Tritium phosphor night sights for AK from Gun Parts?

[uncle_mike]

In the Gun Parts Catalog (catalog 22, page 642) I saw the following:

AK Tritium Night Sights

Luminous dot night sights clip on to existing front and rear sights and can be flipped out of the way during daylight. For commercial, Chinese, and European models. ITEM #557090 $23.85 ea

Anybody know anything about, or have any experience, with these?

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[teamafx]

Thats too much. Ask Backblast he has them on his gun. I have seen them at gun shows for $10. Are they the EG ones?

Steve



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If Sam Colt made men equal then Mikhail Kalashnikov made a few superior.

[Tomac]

AA-OK is selling the radium EG models for $6. Radium has a half-life of 1,600 yrs so they should glow for some time yet. Rear sight blade clips on and folds down when not in use. Haven't figured out the fold-down clip on front sight yet (any advice, anyone?)
Tomac

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[uncle_mike]

Unfortunately, it would appear from AA-OK's web site that they have a $40 minimum order and a minimum $8 shipping charge. I wonder what other little goodies they have that I won't be able to live without. http://www.ak47forums.com/smile.gif

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Personal weapons are what lifted mankind out of the mud. The rifle is the queen of personal weapons. - Col. Jeff Cooper

[trotsky]

I've bought from them - and their parts are VERY good... crappy site, great parts. Just be sure you SPECIFY that they are not to use FEDEX "Signiture Required" shipping - or you will not see your parts unless you stay home waiting for the truck.

It's easy to hit that minimum... just let things add up a bit http://www.ak47forums.com/smile.gif

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[Tomac]

I ordered 2 of their setscrew AK-74 brakes & 2 of the AK-74 radium night sight sets for my SAR-2s to make their $40 minimum. Maybe see how many people will go in together for a group order? I had them ship via USPS to avoid the big UPS/FedEx charges.
Tomac

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[backblast]

I have a number of these sets. These are not, nor were they ever, true glow in the dark tritium. These are phosfluorescent, meaning they need an outside source of light to activate the tritium. Once activated tho, they will last the entire nite time plus a few hours. These will NEVER have to be replaced (unless damaged of course) like the true tritium sites will. They have an indefinite life span. I like these better, knowing that I don't have to worry about them running out of juice.

Get ya a couple of sets. They are nice. True military. Not a commercial knock off with fancy go fast stuff that will fail sooner or later.

cya


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[Tomac]

Backblast is right, they aren't radium as AA-OK states. I'll charge 'em up and do a longevity test tonight and will probably give AA-OK a call in the morning about their "mistake"...
Tomac

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[teamafx]

Next gun show I will have to pick up a set to see how well they work. About how many hours do they stay lit up?

Steve

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If Sam Colt made men equal then Mikhail Kalashnikov made a few superior.

[Tomac]

Backblast, how in the h*ll did you get these things to stay lit "the entire night"? I charged 2 sets under a halogen lamp for a few minutes and an hour later they were dim, 7 hours later they were dead.
Tomac

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[uncle_mike]

If the fluorescent sights don't actually have tritium, or some other radiation source, then they're pretty useless, IMHO. I've had watches with fluorescent dials but no radition source, and none of them lasted more than an hour or so. Trijicon sights have tritium, and reamain luminous continually. I thought these commie sights were a bit cheap for real tritium phosphor sights.

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Personal weapons are what lifted mankind out of the mud. The rifle is the queen of personal weapons. - Col. Jeff Cooper

[backblast]

Hey Tomac, remember you have to have your nite eyes. The faintest light when you have your nite eyes (painful when exposed to light) is where this comes in. It only takes a few moments of a light source to activate these. Try hitting them with light before twilight, then at about 5 in the am without having any light in your eyes during this time, look at them (actually, nite eyes take about an hour give or take, everyone is different.) They have a very, very faint glow. That is what you want. If they were any brighter, they would obstruct with light (blind you to the target) what you are trying to shoot at. You want the faintest glow.

And, if they aren't bright enough for you, you can always hit them later if you like. I would hope you would never go out with some light source!

Yes, these work like they are supposed to. Just don't try to make them do more than they have to. All they do is line up your sites while still being able to see your target just over the top of them.

cya

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[Tomac]

Backblast, for $6 I can't complain but my test was very similar to what you outlined: At 10:15pm I exposed them to the halogen lamp for a few minutes then went to bed with the sights closed up in the headboard compartment so they wouldn't inadvertantly receive any additional light. I woke up about 11:30 and looked at the sights and they were dim (no big deal) but when I woke up at 5:30am (my normal wakeup time) in the dark the sights were completely dark. I stared at them for several minutes examining them at different angles, but no go. Again, I'm not surprised but it would be nice if they stayed active a little longer (I think some night time range tests are in order...)
Tomac

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[backblast]

Hmmmm. Aw nuts, your gonna have to go shooting, huh? http://www.ak47forums.com/biggrin.gif

Remember, a full test of the sites is not complete until you test them with at least 3 full magazines! http://www.ak47forums.com/biggrin.gif

Let us know how it goes.

cya

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