Typically I put fiber optic sights in my pistols; however, many times the bulls eye on my targets is red, and my eyes have difficulty distinguishing the typical red front sight with the red bullseye.
The solution for me was to change the fiber inserts to green in the front, and red in the back. I found a spot (think it was
FiberOpticProducts) where I could purchase an assortment of colors and diameters of fiber optic material to try out. I found green in the front was typically brighter than the red, and drew my eye to the front sight more, where it belongs.
Changing fiber optic inserts is dead simple - cut the fiber a bit oversized, thread the material, then use a heat source to seal the ends in place. A couple tips:
- If you use a cigarette lighter to seal the ends, it can leave a sooty residue on the fiber. Pipe lighters use butane, and will not do this; a soldering iron also will work well.
- Some fiber is stiff, and can give you trouble bending it as sharp as you need (think Williams Firesights for a Ruger Mark III, where the rear fiber is bent in a "U" shape). You can try a lighter or soldering iron to make it more pliable, but it's easy to use too much heat and part the fiber. I found running hot water over the fiber for a short while worked well.