Joe.... the old S&W M-29 Baughman red ramp excels for woods hunting, and by my experience ranks at the top for all-around visibility. This does not include dark, carrying you farther into dusk than than black. In conjunction with young sharp eyes, the S&W white outline rear notch compliments the red ramp. Today my preference is for a red ramp front without the white outline rear.
The S&W McGivern brass bead is the best pure iron sight for dark. The S&W Call lightly-beveled brass disk is notably better for all-around daylight than the McGivern, and second best to the McGivern in dark.
In shooting thrown (aerial) water jugs of late, at various times of day, the red ramp currently posited in the Super Redhawk ramp of the Ruger 03 provides for a faster FLASH SIGHT PICTURE than the black ramp.
When I hunted soft & hard woods with the old brass grip frame Super Blackhawk, my preference was to clean front and rear sights with lacquer thinner or acetone and paint the ramp vermillion red, and the rear notch a warm yellow. When IHMSA silhouette came along, the sights were cleaned down to blue and, provided the opportunity, the sights were blackened with a carbide lamp.
A good gloss red enamel holds more pigment and is tougher than any fingernail polish. All iron sights are a compromise, yearning to be ideal under whichever condition forces your aim.
Adaptability of the Super Redhawk front sight provides the Ruger 03 with a distinct advantage. This includes the Kimber Meprolight tritium 3-dot system, which provides excellent visibility at dusk, as well as against total darkness.
VERMILLION RED has a slight orange (warm) hue, which works better than a cool, darker red in dim light. (As a value, red rendered in black & white is dark.) Yellow shows up well, but bleaches out against snow, and might do the same against sun in the blazing Southwest. Blue and green both must be tinted (white added) to not get lost at dusk.
David Bradshaw
