I have both and prefer the gold bead. I do have 3 dot night sights on my bedside gun so I can see it readily if I have to grab it in pitch blackness.

 

I spec'd out my Pro with a Tritium front sight. My only complaint is that it is kind of hard to see in the daytime. For my other pistols I have chosen to go with Trijicon HD night sights which are highly visible in any light.

 

I think gold bead is the classiest look and defnitely fits right in with WC pistols. Personally, I opt for tritium on my carry pistols simply for practical reasons. Gold bead picks up light very nicely and presents a bright focal point when there is ample light but will not help in dark conditions.

I have 2 CQB compacts on order for me and the wife. Mine has tritium because I intend to include it in my carry rotation. Hers has the gold bead because she doesn't carry. Just my two cents.

 

I personally think that night sights (on ANY gun, not just WC) are overrated. In a SD situation you may not even have time to aim. It's more important to have a gun that points naturally which of course the 1911 does exceptionally well. Night sights have a lifespan. They need to be changed out every 8-10 years because they will start to dim. This means you have to send the gun back to the manufacturer, find a local 'smith who can do the job without messing up your slide (good luck with THAT), or purchase a sight pusher tool for about $125.00 and do the job yourself. I personally prefer the fiber optic sight to the gold bead but they are both excellent choices since they are both "permanent" sights.

Lastly - and I know this is going to be controversial but I'm listing here only for the sake of completeness - there are potential safety issues with night sights. The glow is caused by radioactivity it's not a chemical reaction like with a Cyalume light stick for instance. That’s why the glow of the light stick only lasts a few hours while the glow of Tritium night sights last for years. Tritium night sights are not permitted in Europe. Now this certainly could be an overreaction on their part (kind of like California which labels "everything" as a cancer causing agent) but if you are going to order night sights you should have a basic understanding of how they work.

 

I have nights sights on my sig 1911. They are what they are. I like them because you can see your gun in total darkness on the night-stand (as someone mentioned above). I may push the gun just a little further away after 45's warning ;-). They also help you point the gun in darkness....At the range, I have absolutly never ever had a problem focusing on the top of the front sight (rather than lining up the 3-dots, which some folks warn against for daytime shooting).

PS: I wouldn't put them on a "target" gun or competion gun per se, but I am glad I have them on at least one of my pistols. Different configs give one more options.

PPS: I also keep an XDs-45 with triger-guard laser, and an XDM-Comp-45 with surefire 300 Light/laser on the same night stand. I believe lasers are the best thing to use in a house for a close and personal situation - especially at night (otherwise I don't care for lasers).

 

I have gold bead fronts on 2 of my WCs, tritium on 1 and fiber optic on 1. In absolute dark the tritiums are the only ones that you can see, of course. In very bright sunlight the FO is the brightest and easiest to pick up. In all other light conditions (cloudy, indoor, fading, etc.) the gold bead is the fastest and easiest for me to see. They have the side benefit of looking the best to me as well.

 

Depends on how you want to use the gun.

If you need to use the gun at night... get a rail with a SureFire x400 and be done with it.

I prefer a plain black sight for precise/target shooting.

I think Gold Bead functions the best with any sort of light available. You pick it up quickly.

FO works great in sunlight.

Don't overthink it..

 

I find it remarkable how well I can pick up a gold front sight, even in low light. The first pistol I ordered with one was a TSG with Turnbull CCH and bluing. The gold sight seemed to be the obvious option for that combo, but it really works well. I have since received another pistol with one. I also have three WC 1911s with fiber optic sights. The 6th WC I have on order has a gold dot spec'd so you can see that I remain sold on them.

To be honest, these 1911s aren't my "go to" SD pistols, but I agree with a comment made above. Anyone that thinks night sights are great because you can take a shot in the dark is seriously neglecting the requirement to positively ID your target in low light conditions. The ambient light from a flashlight (essential element of a home defense plan) has been shown to be adequate for picking up the gold dot in my experience. In bright outdoor shooting the fibers obviously do well, but not so much that I think the gold dots are disadvantaged. Looks great on pistols of quality too.

 

I find it remarkable how well I can pick up a gold front sight, even in low light. The first pistol I ordered with one was a TSG with Turnbull CCH and bluing. The gold sight seemed to be the obvious option for that combo, but it really works well. I have since received another pistol with one. I also have three WC 1911s with fiber optic sights. The 6th WC I have on order has a gold dot spec'd so you can see that I remain sold on them.

Too be honest, these 1911s aren't my "go to" SD pistols, but I agree with a comment made above. Anyone that thinks night sights are great because you can take a shot in the dark is seriously neglecting the requirement to positively ID your target in low light conditions. The ambient light from a flashlight (essential element of a home defense plan) has been shown to be adequate for picking up the gold dot in my experience. In bright outdoor shooting the fibers obviously do well, but not so much that I think the gold dots are disadvantaged. Looks great on pistols of quality too.

Excellent post.

 

For what its worth, my next order will be spec'd with a gold bead from sight.

 

My 9mm CQB came with a gold bead and I really like the sight alot, seems to work well in low light situations and I am considering changing out to tritium front on my CQB compact to a gold bead. All of my other Wilson's wear fiber optic fronts and I like them as much as the GB.

 

I don't think anyone said you are not allowed to use a flashlight with night sights .

Let us be honest, the best way to make a shot in CQB-darkness is with a flashlight and laser (another argument can ensue as to whether the light should be on a gun rail or not --- I like the gun rail solution). ---Various solutions away from the Light/laser approach each has their tradeoffs, and is mostly user's choice, and depending on how you train. --There are few "absolutes".

I have many fiber (2 with lasers on the gun), some plain iron, and one night sight up front on pistols. Gold bead is comming next week with my EP. But for a beadside gun (all other things being equal), I'd take a night site over a gold bead. -For a general purpose sight I suspect gold bead would do you better than a night site...

 

While I'll agree having a flashlight at night is a very good thing to ID your target, in a SD situation or being engaged in a parking lot at night there may not be enough time to find your flashlight and your pistol.

Also having a weapon mounted light is a great thing, but have to wonder how many civilians or non LEO have a concealed carry piece with rail and dedicated attached light at all times.

For me a tritium front sight only works best. In a worst case night time scenario, where you are able to determine there is a threat (you are in a fight for your life) and time is of greatest importance, having a front sight that glows under any light condition is going to allow you the fastest target acquisition. Not to take anything away from those who use a light or laser, but in my humble opinion having a tritium front night sight is the first layer of sighting, being able to shoot in the dark, and may be the only sighting device you have time to acquire.

 

If you're getting mugged in a parking lot, you probably wont even have time to look at your front sight. You're probably looking at a retention draw stroke.

I'm not knocking on tritium but people need to get real with these scenarios.

Training overcomes all.

And if you can't ID your target with a light in a pitch black scenario, you're going to need a very good lawyer for the questions that are headed your way from a DA.

 

OP,
The gold bead really stands out nicely against the black post which it is affixed to and as long as the rear sight is black blade or similar with no dots. I have found that it really pops to my eye quickly and better then any tritiums I have and I focus on aligning the post and not several dots.

 

I received my SG about a month ago. Ordered it with a gold bead front sight. First 3 shots at 12 yards went through the same hole, bullseye BTW. I attribute a bunch of that to Wilson but I have other Wilsons I have not been able to do that with and to me the gold bead is the best front sight I have used. I will be replacing other 1911's I have with gold beads. Just do it.

 

Depends on your eyes and what they pick up the best. Find a shop and look at each. My preference, in descending order, is FO red, gold dot and night.

 

Depends on your eyes and what they pick up the best. Find a shop and look at each...

This. Just like FBF, everyone will have his/her own preference. I like the look of both gold bead and night sight. I just personally prefer night sights for my carry pistols because my eyes have no problem acquiring them fast.

 

Gold bead hands down.
No FO

 

You probably shoot more in the light than in complete darkness so...

 

It also depends on the intended use of the gun. If primarily your home defense gun, night sights may be the way to go. I have never seen this mentioned, but the nights sights are bright enough to aid in weapon location. I can spot the one night sight pistol I own from across the room. Obviously it stays within arm's length, but if stirred from a deep sleep I would have no trouble locating the gun.

 

Gold bead. Quick, classy, last forever and picks up any ambient light.For night time or indoors a flashlight, rail or hand held is a must. Training is also a must

 

If the gun is a dedicated personal defense/backup combat gun, go with tritium front and Battle rear. Needing a flashlight for low light is a given and the gun mounted vs handheld argument will go on until The Apocalypse. If you use a flashlight in a night shooting your ability to index the gun from practice, repetition and training will be more important than your sights anyway. The only scenario outside of this will be a precision shot needing to be made.

I really like the gold bead and have a few. But, I still like a good old fashioned tritium front on a gun carried for absolute defense purposes.

 

This!!! +1 ...

 

In my experience the bead is more visible under normal conditions than the nite sight. It has to be nearly pitch black to see the nite sight, if you can't see the target it really doesn't matter whether the sight glows in the dark or not.

 

For general purpose use, I prefer the gold bead. The functional most similar "alternative" to the gold bead is the fiber optic sight.

Tritium, on the other hand, is for a specific purpose -- night-time and/or darkness usage. And for that purpose, there isn't a good alternative (without going to specialty optics, etc.). As you probably know, tritium has a limited life-space ... about 10-years. So I wouldn't select it unless you need it ... but if you do need it, there's no substitute.

In summary, a gold bead is not a satisfactory substitute for tritium in conditions of substantial darkness; and tritium is not a satisfactory substitute for gold bead (or fiber optic) for general purpose usage (you may as well be using a plain post sight).

I personally own one Wilson 1911 with tritium and three Wilson 1911s with gold bead. (My fifth Wilson 1911 -- mostly a safe queen blued SG -- has a plain front post).
There are reasons for the selections: I needed one night-time suitable 1911 for SD (thus the tritium selection); and for all other purposes, I've found the gold bead to be my favorite front sight (and for the safe queen/collectible, a "plain" sight seemed more in keeping with the 1911's history).

When a person is buying his/her first Wilson, it is so tempting to select options that the buyer hopes will meet all foreseeably likely usage conditions. But reality is that it just doesn't work that way.

Also agree with Big Hat's excellent post on pg. 1. I'll add, however, that in my own home at night (where no one else belongs, as I'm single) the tritium is far preferable to a gold bead in my occasional dry run practice routines. Anyone who might force-ably enter my home, move about silently with no verbal announcement, and then pursue me to my last point of retreat (predetermined and with low backlighting in the approach area) isn't entitled to a thorough check of their credentials. In other words, know your expected usage environment and what works best in that environment.

 

When a person is buying his/her first Wilson, it is so tempting to select options that the buyer hopes will meet all foreseeably likely usage conditions. But reality is that it just doesn't work that way.

Statement of the day.

 

I have several Gold Beads and wish all of my pistols were. The problem with the glow in the dark sights is they die. Have had 6 over the years that did. Never again for me. Yes I know that you can have new vials installed but what a PIA.

 

Gold bead. Errday