Color coding front blade for elevation?

[corbanzo]

I had a little idea....


I usually put a little color on my front blade sights for better picture, and was thinking of using a couple different colors stacked on the blade incase I wanted to play out past 50-100 yard mark... anybody ever try this?

[Lloyd Smale]

it would proably work at least somewhat. i use gold bars on front blades for the same thing. When the range gets out past a 100 yards you need a good site picture and i just dont know if a painted line on a blade would give you enough definition.

[spruce]

May work fair in good lighting, but in poorer lighting conditions will probably lack any definition.
 
I believe Elmer Keith recommended a horizontal line inscribed on the front blade for long range shooting.  Can't remember now exactly how he did it, but I seem to recall he used a file to inscribe the line - and maybe filled in the line with paint to highlight it?
 
I guess I'd do a lot of experimenting with temporary lines before I got out the file!

[ironglow]

  Sounds like a good idea, but you will just have to try it.  Like Lloyd & Spruce, I have some apprehension concerning definition..but hey; it's worth a try.  perhaps even a "step" added beside of the rear sight groove..

[Mikey]

I think it might be very difficult to try and focus on one or two color bars on a front sight while you are trying to get a good sight picture for a shot.  I have enough trouble just keeping a solid sight picture and have never even been able to clearly see the red bar on the S&W front sights.  I just go with the overall black sight picture, but good luck. 

[SHOOTALL]

if your front sight is black use chalk to cover the top part you want to hold up . then you can mark after getting hold correct. Keep in mind a cloudy day and a brite day make the target look different. So you may need two marks at longer range. More than two bars gets crowded.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

Elmer had gold lines placed in some of his guns to aid in elevation at long distances.. I tried gold lines with a marker, but I am not pistoleer enough to be effective..Ross Siefryeed(?) I always have trouble with his name, did an article on this in one of the Handloader magazines..

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got quite a few handguns with gold bars for refernces for long range shooting. It does work but even they can wash out in bright light. Never was a fan of colared sight blades or inserts. they lack definition even in good light conditions. A good black blade with a flat front surface gives me the best sight picture. the gold bar blades i have were made by dave clements or other gunsmiths. Im sure though you could do the same with a jewelers file and some gold paint.

[ole 5 hole group]

I also had Dave Clements make my front sights with a gold bar insert - I had him thin the front blade down to 0.100", as the standard width is 0.125", and it does make a difference getting your sight alignment just a tad quicker.

[Lloyd Smale]

sounds identical to the half a dozen hed made for me. thinning them to .10 allows a bit of light between the sight blade and the rear sight sides and is the ticket for low light shooting. It is a much better solution for low light then a colared blade ever will be. That along with the post style vs a ramp gives those blades about the best sight picture i could imagine on a 6 gun

I also had Dave Clements make my front sights with a gold bar insert - I had him thin the front blade down to 0.100", as the standard width is 0.125", and it does make a difference getting your sight alignment just a tad quicker.