Snub nose sights

[KY DAN]

I currently have and carry a model 36 smith and wesson flat latch and a smith and wesson model 49. I like both guns immensely, however the sights are difficult to pick up on. I have read about Kings gunsmith super police night sights and the ideal appeals to me.I want these two refinished in hard chrome with stag grips so cutting metal is not an issue to me. What options are there to improving sights either myself or by a actual expert?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

A dab of neon orange nail art polish on the front works for me.

 

[PI Rob]

I used some neon green arts and crafts paint my wife had laying around. Worked great

 

[unclenunzie]

A layer of white nail polish followed by some kind of bright color of your choice. Lastly you can put on a clear hard coat. Works.

 

[ACORN]

All of the above. WalMart sell neon nail polish for a couple bucks a bottle. White base followed by the color of your choosing.

 

[joneb]

I have a S&W 36 ND, and use uncle Mike's boot grips on it. These grips allow me to point shoot the gun well enough to reliably hit a paper plate at 7 yards without using the sights.

 

[Riomouse911]

I use Testors model paint, white followed by blaze orange. Same good result as the nail polish mentioned above.

I can’t see the sights on the several of my handguns when shooting at indoor ranges so several of my guns wear this treatment.

Stay safe.

 

[Merle1]

A layer of white nail polish followed by some kind of bright color of your choice. Lastly you can put on a clear hard coat. Works.

I found this to be the best option.......
The white undercoat really brings out the color.
For me, fluorescent green worked the best.

 

[Tinman357]

Flourescent green testors over a white base coat. The human eye can see green better than any color in the spectrum.

Try a red and green laser side by side. The green appears much brighter. It's not, it's just a diffrent wavelength (color) the eye sees it better.

Before my eye surgery, I tried several different colors side by side. The green stood out much more.

I couldn't begin to describe my vision after the surgery. I feel like a cyborg and have an unfair advantage at a range using a peep sight on a rifle. 2 small ring "shadows" in the center of the rear peep with the smaller "ring" almost a dot on top of the front sight post. But only in bright light. It's almost impossible to miss. I use the "rings" like cross hairs in the peep. Scores are way up.

 

[Waveski]

You might want to consider preserving the 36 flat latch as is , or selling it to someone who wants a flat latch - that is a desirable and classic snub nose revolver.
Find yourself a model 60 and send that one out for modification. With a 60 you would have stainless , would not even need the chrome.

 

[bannockburn]

KY DAN

As many others have already suggested possibly painting your front sight with some sort of fluorescent color could improve your sight acquisition. I also would advise against getting your two J frames hard chrome plated as they have a certain collector's value in their present condition. If it were me I would look for an older Model 60 or Model 649 (both stainless steel construction), or else an alloy frame version like the Model 638, for concealed carry.

 

[Eddietruett]

I agree with @joneb. At defense range you really don't need sights. You should be able to keep everything in the kill zone at 10 yards with no sights at all. There was a Narcotics Officer that was a member of our club that had the first Model 66 Snub I had ever seen. He had removed the rear sight and ground down the front sight so it wouldn't get hung up on his holster. Had the ugliest set of grips that he had reworked to fit his hands. He could draw and put all 6 shots in the head of a silhouette target so fast it would make your head spin. He taught me a lot about point shooting. If the grips fit correctly, the gun comes up and you just point and shoot. It was actually very easy with some practice. I still shoot my defense guns that way. Save the money you would spend on the special sights and spend it on practice ammo. Another thing the cop always said was taking the extra few seconds trying to line up the sights may cost you your life.

 

[SwampWolf]

In addition to the fact you don't need enhanced sights on a snub-nose revolver for relatively short-range shooting in terms of practical accuracy, any sight much bigger than a lump on the end of the barrel and a groove on the top-strap might contribute to a snag on a draw from places like your pocket-the last thing you want to happen if you have to address the target in a big hurry.
When it comes to making the front sight more visible in low-light conditions, I've had good luck putting a dab of florescent enamel (I'm partial to the chartreuse color) that is intended for painting fishing jigs (Netcraft out of Toledo, Ohio is a good source if they're still around and, of course, Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops should have it). This paint is very visible and is tough enough to withstand a lot of hard knocks.