Home Self-Defense 8 Best Glock 19 Sights Reviewed (Night & Supressor Sights)

8 Best Glock 19 Sights Reviewed (Night & Supressor Sights)

One of the first items which handgun owners opt to upgrade are the sights. This is largely due to OEM Glock sights lacking quality, although they have certainly come a long way from the fixed sights of yesteryear.

A lot of Glock owners would rather do away with their polymer factory sight sets, and aftermarket Glock sights are easy to come by, generally affordable, and there is a ton of variety.

Some shooters prefer a steel sight instead of polymer for increased durability, while others want night sights, a different sight picture, or even raised sights for use with a sound suppressor. Whatever the reason, there are plenty of really good options to replace the OEM sights on your Glock 19.

We also have an article on best glock 43 sights.

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The 8 Sights For Glock 19: Outdoor Empire Reviews

  1. Best Gen 4: Ameriglo Classic Tritium Series
  2. Best Gen 4 #2: XS Sight Systems 24/7 Big Dot
  3. Best Gen 5: XS Sights F8 Night Sight
  4. Best Gen #5: TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights
  5. Best Trijicon: Bright & Tough™
  6. Best Trijicon #2: Trijicon HD XR™
  7. Best Suppressor-height: Night Fision Perfect Dot
  8. Best Suppressor-height #2: Ameriglo Suppressor Set GL-429
CategoryBest for Gen 4 Best for Gen 5Best Trijicon
ProductAmeriglo Classic Tritium
Ameriglo Classic Tritium

TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights
TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights

Trijicon HD XR™
Trijicon HD XR™

Rear ColorYellow or Green w/ White OutlineGreen w/ White OutlineYellow or Orange
Front ColorYellow or Green Tritium w/ White OutlineGreen Tritium w/ White OutlineNone
MaterialSteelSteelMetal
Weight0.16 oz0.30 oz1.6 oz
Good FeatureSimple setupRounded edges to reduce snaggingBig front dot for rapid target acquisition
CostCheck PriceCheck PriceCheck Price

Best Glock 19 Gen4 Night Sights

glock 19 gen 4 sight POV

Released in 2010, Glock’s fourth generation line of pistols, dubbed Gen4 by Glock itself, has been met with mixed results. Some shooters swear that they are every bit the highly durable weapon that all previous generations have been, while others claim reduced reliability, shootability, and even looks (if you can believe that).

Wherever the truth lies in this particular equation, it didn’t seem to slow down their share of the market.

Even with the ever-increasing slew of imitators on the market, Glock still owns the market, representing well over half of U.S. law enforcement agencies, more than all others combined. The Glock 19 Gen4 is a standard duty weapon of the NYPD, and is optional for LAPD officers.

With it being such a common and readily available pistol, the G19 has a plethora of aftermarket accessories available, often even at major retail stores, so finding sights isn’t the issue—deciding on which sights is the hardest part.

1. Ameriglo Classic Tritium Series

These are the classic style of 3-dot combat sight popularized in the last couple of decades and put out on nearly every production autoloader hitting sales rooms today.

There is some dispute over whether or not 3-dots are the best sight system, but whatever the truth is in that matter, they are certainly the most prevalent, which is why they are #1 on this list.

Ameriglo has developed a reputation for providing a quality product at a very affordable price point, which is the first consideration all consumers are concerned with (whether they admit it or not).

Ameriglo Classic Tritium Series Ameriglo Classic Tritium Series
$66.49
Pros:
  • Standard 3-dot configuration is familiar to almost all shooters.
  • Simple setup will require very little adjustment for shooters coming from other firearms and brands of sights.
  • Reasonably priced with excellent reviews.
Cons:
  • 3-dot sights are quickly being replaced on combat handguns with I-Dot style sights which offer faster target acquisition.
  • Limited options in terms of outlines and tritium.
  • Rear sights are fixed.
06/05/2023 11:24 am GMT

The Ameriglo Classic Tritium makes the top of the list because of its simplicity and commonality; anyone who has qualified with an M9 in the military, or has every qualified as an armed security officer or LEO, has used 3-dot sights.

Firearms enthusiasts are usually tinkerers and want to experience everything first-hand, so these shooters might prefer something else more elaborate, but a lot of people who carry for duty or even self-defense are not enthusiasts. They just want to have something reliable and familiar.

Product Specs

  • Machined from bar stock steel rather than thermomoulded polymer.
  • Green tritium dots with white outlines; green tritium is for night use while the white outline is for daytime engagements.
  • Direct OEM replacement requiring no modifications.

The Classic Tritium Glock 19 night sights are not tailored for any specific segment of the market; they are simple, fixed OEM replacement units without any frills. This makes them a great compliment to the EDC, truck gun, or bedside gun where simplicity and reaction time always trump precision.

2. XS Sight Systems 24/7 Big Dot

There isn’t really a name yet to describe this type of sight system, but they might be called 2-dot, dot-over-dot, dotted-I.

Whatever phraseology you want to assign them, they consist of a standard dot front sight (usually a large dot for rapid target acquisition) and a rear sight with a center dot or line (horizontal or vertical) underneath the front sight dot.

XS Sight Systems 24/7 Big Dot XS Sight Systems 24/7 Big Dot
Pros:
  • Extremely fast target acquisition.
  • Easy installation.
  • Low profile rear sight prevents front sight obstruction.
Cons:
  • Considerably higher price point than a lot of the traditional 3-dot night sights on the market.
  • Not necessarily scientific fact, but some shooters report less accuracy than 3-dot sights in shooting past CQB distances.

Compare prices at: Brownells, Walmart

This creates a very fast sight picture without the confusion that sometimes comes with using 3-dot sights, especially at night. During daytime hours, we can see the whole pistol so our brain does not have to work at properly aligning it and our eyes go straight to aligning the sights.

In the dark, though, we cannot see anything but the glowing sights and it really is harder to align those than you’d think when there are no other visual references.

The styles and colors of night sights have exploded in the last few years, and most manufacturers produce a variety of different sight configurations.

The XS 24/7 Big Dot is unique in that it drops the traditional U-channel rear sight in favor of their Express design, which is a low-profile ultra-shallow ‘V’ with a vertical tritium bar at the apex of the rear sight. This creates an incredibly fast and reliable sight picture which also reduces snagging.

Product Specs

  • Green tritium front and rear.
  • Blued steel construction.
  • White outlines on the tritium for both front and rear sights.
  • Standard sight tools (nylon hammer, brass drifts and punches) for installation, no special tools required.

XS DXT Big Dot sights are a great sight package for EDC pistols. They are made with stressful situations in mind and, according to their excellent reviews, they seem to be crushing it.

Best Glock 19 Gen5 Night Sights

Introduced in August of 2017, the fifth generation, or “Gen5”, of Glock pistols brought about more than twenty design improvements over the Gen4 pistols. The sights were largely unchanged but you need to check aftermarket brands to make sure they will fit the Gen5 G19.

Forcing on unapproved sights will void the warranty and can leave you with a damage gun that you have to fix out of pocket.

1. XS Sights F8 Night Sight

XS Sights F8 Night SightXS Sights advertises that all of their sights for the 9mm/.40 S&W size pistols are interchangeable between generations, but you certainly want to see that stamp of approval before tossing around money for a new set of pricey night sights.

XS Sights F8 Night Sight XS Sights F8 Night Sight
$87.99
Pros:
  • Rounded rear notch tapers to the top of the rear sight which draws the focus to the top edge for proper alignment.
  • The rear sight gap is wider than other manufacturers rear sights, allowing more light around the front sight for increased visibility in low light.
Cons:
  • Again, XS Sights are on the more expensive end of the spectrum.
06/05/2023 11:29 am GMT

Compare prices at: Brownells, Walmart

This is more of a traditional sight set than their exemplary DXT series, but it is still awesome. The rear sight is a wide notch design with a tritium dot centered at the bottom of the notch for rapid targeting in low-light/no-light conditions, and the rear sight is sans white dots which can confuse the sight picture in moments of duress.

The front sight outline is bright orange, drawing the eye to it rather than focusing on aligning the rear sights to it. This simple alignment method increases initial target timing and follow-up shots.

Product Specs

  • Green tritium dots front and rear for low-light operations.
  • High visibility orange outline on front dot for daytime use.
  • Blued steel construction.

This is a good, simple sight set for a duty weapon. The tritium dots are centered for rapid deployment at night, but the U-notch affords more precise aiming than their DXT series of sights. These are perfectly suitable for people using the Glock 19 Gen5 as an EDC weapon or as a duty handgun. 

2. TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights for Glock 19 Gen5

Let’s be honest: the average shooter and gun enthusiast—i.e., about 98% of us—love to look at high-end products, but after the bills are paid, school fees and lunches paid for, and gas is topped off in the cars, we aren’t really going to buy any of those. We are going to look at the most affordable options to fit the bill.

TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights for Glock 19 Gen5 TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights for Glock 19 Gen5
$52.63
Pros:
  • Front and rear sights have rounded edges to reduce snagging.
  • Not oversized so these will work in all production holsters.
  • Very affordable.
Cons:
  • Do not say “Trijicon” anywhere on them.
  • Very basic design in case you were wanting something less traditional. These are budget sights, people.
06/05/2023 11:30 am GMT

Compare prices at: Walmart

TRUGLO has always filled this void well, producing surprisingly well constructed and reliable products at excellent price points. Their basic Tritium night sights for all Glock generations, including the Glock 19 Gen5, are no exception.

With real-world retail prices around 30%-40% less than most of their competitors and resoundingly positive reviews, they should not be ignored (and certainly not be rebuked) by gun snobs; most gun owners just don’t have the disposable income to toss around on Trijicon, no matter how good of a product it is.

Product Specs

  • CNC-machined steel, coated with Fortress Finish for enhanced durability.
  • Standard 3-dot design; green tritium with white outlines.
  • Fits all 9mm, .40 S&W, and .357 Sig caliber double-stack Glock models so they can be moved to other guns if desired.

Whenever a product has 4.5 stars in over 500 reviews, with over 75% being 5 star reviews, it is probably not an anomaly. TRUGLO Tritium Night Sights give all the signals of being great budget sights, so let’s not get hung up in what they are and are not.

They are not precision sights for competition shooting. They are inexpensive, reliable sights which allow the owner to buy more ammunition to improve their lethality, and that is priceless.

Best Glock 19 Trijicon Night Sights

Trijicon Night Sight shooter's view

Previous references to Trijicon in this article were not digs or slams in any way; Trijicon makes excellent products which have been repeatedly proven in the cauldron of combat, in the most extreme and taxing environments imaginable.

But they are truthfully out of reach for a lot of gun owners who just cannot justify spending considerably more on an optic than the rifle itself. Fortunately, their line of handgun sights is much more comparable to other leading manufacturer’s price points than the great chasm seen in their rifle optics.

1. Bright & Tough™

The bread and butter of Trijicon’s pistol iron sight line for Glocks. Manufactured from steel with green tritium set in silicone rubber for shock resistance, they are in the traditional 3-dot configuration.

Bright & Tough™
$92.53
Pros:
  • Carries the superior Trijicon name and tradition. Yes, it means something,
  • Simple yet effective design, installation is an easy DIY project.
Cons:
  • Also carries to Trijicon price tag, which is about 40% higher than the comparable TRUGLO.
View on Amazon View at Optics Planet
06/05/2023 08:01 am GMT

Compare prices at: Euro Optic

Product Specs

  • Steel construction which is CNC machined for a precise and exact fit.
  • Silicone rubber seals to protect the tritium elements.
  • Sleek, snag-free design allows for quick draw and fits all standard holsters for Glock 19s.

2. Trijicon HD XR™

A legitimately top-tier sight set, the HD XR sights are designed for the fastest target acquisition possible in both daytime and night.

Trijicon HD XR™ Trijicon HD XR™
$143.99
Pros:
  • Nice, big, bright front dot on a narrow sight post aids in rapid target acquisition.
  • Narrow front sight post expands the shooter’s field of view of standard front posts which fill the U-notch of the rear sight.
Cons:
  • Very pricey; you can buy two sets of TRUGLO sights (which have excellent reviews) for one set of these.
  • The sight picture changes from daylight to low-light since the tritium lamps are configured in 3-dot, whereas the front sight post is the only sight with a colored dot.
06/05/2023 11:15 am GMT

Compare prices at: Brownells, Euro Optic

The front sight is slim with a large dot, available in either yellow or orange. The rear sights are not outlined with any color around the tritium elements. Each lamp is capped with a sapphire jewel to aid in the even distribution of light and add a layer of protection from the elements.

Product Specs

  • U-notch rear sights.
  • Silicone rubber cushioning to help protect the tritium lamp from rupturing.
  • Aluminum cylinders lined with silicone provide maximum protection for tritium lamps.

Trijicon HD XR sights are a top-tier sight system for your Glock 19, and they fit all generations. Contrary to popular belief, they are not limited to tactical operators; they are a fine pick for anyone wanting the best sights on their pistol.

But they might just be overkill for a lot of shooters, especially those who, shall we say, do not get out to the range nearly as much as they’d like to. For those shooters, a budget-friendly Trijicon like the basic Bright & Tough are more than adequate.

Best Glock 19 Suppressor-Height Sights

glock 19 suppressor height sights vs regularWith the popularity of sound suppressors going through the roof in recent years, a hole in the market came to light: standard iron sights are not tall enough to use over a can.

A few years back, the History Channel show Warriors was hosted by Special Forces sergeant Terry Schappert in which he interviewed operators from a number of countries, including the highly elite Polish GROM who employ Glock 17 pistols with suppressors.

Their armorers actually removed the front sight post and GROM operators were trained to use the length of the can as their sight. Other operators using cans were known to use grease pencils or china markers to place a straight line down the length of the can to use as a crude sight.

Why the anecdote? Because it is important to understand how the market has vastly and rapidly improved equipment.

Now, just a short decade since those GROM troopers were interviewed using essentially sightless Glocks, the everyday Glock 19 owner can get on Amazon and order an excellent set of suppressor height sights, either daytime or night sights, for the same price as standard sight sets.

Aftermarket threaded Glock barrels, especially the most popular 9mm Glock 17 and Glock 19, are also readily available and often for easily under $100. Suppressed firearms are not just for operators anymore.

Also, the MOS line of Glock pistols—which are factory ready for optics—necessitate tall sights if you wish to use those in conjunction with an optic.

1. Night Fision Perfect Dot

Night Fision is a startup that is new to manufacturing sights but not new to using tritium; their sister company is the contracted manufacture of the U.S. Army Tritium Lensatic Compass.

Night Fision Perfect Dot Night Fision Perfect Dot
$100.27
Pros:
  • Broad variety of colored outlines for front sight post.
  • Aesthetically appealing.
Cons:
  • Relatively untested startup.
  • High price point.
06/05/2023 11:09 am GMT

Compare prices at: Brownells

Since they already had the tooling and knowledge of working with tritium, the crossover to pistol sights was a natural one and it helps that the client base is largely the same people.

What makes Night Fision so appealing is how each purchaser can individually tailor their sight set.

There are five colors of outlines available for front sight posts (white, orange, green, red, and blue), and three different rear sight options (white outline, no outline, and no tritium); there is also a choice between either a square notch or a U-notch.

You get to mix-and-match any way you like, and these options are all available in suppressor height.

Product Specs

  • CNC machined 4140 steel.
  • Black nitride coated.

2. Ameriglo Suppressor Set GL-429

While night sights are extremely popular, not everyone wants them. For one thing, they are quite a lot more expensive than un-illuminated units. Some shooters do not want the distraction of aligning dots and have no intention of using the firearm at night.

Ameriglo Suppressor Set GL-429 Ameriglo Suppressor Set GL-429
$44.25
Pros:
  • Highly affordable.
  • Very tall sight picture, easily visible through any optics or above a suppressor (or both).
  • Epitome of simplicity.
Cons:
  • Epitome of simplicity.
  • Daytime only and fixed.
06/05/2023 11:15 am GMT

Compare prices at: Brownells, Walmart

Whatever the reason is, going with sights without illumination is less costly and less sensitive than using tritium filaments.

Ameriglo produces an affordable tall sight set that allows Glock owners to save their pennies and nickels for the suppressor (and tax stamps).

Product Specs

  • Front post width is .090”.
  • Rear sight notch is .150” wide.
  • Made from machined steel.

Why should you choose night sights?

Well, you don’t need to choose night sights. They aren’t necessary for every situation, and are overkill for some.

If you carry your Glock 19 in the woods while hiking or backpacking and have no intention to ever go out after hours, stock OEM sights are fine, or upgrading to a nice set of fiber tubes might be in order. If you shoot 3-gun or spend a lot of time taking precision range activities seriously, a set of adjustable target sights is in order.

Night sights are there for duty and defense. They are not there to help you put a volley of bullets through one ragged hole from the 25 yard stripe; they exist to put projectiles center mass in low lighting.

Truglo Sights on Glock 19
Truglo Sights on Glock 19

Your nightstand pistol should have night sights, even if you have a weapon light on the Glock. The bright weapon lights illuminate rooms extremely well, but they also wash out everything in the process, including the sights. Tritium night sights really help give the edge you need when to see the target and don’t get to choose the environment.

How to Choose?

So how do you decide on the right sight? Well, it’s really up to you.

  • What do you need?
  • Is budget a primary consideration?
  • Is brand recognition the most important thing to you, or are you willing to take a chance on a startup or lesser known brand because they offer unique features?

The good thing about night sights is that there is really not that far of a gap in terms of cost between the most-respected brand and the rest.

Rifle scopes are a great example of this; TRUGLO offers decent scopes for under $100, but good luck getting a Trijicon scope for under a grand. Their respective pistol sights are at much closer price points.

Since they all use essentially the same technology, the issue becomes configuration. Do you need 3-dot sights, or something a little different? There are only so many places you can go with a set of iron pistol sights.

There aren’t too many “must haves” in night sights because, frankly, they are all so similar in design. There is not much disparity between one to the next, but here are some things you really want to look for:

  • Steel construction.
  • Tritium glow lamps.
  • Silicone rubber bedding for the lamps.

Other Considerations

Fiber versus Tritium

These are not the same thing. Fiber optic tubes amplify existing light but are not illuminated. Tritium lamp tubes are illuminated and offer nothing in the light, which is why an additional outline is added for emphasis on occasion.

The fiber optic tube may offer some improvement in the dark over OEM day sights, but that is not their primary purpose. (TRUGLO does offer a marriage of the two technologies, but they are not the same thing in and of themselves).

Long Distance Shooting

If your Glock 19 is your EDC or nightstand gun, you aren’t taking long shots with it so go ahead and cleanse those thoughts right now. If the target is 50 yards away and in the dark, it doesn’t matter how well your sights glow.

There is no rule against adjustable night sights, but why would you? It just goes against the purpose of night sights, which is personal protection after the lights are out or in a dark parking garage.

Range Time versus Game Time

For the sake of familiarity, it is probably a good idea to purchase sights that have painted outlines over the tritium configuration. This way your eyes are perfectly familiar with the geometry of the sights, and you can maintain that familiarity while shooting, whether day or night.

Top Brands

Trijicon

Trijicon

The reigning heavyweight champs, Trijicon is perhaps the most easily recognized name in the industry. This is in no small part due to the implementation of their ACOG optics on U.S. Army M4 carbines in Iraq and Afghanistan during the mid-2000s.

General consensus is that they live up to the hype, garnering 4.5 stars on Amazon with nearly 1,400 reviews. As stated previously, their price point is not so much higher than their competitors as to rule them out for budgetary constraints.

TRUGLO

TRUGLO

On the opposite end of the spectrum, TRUGLO is a budget option that is actually pretty decent. It really comes down to wants versus needs. TROGLO is not going to win in fit and finish, but they will do just fine in terms of function.

TRUGLO has a strategy of offering unique products, particularly their fiber optic tube sights, which also have tritium lamps in them providing the best sight picture possible in any lighting conditions.

Reviews indicate that they are indeed a good product at a good price point, which is what people want at the end of the day.

Ameriglo

 

Ameriglo

Ameriglo falls somewhere in the middle, or slightly above middle-of-the-road, in terms of quality. The make nice, innovative products that are still affordable.

The overall impression you get when reading reviews on their products (no one product in particular) is that they make a really good product, maybe even great. Their 5-star ratings seem to hover between 75% and 85% on any given product, which is excellent.

That alone is certainly enough to warrant trying out a set since you can find several of their products for around $60 on Amazon. Shoot, that’s the cost of just one big box of ammo.

XS Sights

XS Sights

Not cheap, but very good. The cool thing about XS is that they offer traditional sight styles, radically original sights, and then some things in between.

Glock products are big sellers for them, but that is far from their only line of products. They are diverse, making ghost rings and rails for modern lever guns and shotguns. Very cool indeed.

Their most noteworthy product for the Glock 19 is the 24/7, or DXT, system. It looks like buyers seem to swear by it, and there isn’t really anything contrary to it. The reviews are resoundingly positive, with some pretty accomplished shooters dropping 3-dots cold turkey.

XS sights are going to compete at price point directly with Trijicon, so they are not budget sights. They are really good sights that everybody loves, nobody seems to hate, and are revolutionary. Add to the mix that they are offered in suppressor height, which means you can use them in just about every application.

F.A.Q.s

Q: How do you adjust the sights on your Glock 19?

A: That depends. If you have stock OEM sights or fixed replacement sights, you don’t. They are supposed to be zeroed from the factory, and when you replace OEM sights with fixed replacement, you need to zero them and then leave them be.

Fixed sights allow you to adjust elevation, but it is not practical to adjust windage once it is set, since you will need access to a sight pusher.

Adjustable sights allow for the correction of elevation and windage; windage is adjusted on the rear sight. The rear sight blade show windage ticks, which are adjusted to find zero.

Q: What are the factory sights on a Glock 19?

A: The same thing as on all Glocks! Not exactly a joke, because it is true—but all joking aside, Glock has used simple, fixed polymer sights for years.

Glock 19s (and all other models) have two OEM options: the daytime sights consist of a fixed rear with a white U-channel outlining the notch with a white dot on the front; OEM night sights are a very traditional 3-dot green tritium with white dot outlines for daytime shooting.

Conclusion

The Glock 19 is their most popular handgun, and it is the original compact 9mm. It remains wildly popular years after its introduction because it is the perfect blend of light weight, good capacity, and overall compact size.

It is big enough for a duty weapon, small enough to carry concealed, lighter than anything out there (when it was introduced). However, the factory sights have always been somewhat lacking on Glocks, which the market has responded to in spades.

It is no coincidence that new product launches for accessories are nearly always introduced for Glock 9mm pistols first, the rest of the market later.

Whatever your price point or preference, you are going to find something compatible and generally in supply.

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John is a native of the Great Plains, having grown up under the spacious skies of the Flint Hills in Kansas, and has lived there his entire life aside from a four-year hitch in the Air Force. He considers it a great pleasure to be employed in both of his hobbies: flying and shooting. John's has built several AR-pattern rifles over the years, which he finds to be a far more rewarding a hobby than building models or collecting coins. While he could engage in a well-versed diatribe about the inherent right of man to arm himself, his borderline-infatuation with firearms is mechanically driven. The graceful, symmetrical lines, the ability to place a projectile through minuscule targets hundreds of yards away, just everything about it. John currently resides on a 20-acre hobby farm with his wife and five children, and they can shoot any time they want. Chances are if they aren't shooting, one of their neighbors is.

1 COMMENT

  1. Hi John, looking at getting some Trijicon sights. Thanks for the review. I checked where the Truglo sights are made, and, yes, they’re made in China where they probably didn’t have to invest in the design. I’ll take American made where I know the money goes to taking care of our folks even if I have to pay for the design costs. Shane

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