gold bead front. I got caught up in the tritium thing when it was all the hype. For the range, I find anything on the rear sight is a distraction, when the point is to focus on the front. Gold bead really works for me. Tritium is probably still a good option for concealed carry, but I don't like it at the range. And I really don't like fiber optic at all.

 

This one is pretty big. From the "other" 1911 site:

 

If they were larger I'd like them more but as it is nowadays I prefer FO.

 

Blacked out rear with some sort of high contrast front is my preference. I don't really care if it's fiber, a metal dot, trit with a fluorescent ring, or whatever.

Gold dot looks the nicest, tho

 

Brass can and will tarnish...GOLD never does. I love the look of it, and the functionality during daylight hours. Hence the gold bead on my competition Wilson. But for a serious defense pistol, like my EDC Ed Brown Kobra Carry, I like an HD tritium front sight. Fiber optics are, in my opinion, ugly and fragile.

 

Personally I think it's form over function but not quite "chrome that won't get you home"

 

I was noticing gold dots been a fan fav mentioned among other 1911 forums

 

I have had brass bead front sights, gold bead front sights, and varying black or tritium sights.

The best and fastest one for carry or duty guns to me is the Ameriglo or Trijicon tritium front sight with a big orange polymer ring around it. Easy to pick up in any light and the front sight just stands out so sharply. Not as fragile as the plain fiber-optic sights, and much brighter than gold or brass beads.

However, gold or brass bead sights never need to be replaced, so I like to have a gold bead front sight on the pistols I mainly have for collector pieces. Currently that is only one pistol, though, but if I ever ordered another custom build, I'd probably go for a gold bead.

I will say that gold and brass do not seem equal to me. Brass tarnishes and gets dull faster and doesn't seem as bright even when clean. Gold seems brighter and polishes nicely. If it's a domed bead, I find that better as well, as a flat one mainly reflects light straight back and is most reflective from a perfect sight picture, while a domed and polished bead, for me anyway, is picked up more readily from imperfect sight pictures.

 

Dude, have you tried the Amerglo Lumi-Green? Seriously, give it a shot, it is sorcery. I've had the red/orange black out on me*, the Lumi-green is amazing.

*I need reading glasses, so I have to have a FS that really stands out if I'm not wearing them.

 

I would mail you 50 of them, but the cost of sending them is more than they cost to go buy yourself.
Gold wire would work too, and you could just hit the sight with a torch and press the gold into the hole and it would melt right in. Would arguably be a much better fit, but would not be easy to dome like mine.

 

I would mail you 50 of them, but the cost of sending them is more than they cost to go buy yourself.
Gold wire would work too, and you could just hit the sight with a torch and press the gold into the hole and it would melt right in. Would arguably be a much better fit, but would not be easy to dome like mine.

😂 Now Rose Gold Or Cubic Zirconia.....Don't forget 🧡 shaped. 😂😂😂 i suppose you triggered my inner Cheap... Didn't Bill Wilson start in the back of Jewelry Store?

 

This will be nothing new to you veterans, but on your brass beads , use good old brasso to easily shine it up and put a touch of clear nail polish on the polished dome. Lasts a good long time, cheap and easy to do.

Not a replacement for a gold bead , but have you priced gold lately?

 

I'm not a fan of gold or brass bead front sights. A green fiber optic is my favorite.

 

I have one currently and I like it.

 

Though I knew about gold bead sights, I'd never tried one. That is until I acquired my NHC Classic commander last year. It showed me the gold bead front works great for me. I'm in the process of swapping out the night sights on a few of my 1911's, to gold bead.

I agree that the night sights with colored rings show up better. They are also wider that I prefer.

And yes, gold bead front sights look great, too!

 

I had the gold dot on my ECP and felt pretty strongly a night sight would work a lot better. I ordered one from Novak and they sent me a NightFission I think it was and told me it might take a little fitting. I’ve been filing on it and sanding on it for a couple weeks now and I may have to put the gold dot back on. Additionally, the gold dot on the Dan Wesson ECP was a nightmare to remove, worse than any I have ever done.

 

I have gold on one of my Colts and a Les Baer. I like the simplicity and also the look.

 

Thats a nice Colt!

 

Worked well just now

 

A gold bead front sight is easy to pick up. They do work. If there isn't enough light to see it, then use the side of the slide as your sight.

Although, in this case, you do need to be sure of what you are tossing lead at too.

Need to mention, been through the glow in the dark sights, all black sights, then a gold dot/bead front. Go for the gold...

45_JMB

 

I think that gold is used as much or more for it being a precious material as it is for functionality. I'm sure the color difference between a light yellow brass and gold isn't going to be that great. But the brass just doesn't have the prestige or status that gold does. I think this is along the same logic of using mammoth for grips. For me personally, I can't see any logic in using that material. In most cases, a nice figured piece of wood looks much better than any piece of mammoth. But that's not the point of using mammoth. It's because it's supposed to be rare and therefore expensive. It's more of a status thing than a functional thing. For that matter, I'd never have a set of polished mammoth or wood grips. A grip is called a grip for a reason. It's supposed to help you hold and maintain a grip on the pistol. Checkering or stippling helps you do that so much better. But this is also why polished grips tend to be on barbecue guns or mantle pieces rather than functional firearms.

 

I disagree on the brass/gold thing. Having had both, I can tell you it's more than just the "precious metal" thing. Brass tends to tarnish and lose its luster - gold never does.

 

Well I didn't care until Me Precious walked into my life. I have looked at brass beads but they do tarnish. Shotty's I have with them before going out I clean them. The Gold is impressive in low light at an indoor range especially if the light source is behind it.

Natural light from a window.

 

I had a Wilson Experior Commander with a gold bead and it was my favorite set of irons I’ve ever had. I regret selling it. Very fast acquisition, picked up well even in low light, very bright in higher illumination too.

 

Brass can tarnish over time. A gold dot will remain bright forever.

 

Gold definitely beats brass in my opinion. I have one of each and I paint my brass one as I don't care for it.

 

gold bead on each of these

 

Outstanding collection!!

 

I like gold dome better, but whatever works. I even made one once that I really like.
This on my 3913.

 

I like gold dome better, but whatever works. I even made one once that I really like.
This on my 3913. View attachment 1419561
View attachment 1419560

This sounds like a new project. How much gold did you use? Looking around Jewelry wire can be purchased by the inch. It might be an idea if one could use a FSO mount and the right epoxy.