I asked this question over on Bow Hunting and had a couple of excellent responses.
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I'd be interested in knowing when you have noticed the Fiber Optics first Illuminate and become Visible or when they Fade out in low light?

Lets say Sunrise is at 6AM and you are in the woods. And lets say you can just begin seeing the "color" of the leaves, trees, weeds, etc at 6:30AM. When does the Fiber Optic Illuminate from the ambient light and become visible?

Or for the afternoon folks, lets say Sunset is at 6PM and you loose the color of vegetation at 6:30PM. When does the ambient light dim enough that Fiber Optic no longer has Illumination?

If you don't use Fiber Optics, do you prefer something different for Low Light conditions?

I've hunted with the stock FOs that came on my Encore. Never had them fade at all. One elk, before sunrise, and one mule deer buck almost exactly 1/2 hour after sunset. With the deer, it was dark enough that I had to check my watch to make sure it was still legal. It was cloudy, and I was down in a canyon. As I shouldered the rifle, I was thinking to myself "no way I'm going to be able to see the sights." But they we were almost glowing, and they made the shot easy.

Thank you, great info.

HC, I've had one MLer that came with FOs but, I mainly used a scope on that rig as right after I bought it, optics were legalized here. Most of my FO experience comes with turkey guns. I've had two different sizes of adjustable FO turkey sights which are the same size as alot of the MLer offerings today. The sights are visible much longer than regular field sights with paint but, they are not like using a scope. A good scope will give you several more minutes of shooting time. Whether that time is legal or not depends alot on the weather(cloudy vs clear).

I'm going to have to buy some quality FO for one of my MLers for my CO Bull hunt in 09 but, I've got to do load development with My mlers first to see which does the best with the PBs or maybe the Saber Tooths. I personally like the smaller size FOs but the larger dots do bring in more light and last a little longer in low light situations.

Williams makes some good FO sights, probably who I'll go with when I decide which gun I'll take.

Good Luck

Reloader

quote:

Williams makes some good FO sights

My new Williams catalog arrived in todays mail.

I believe I can get the Williams FO set for this rifle and it will only be in the $27-$30 range. Been trying to decide if I also want one of their Peep Sights, but the rifle sure feels fine in my hand with no scope on it.

Probably do just as you mentioned and scope it long enough to get through the Load Development. I do have a Weaver Base and some really nice Weaver Quad Lock (4x4) Rings that go on and off very quickly.

Also considering getting another Weaver Base just like this one and cutting it off directly behind the Front Screws so the top of the Receiver is still unemcoumbered, and mount a 2oz Burris 4MOA Red Dot Reflex sight on it.

That would still have the rifle carry well, but the Low Light would still be a problem.

Maybe I could just pull a small wagon with me to carry all the Sight options.

Yep, it's hard to decide. I had a hard time deciding which sights to go with on my new turkey gun. I ended up going with a camo 2x7 Nikon.

How did you get the Williams catalog? Can I just order it from their site?

I really can't decide wheter I want to go with a peep and a FO front sight or go with FO front and rear

Have a Good One

Reloader

I really meant to include Williams phone number in my last post. They have all kinds of interesting stuff for Muzzleloaders, air rifles, rimfires and centerfire rifles.

1-800-530-9028, or you can go to Williams Gun Sight Company.

Just talked to the local Gun SHop today and told him to check on some prices for me. Not sure he can beat Natchez, but I'm going to give him a shot at it.

I missed killing a buck at 40 yds because of the front red sight. I chose to not shoot because the red was not illuminated yet and I wasn't sure I was lined up properly. The rear (green) sights were bright. It was just past legal shooting time.

Thanks Nate.

Does your Hunting time begin 30min after sunrise? Do you remember if it was overcast? Under a heavy leaf cannopy?

As I remember, it was very slightly overcast and we were in trees. It was late November so the leaves couldn't have been real thick, though there are still some clinging to the trees that late. I've never really thought of it before, but those two things could have a real impact on the amount of light reaching the sights. I was very disappointed though that the red sight lit up so much later than the greens.

Legal hunting hours here are from 30 min before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. It was light enough to clearly see the animal was one I wanted to shoot. I watched him trot off...

Hey Nate, Thanks again. My question about when your Hunting hours begin got garbled because of trying to do too many things at once. I did mean 30min "before" sunrise.

In the SC Lowcountry, our legal hours begin 60min before official sunrise. A BIG Objective Scope is a real benefit beginning about 40min before sunrise. But I've been thinking about these Fiber Optics for a new rifle I got.
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So it seems to just "depend" on where you are positioned and how much ambient light can get to those Fiber Optics.

Green does show up much better in low light.

I've tested diff colors in my bow sights over the years and I always come back to green.

The problem is most of the sites have diff colors front&rear. Maybe you can find some that have red rear and green front, I had some turkey gun sites like that once.

Good Luck

Reloader

Excellent suggestion. I'll see if that is possible when I get a chance to call them.

I've had the same experience as Nate, my T/C FO's on a Hawken have the green rear & red front. The red doesn't show up until about 15 min before sunrise, or about 30 min later than when the greens are visible.

Forgot to give you all an Update. I got a set of the Williams Fire Sights for my rifle, had to stone them a bit to get them to fit the Dovetails and then they fit fine.

Amazing to me how much clearer they are than the regular Iron Sights in the "Daylight". I've not shot without a scope in a long time and didn't know what to expect. So far, I like them real well.

Haven't had a chance to try them during Twilight, but I can't imagine them being harder to see than the regular Iron Sights. I'm expecting the glow to just Fade-Out and end up looking like regular Iron Sights, but that is speculation on my part.

Do have a scope ready to slip onto the Weaver Base when Twilight hits.

Color wise I like red rears and green front. I have seen blue rears which I liked even better. Green does show up the best and that is why I like it as the front.