AR-15 frount sight in way of dot sight.

[palerider0485]

i see that alot of people have removeable carry handles or flip up rear sights on there ar's, and alot of poeple put a some kind of dot sight on the rear, without maken any changes to the front sight, ive tried this and when i look through my optic i see the front sight, and i can shoot like that but if the optic is placed on top of carry handle i dont see front sight and to me it makes more sence,...SO ANY WAY, dos it effect anyone else seeing the front sight or is it just me????? do you get used to it????

 

[palerider0485]

ok... i know. theres no u in front.

 

[wsenefeld]

If mounting your red dot to a flat top and having the irons/dot zero'd at the same distance, you'll get used to it because the dot will lay on the tip of your front sight post. Mounting an optic on top of the carry handle isn't ideal. The further you move your optic from your bore line, the steeper your angle to sight in. This will cause a greater variation when shooting at different distances than what you originally sighted in at.

Example: two people have essentially the same AR except one has a flat top and one has a carry handle. The both have the same red dot and both do a 25yd zero. If they then both shoot at 200yds, the guy with the flat top should have a point of impact closer to his point of aim.

 

[mvician]

You want the red dot to "sit" on top of the front sight post.T(absolute co-witness, or slightly above for lower 1/3 co-witness) that way when/if your dot goes down and you flip up your rear sight, you don't have to adjust your head on the stock.

[video=youtube;ogX-cIx9hpk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogX-cIx9hpk[/video]

 

[netsecurity]

I like having the front sight appear in my RDS. It provides a point of reference as to what is really "dead center", and keeping your dot hovering closer to center should provide optimal accuracy. The main reason I like having my front sight along with an RDS though, is for zeroing. If either my iron sights or my RDS is sighted in correctly, I can simply match one to the other. This is particularly useful when removing/replacing the RDS, or BUIS. This saves from wasting time and bullets for rezeroing, which is not only costly, but find it to be annoying.

I want to always know my gun is zeroed, and I feel like I can't trust my weapon until I verify that it is zeroed. Having the iron sights aligned with my RDS therefore gives me great peace of mind. I see no advantage to lower 1/3rd cowitness unless you are wearing a helmet or facemask, which obstructs your cheek weld, and requires a higher focal plane. Since I always keep both eyes open when using an RDS, I have no problems whatsoever with the front sight post being a distraction. I also think it is important to have your cheek weld be the same for iron sights or RDS.

I know I am in the minority on this stance, since lower 3rd cowitness is all the rage.

 

[GPD177]

I have to vote with having your red dot co-witness with the front site post. As mentioned above I like being able to get a quick check that both are still aligned with each other as a way of checking that nothing had moved or shifted. As far as the front site getting in the way, I have never had that be an issue. If you are using the weapon "for real" and not for range use, you wont even see the front site when moving into a room, at least I don't see it.

 

[Tombs]

If nothing else, having your red dot cowitness your front sight just means you'll find the red dot faster.

The whole point of red dots is to speed up aiming. Remember, both eyes open, otherwise you're missing the entire point of a red dot.

 

[sloughfoot]

Just paint the bottom half of the glass on your red dot with black paint to hide the front sight. Damn things are kind of annoying aren't they?

 

[DaKruiser]

A proper cheek weld to your stock is key to speed and accuracy, if your red dot is on your carry handle your going to have a chin on the stock at best.

 

[Sniper 79]

Hack saw the front sight off then.

 

[flatlander]

Lower 1/3 for me works best. If need to I can use the RDS as a giant ghost ring until I take it off and flip up my BUIS. My times improved after trying the co-witness style as subconsciously I took slightly longer to make sure the dot was sitting on top of the FSP.
YMMV

Bob

 

[palerider0485]

thanks for all the info. im going to set it up so i co-witness, if i cant get used to it then ill look around for a flip up front sight, i have had a eotech on top of carry handle before which did work, but like someone else said you then have the bottom of your chin on the stock.

 

[philbert001]

If you don't like absolute cowitness, then, depending on what red dot you have, you can get a taller mount, or taller rings, to make it cowitness as lower 1/3. What is your red dot? Is it mounted in rings, or is it on it's own mount?

 

[gregkl]

Just to help me out here a little, you would have to remove your red dot in most cases to be able to use the flip up sights?

 

[Tombs]

Just to help me out here a little, you would have to remove your red dot in most cases to be able to use the flip up sights?

... No?

Only situation that you'd need to get the optic off the gun is if both lenses end up caked with mud and wiping them off would take more time than pulling the optic off.

 

[hammer24]

Just to help me out here a little, you would have to remove your red dot in most cases to be able to use the flip up sights?

You use the iron sights through the rds tube. Actually using the rear aperture sight with the red dot on (with absolute co-witness) sometimes can sharpen up the dot when shooting longer distances.

 

[gregkl]

You use the iron sights through the rds tube. Actually using the rear aperture sight with the red dot on (with absolute co-witness) sometimes can sharpen up the dot when shooting longer distances.

Okay, thanks. I have no experience with a red dot(other than COD, hee, hee). I guess if it the light goes out, you just look through it.

 

[palerider0485]

its an eo tech, ive been thinking about switching to a aim point but thats a different story... i have a burris on an ak which is much higher then the sights ive shoot it plenty and like it. i need to get to the range,

 

[MCrupe]

I have been looking into getting a red dot sight for my AR and was asking myself the same question. Thank you all for the great information. Now I just have to figure out what sight to get?

 

[Manatee]

Last time I looked, LaRue had and Aimpoint Pro with the LaRue quick detach mount for about $415.