FA Fiber Optic Sight blades

[Bearbait in NM]

I have a couple of questions about the FA fiber optic sights.  I am going to order one (several) next week for an upcoming hunt (mule deer and elk).  Does anyone know the diameter of the fiber face?
 
Second question is the color.  Red seems pretty traditional, but I am wondering for big game whether green would be a better color.  I just read the article in the American Rifleman about green lasers and the fact that they are brighter due to the human eye physiology. So I am wondering if the green might be a better choice.  Funds are kinda limited, so I was hoping to pick a color, and order two heights.
 
And I know there is the thread about customer service and wondering whether there are any problems.  I just replaced the bolt and trigger return spring in my gun ( many thousands of rounds) and Linda was not only there and answering the phone at 7:00 am in the morning, I had the springs next day air, the next business day.  Same awsome customer service as always.
 
Thanks,
 
Craig

[Ken ONeill]

The diameter of the fiber optic pipe and face is about .065". The overall diameter, including the steel ring (in other words, the amount of the target that would be obscured) is about .090", the same as the brass bead sight.
Some like 'em, some don't. When I've used fiber optic front sights, I've used both colors, and I've preferred green.

[Bearbait in NM]

Wow, Ken that was fast and thorough.  Thank you.  So that puts the entire width less than the .125 stock blade width, which was what I was hoping.  I actually have a modified TSOB base with a J Frame rear sight mounted at the rear, so I can go irons, scope or red dot with quick release rings.   A few years ago I was in the camp that said fiber optic fronts would never be on any revolver I own, mostly due to the questionable appearance, construction and what looked to be questionable durability of what I saw on the market. The FA fiber optic sight looks like it is built well, although I have not seen one in the flesh.
 
And, just turning 49, I am at the point that I need to explore some options for sights.  I have been playing with a new buckhorn setup on a Henry lever gun, and I am finding that I shoot it extremely well and accurately with both eyes open, treating the front white dot like the red dot in an electronic sight.  Maybe that is how they were designed to be shot, and I am just a little slow ;^).  I am hoping that the FA fiber optic sight will work in a similar fashion.  The ranch where I hunt and play has very thick cover by and large, so accuracy at long distances is usually not an issue. And at 40 bucks for the sight, I can certainly afford to experiment.
 
Thank you again, I was kinda leaning green and I do respect your insight.
 
Craig

[paul105]

The green fiber optic pin on a bow sight is the first to be seen at dawn, and the last to go dim at dusk (the others are red and yellow). 

My preference is the green fiber optic on my FAs (although I have and use both).

Here's a couple of pictures of the FA FO front.


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Paul

   

[Bearbait in NM]

Paul,
 
Thanks for the pictures.  i actually found the thread on the Sixgunner site where you all are discussing this a bit more.  My bow is in storage, but I did seem to recall that the green was usually the brightest, but as I was unsure of the diameter of the FA sights v. my bow sights, I definately wanted a second opinion.
 
So right now FA is having a bit of a back log with the sight bases (they have lots of fiber ;^)  ).  Linda is sending a couple that may be just a tad too small or too high, but I will be able to experiment some.  I am also getting a couple of the bead express sights, to play around with.  As I mentioned doing/having a custom rear sight integrated into a modified TSB base, I will actually be able to play around with the stock style square rear, or may even fab up a half moon (express?) rear if I want to get really creative.  And she did mention that they hope to have the sight bodies back from the bluing place in some number of weeks.  That might work for my hunt, if I do need to tweak the height some.
 
I have a suspicion that I may think the fiber's look like doggy doo on a nice FA gun, but as exchanging them is so easy, it does make sense to see if I can do something to help my eyes in low light hunting.  My gun rides on my hip all the time when out, so the black on black irons do well for general bumming and plinking, but I am digging a red dot on the gun, so my hopes are that I can see the fiber much like a red dot scope.  But in green...........
 
Thanks again,
 
Craig

[Bearbait in NM]

Just thought I would follow-up with some observations.
 
I did get both the green fiber optic sights, as well as the gold express bead.  The green is quite amazing as far as visibility in very low light, and the gold bead is just slightly less effective.  The neat thing about the gold express sight is that the face of the bead is ever so slightly concave (machined) and this seems to allow the sight to pick up light a tad better than some of the rifle gold bead sight I have used.  And obviously the gold bead does have less contrast than the green fiber optic on certain colors of background, but both seem to help in low light where you not only lose target contrast, you have the issue of seeing equal amounts of daylight on either side of the tradtional blade.  It is hard to explain, but having the round globe sitting in the square rear seems to be a bit quicker to see that the front is either in the right spot or not.
 
The green fiber optic and gold bead are both much better for my eyes than the tradtional blade sight in terms of accurately picking them up and shooting at closer ranges (50 yds +/-).  Although I am using a j frame rear, it is the same width as a FA rear sight and I am not having any problems controlling horizontal stringing.  My notch is a tad shorter than the FA rear, so the gold bead is a little proud on the top side, but still no issues hanging the dot in the notch.  The fiber optic is a perfect match for height in the rear blade. 
 
The only problem I am having right now is FA does not have the sight bases for the fiber optic sights in the height that I need.  There is a chance they may have them before my hunt, but right now I am fine with the gold bead express, as it is a vast improvement over the black blade.
 
FWIW,
 
Craig

[Lloyd Smale]

just my opinion but i dont like them. Ive never used them on a fa gun but have used them on other handguns and rifles and they just dont give a precise sight picture and have broke on me to often. Usually at a most inopertune time.

[HAMMERHEAD]

" I actually have a modified TSOB base with a J Frame rear sight mounted at the rear, so I can go irons, scope or red dot with quick release rings."


I would be very interested in the details on that. I have the TSOB mount, and would love to have an adjustable rear sight mounted in it.

[Bearbait in NM]

Hammer,
 
First, it is only adjustable for windage.  No way to make one adjustable for elevation without some major machining, and it is pretty easy to fiddle with different FA front sights..  I use hand tools.  And it is pretty much a one way trip for the base.  And I had to "mill" (file) another cross slot at the front of the base to have any hope of getting rings to clear a scope's turret area.
 
Basically, I milled a slot in the back of the mount, perpendicular to the mount, the width of a j frame sight tang, top down, the width (front to back) of the last rail portion of the tsob base.  I then drilled a hole in the j frame tang and the tsob base for a small screw.  I then used Brownell's Accragel (glass) in the slot, around the screw and tightened everything down.  Once everything set up, I filed the top screw head flush with the top of the base, and bead blasted everything.  The last thing to do was to cold blue the tang that is milled into the base.  I used the black dye with the accraglass, so it all actually looks pretty dang good.
 
As my gun is only 4 3/4" in length, I also cut the front of the tsob base right at the front of the frame, even with the part of the frame that accepts the barrel.  This allows me to use FA holsters that are cut for their red dot sight base (I also have one of these).
 
My first iteration was with a 1911 sight, but that did not hold up, as the tang on the sight was vertical, and I pinned it in from the side.  I also tried black moly resin on the whole affair, but the quick release rings of the various optics tended to chew into the moly resin paint, looking a little like heck. So the beadblast back to silver for the entire tsob base, with the rear sight and the portion of tang (blued) milled into the base looks pretty clean.  I have another tsob base that I may play around with, but I really to need to hit a gun show of some sort so I can handle various rear sight assemblies (Ruger's, larger Smiths, etc.)  I'd like to pick up a larger rear sight, perhaps one that I can find different blade styles from some place like Brownells.  I need a sight with a tang that comes into the center of the rear sight assembly, as opposed the J Frame sight which comes in to the top of the sight. This would allow me to mill a slot from the back of the tsob forward, then I can pin it with a roll pin from the top of the base, to give more support for abuse.
 
This first attempt was a proof of concept, and the J frame sight has held up to several hundred full throttle loads, so I think I am good to go.  It is kinda interesting to be able to switch from a scope, to a J Point, to an Aimpoint or use irons, with no mods to the gun.
 
Craig