Should I try to improve sights on my Colt 1911 Series 70 Reissue?

[duns]

I'm thrilled with my new acquisition - Colt 1911 Series 70 Reissue Government Model - that some of you very kindly helped me select on another thread. I love the look of the pistol, its weight and balance, and the crisp light trigger.

BUT: I can't see the sights against a dark target in the low light of an indoor range as the sights, front and back, are black. My elderly eyes may also be part of the problem.

It seems my options are (1) live with the sights they way they are, (2) paint them, or (3) fit different sights.

If I leave them the way they are, I will just be instinctively pointing and shooting, at least in certain lighting conditions or with dark colored targets. I was thinking that maybe many generations of shooters might have done exactly this so it might not be a totally unreasonable option? What do you think? I won't in the near future be using this as my self defense gun of choice so I'm thinking more about fun than functionality. Would I have more fun if I do something to improve the standard sights such as painting them or replacing them altogether?

I'm really looking for advice on broad strategy - leave alone, paint, or replace? Though if you have suggestions for a brand/colors of paint or brand of after-market sight, those would be welcome.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I regard sights you can see as a necessity on a fighting handgun. If you can't see them, by all means get different ones. I suggest night sights with white paint or rings around the inserts so you can see them in daylight or darkness. A fiber optic front is also worthy of consideration. For now, you can try painting the front sight a contrasting color such as orange or lime green with model paint or even nail polish. If the gun follows the original design and uses a staked-in front sight, your options for aftermarket sights are fewer and there is an additional expense to cut a dovetail slot in your slide.

 

[kenno]

I suppose if I was shootin at targets at night with a handgun with poor sights an I was all alone with no back-up an I wasn't smart enough to shoot center of mass (you should be lookin at your target, not the sights), and I had a really Brown Moment that prevented me from asking the basic question of how I got in THAT SPOT at THAT TIME with-out a shotgun, then yes I might want better sights as I don't know my firearm well enough to trust myself with it.
Yes buy new sights

 

[duns]

I regard sights you can see as a necessity on a fighting handgun.

This won't be my self defense handgun for the time being. Just thinking about how to have the most fun with it.

If the gun follows the original design and uses a staked-in front sight, your options for aftermarket sights are fewer and there is an additional expense to cut a dovetail slot in your slide.

I have a suspicion that may be the case so I'm thinking there's no harm in painting the sights initially and if that is not satisfactory then changing them out later.

 

[duns]

...you should be lookin at your target, not the sights...
Yes buy new sights

With respect, that seems a contradiction!

 

[DPris]

I have to have contrasting sights on working guns nowdays, black on black against black or brown targets just takes too much time & effort to line up.
One of the changes that'll eventually get made on my retro Series 70 will be three-dot sights.
One of the changes just made on an original Series 70 rebuild was three-dot sights.

On other guns I have gold front dots, white outline rear blades, orange front inserts, etc.

Many generations of shooters did live with guns as they came, inadequacies & all.
With all of the options & knowledge available today, the only reason for not adapting sights & other aspects of a gun to a better interface between it & its owner is that the owner just doesn't want to for whatever reason. Sometimes money, sometimes ignorance (lack of knowledge, not intelligence), sometime apathy.

On rec guns or certain classics I want to leave in original form, it's less of an issue for me, but if I may need to depend on a gun as a defensive tool, I get sights I can see in a hurry put on.

Roughly comparable to a scope vs iron sights. How many centuries did previous generations put up with irons & how much better can a typical rifleman shoot over distances today with good quality glass mounted?
Denis