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Nite sights on my Hellcat

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RickinPA

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Hi folks, new here. Would like to ask a question about the tritium front sight on my new Hellcat. Just bought the gun this past Saturday and was quite enthused about the front sight as my old eyes were able to pick it up very easily at my dealers store. They put it in it's box and when I got home I realized the glow had already been gone. I put a very strong LED light on it for about 30 seconds and it lit up fine, but when I checked it about an hour later, it was "dead" again. Tried setting it in the sun the next day for about a half hour and again after about 45 minutes later the glow was gone. Question is, how long are the tritium sights supposed to hold a charge after getting bright light shone on them. I sent an email to Springfield and this is the, in my mind somewhat "terse" answer I got back;

Hello,

I apologize sir but I do not have a way to make it glow brightly for longer periods.

I am sorry about your eyesight but there isn’t a way to make the glow last longer.



Have a great day!

Penne B | Customer Service Team Leader
Springfield Armory®.

Any knowledge you folks can give me on these sights would be greatly appreciated. Am I possibly expecting too much from them? Thank you in advance, Rick D. in PA
 
RickinPA said:
Hi folks, new here. Would like to ask a question about the tritium front sight on my new Hellcat. Just bought the gun this past Saturday and was quite enthused about the front sight as my old eyes were able to pick it up very easily at my dealers store. They put it in it's box and when I got home I realized the glow had already been gone. I put a very strong LED light on it for about 30 seconds and it lit up fine, but when I checked it about an hour later, it was "dead" again. Tried setting it in the sun the next day for about a half hour and again after about 45 minutes later the glow was gone. Question is, how long are the tritium sights supposed to hold a charge after getting bright light shone on them. I sent an email to Springfield and this is the, in my mind somewhat "terse" answer I got back;

Hello,

I apologize sir but I do not have a way to make it glow brightly for longer periods.

I am sorry about your eyesight but there isn’t a way to make the glow last longer.



Have a great day!

Penne B | Customer Service Team Leader
Springfield Armory®.

Any knowledge you folks can give me on these sights would be greatly appreciated. Am I possibly expecting too much from them? Thank you in advance, Rick D. in PA
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RickinPa there has been a couple threads on this forum concerning your issue with the Tritium sights and although I have no experience with them from what I understand they are made using an Isotope that is not charged by light.
I’m sure the staff members on the forum can provide you with help in this situation. xdman and KLGunner are your best resource.
 
RickinPA said:
Hi folks, new here. Would like to ask a question about the tritium front sight on my new Hellcat. Just bought the gun this past Saturday and was quite enthused about the front sight as my old eyes were able to pick it up very easily at my dealers store. They put it in it's box and when I got home I realized the glow had already been gone. I put a very strong LED light on it for about 30 seconds and it lit up fine, but when I checked it about an hour later, it was "dead" again. Tried setting it in the sun the next day for about a half hour and again after about 45 minutes later the glow was gone. Question is, how long are the tritium sights supposed to hold a charge after getting bright light shone on them. I sent an email to Springfield and this is the, in my mind somewhat "terse" answer I got back;

Hello,

I apologize sir but I do not have a way to make it glow brightly for longer periods.

I am sorry about your eyesight but there isn’t a way to make the glow last longer.



Have a great day!

Penne B | Customer Service Team Leader
Springfield Armory®.

Any knowledge you folks can give me on these sights would be greatly appreciated. Am I possibly expecting too much from them? Thank you in advance, Rick D. in PA
Click to expand...
Hi Rick,

Good question! Springfield’s customer service representatives are great but sometimes email doesn’t get across exactly the question we need answered and vice versa for the answers. Penne is correct that the outer ring can only remain charged for so long.

The Hellcat front sight (the dot inside a dot, not the fiber optic) has a tritium center and luminescent outer ring. As you mentioned, the outer ring is meant for daytime visibility but also “charges” with light. The intensity and duration of the light it is exposed to will determine its initial brightness and longevity in low light situations. But, like the glow in the dark novelty’s from childhood, that glow is fleeting. The center dot, however, is radioactive tritium. While it is not as bright as the ring when charged, it should be easily visible in the dark and the brightness constant regardless of time. Tritium does fade over a span of years but a set I have from 6 years ago is still very usable despite some dimming.

If the center dot you have doesn’t glow enough to be easily seen in darkness I would call Springfield’s customer service and explain your concerns based on the information above. I’m sure with the back and forth available through a phone conversation they will be able to address your concerns. Let us know how it turns out.

Springfield Armory’s customer service representatives can answer your questions/concerns Monday through Friday 8:30 to 4:30 CST via phone at 1-800-680-6866, International: +1-309-944-5631
 
OkiePewPew said:
Hi Rick,

Good question! Springfield’s customer service representatives are great but sometimes email doesn’t get across exactly the question we need answered and vice versa for the answers. Penne is correct that the outer ring can only remain charged for so long.

The Hellcat front sight (the dot inside a dot, not the fiber optic) has a tritium center and luminescent outer ring. As you mentioned, the outer ring is meant for daytime visibility but also “charges” with light. The intensity and duration of the light it is exposed to will determine its initial brightness and longevity in low light situations. But, like the glow in the dark novelty’s from childhood, that glow is fleeting. The center dot, however, is radioactive tritium. While it is not as bright as the ring when charged, it should be easily visible in the dark and the brightness constant regardless of time. Tritium does fade over a span of years but a set I have from 6 years ago is still very usable despite some dimming.

If the center dot you have doesn’t glow enough to be easily seen in darkness I would call Springfield’s customer service and explain your concerns based on the information above. I’m sure with the back and forth available through a phone conversation they will be able to address your concerns. Let us know how it turns out.

Springfield Armory’s customer service representatives can answer your questions/concerns Monday through Friday 8:30 to 4:30 CST via phone at 1-800-680-6866, International: +1-309-944-5631
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Thank you Okie I stand corrected and have learned even more today.
 
Thanks guys. Will call CS Monday to see what they can tell me. Getting ready to watch my favorite President at Mount Rushmore on Fox this evening. I really appreciate the info. Took the Hellcat out for a spin today and after about 200 rounds sat down and did some serious sighting in with several defensive loads. Steinel 124gr. - Subcompact Carry hollow points, Black Hills 100gr. Honey Badger, Barnes 115gr. TacXPD, and Blackwater 124gr. Contractor Grade mono hollow points all had the same results. 3 rounds each @ 15 yards and really taking my time, each load put 1 ragged hole with 3 shots. Thankfully my Grandson was there to witness because I didn't believe it myself! That Hellcat made me look real good! doesn't matter which defensive load I go with now, they are all excellent. Gotta go git me some more of each. Loves my Hellcat!! Oh and that was off sandbag rests.
 
OkiePewPew is correct. My recent warranty service shows the Hellcat front sight is an XD series sight. My little tritium front dot on my new Hellcat OSP was DOA. Sent the slide back for replacement. It came back reasonably quickly and the paperwork said the replacement, which was identical to the original was an XD model. From that, I assume anything made for the XD line should work.
 
Lock n' Load said:
OkiePewPew is correct. My recent warranty service shows the Hellcat front sight is an XD series sight. My little tritium front dot on my new Hellcat OSP was DOA. Sent the slide back for replacement. It came back reasonably quickly and the paperwork said the replacement, which was identical to the original was an XD model. From that, I assume anything made for the XD line should work.
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That’s correct, all XD models and the Hellcat use the same sight profile.
 
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