Assuming you could only get one, would you prefer a rail mounted light or night sights, and why?
If you have a quality functioning rail mounted light, why would you need night sights?
Light, of course. No reason not to have both though.
Another vote for a light. That way you can identify your target in pitch darkness before you pull the trigger. This is especially important if you have other family members who could be moving around.
what if I already have a handheld tac light?
and what if the lighting situation is that the bad guy is in a lit area and I am in a darkened area? I can see him easily but I can’t see my sights. Would you activate the weapon light in order to see the sights in this situation?
Try doing a reload with a handheld light.
As for your second query, yes I would use the light. If your target is illuminated you should see the sillouette of your sights fine.
The world is full of “what ifs” what if the intruder is bullet proof. In the end of the day a light is more important than night sights for shooting in darkness. Night sights are great and if you can afford a good pistol and a $200+ light than you should be able to afford a good set of night sights. Seeing your sights cant mean shit if you cant ID you target/see. Assuming your are speaking of home defense situation10-15 feet may be your max range, you (we) should be able to point shoot that distance.
good luck
+1 for weapon light. Free’s up the other hand to make that emergency phone call with a cell phone to bring in the cavalry (HD), open/close/secure doors, turn on light switches within your house (for HD) and, probably most importantly, keep both hands on the firearm for a good grip. The backlight from the light will let you know where your sights are, but as mentioned, if in HD you probably won’t be engaging any targets in your house farther than 15 ft (unless you have a big house). In any regard, good luck and stay safe.
This^^
As stated before the light is the first thing you should buy next to mags and training.
I’ve cleared my house after a few suspicious bumps in the night and realize VERY quickly how important a light is. Lesson learned, I need to get my ass into a low/no light class.
My P226 has night sights but when the light is on you can’t even see the dots so at this point the tritium is only good for locating my 226 when there’s no light.
I will reiterate that you do not shot unless you can ID the target and the best way to do this is with a good light. Today’s lights are bright as fuck to say the least which will help tip the odds in your favor.
A TLR-1s is more important to me than night sights.
I have a Tritium front sight and plain rear sight. I can pick up the front sight in the dark fine but thing I notice is that as soon as I activate my x300 the front sight is just black. Makes wonder why I spent the extra money on a Tritium front sight.
I posted this in another thread, but here is a video from my GoPro head cam during a night time house clearing class I did recently. It gives you a good idea of the differnce the light makes and how much they can light up a dark house.
If you can have both night sights and a good WML, that’s great. If you can only have one, pick the light for sure.
one question i have is will a weapon light illuminate a fiber optic front sight (which is the only one i care about)
i’m planning on swapping out my vtac sights on my m&p for the 10-8 sights and was wondering if i should go night sight or fiber on the front sight.
it is a multi purpose gun… bedside, range, competition, and occasional carry(w/o light)
Light, no question. I’d go so far as to say that, at HD distances, I’d rather have a gun with a light and no sights whatsoever than no light and night sights. That’s not to say that I’m advocating point shooting, I’m just hammering home how important target ID is, as well as the possible advantage you might gain from blinding the target with a very bright light in the dark.
If money is tight, buy the light now, buy the night sights later.
Much depends on your own personal situation. I am alone most of the time, so there should not be anyone else in my home, so I would rather not advertise where I am with a light, and stick to my night sights that came on my Sig P220. With my eyes adjusted to the dark when woke up during the night, I can see shapes very well. If she is home, I just reach over, and if she is not in bed, I just roll over and go back to sleep. Obviously, if you have kids or other people in the house, it is a totally different situation. The night sights on the gun also allow me to see exactly where it is in the middle of the night, and I also keep a very bright flashlight next to the bed as a backup if necessary.
Light.
Best to worst
Pistol light with night sights and separate light in pocket
Pistol light with night sights
Separate light with night sights
Pistol light with standard sights
Separate light with standard sights
Night sights and no light.
Standard sights and no light.
No sights and no light 
No weapon!!
This is a good point. Leaving the light on constantly is not always a good idea as it can tell the threat exactly where you are. It depends on if you plan on staying in one place or if you are going to try clearing the house. While you can operate the momentary switch on the weapon light it is a bit awkward, but so is manipulating a handheld light and operating the gun with a single hand if you haven’t practiced it. I really don’t think that a weapon light or night sights are necessary (if you have a handheld flashlight that you can easily manipulate with one hand) but if having to choose between the two I would definitely go for the weapon light.
Def a WML. I suggest the OP (others too) get some real training. Very important to understand how your light and sights will look at o’dark 30. If your budget allows get NS but def a light and some training.