This article addresses an issue that can show up when shooting iron sights, particularly when shooting while facing south. From Guns Magazine: "Shifting Point of Impact? Sun of a Gun!" by Jeff "Tank" Hoover. An excerpt:
The sun glare blurs the side of the front sight it illuminates, providing a brighter edge and leading to misalignment of the sight picture by making the front sight appear thinner. If the light source (i.e., the sun) is on your left, the left side of the front sight becomes brighter, making the front sight appear thinner on that side and your rear sight notch appear larger. You’ll subconsciously adjust your sight alignment by holding onto the sun to accomplish your sight alignment.
When the sun is directly overhead, it can also cause the front sight to appear shorter for the same reason. This will cause a higher point of impact than usual from your regular sight alignment. In extreme cases of sun glare on the front sight, it’s hard to establish a sharp sight picture, which forces the shooter to concentrate on the target because we want to see something in focus. This leads to poor accuracy. Sloped or rounded front sights can cause a “mirror effect” as they reflect the sun’s glare directly back to the shooter’s eyes, making sight alignment difficult.
Solutions include blackening the sight in some way (the author relates an old timer who would use a carbide lamp to deposit a layer of soot on the sight), using a hooded sight, or using an undercut front sight.
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