Red dot on AR question

[Trigger Mike]

I’m old so back in my day we didn’t have red dots.  Can you put one on an AR that has the traditional iron post front sight?  Will it be in the way of the dot?  
 

also , do folks mount flip up iron sights in case the battery dies?

 

i still enjoy iron sights, but may try to adjust.  Also a sig Romeo seems good, or is the square looking ones better?

[Perro Del Diablo]

There are different height mounts. Flip ups are also an option.  My son's I built with just red dot. Keeping extra batteries good idea I have gone to shoot and be dead battery 

[DeaconKC]

Never a bad idea to have back up sights. And you can adjust sights or optics so you can see the irons. Set it so the irons are roughly in the bottom third of the scope picture. And the Sig Romeos are very good sights, I'm putting one on the Ar I'm currently building.

[ShadowCatcher]

On my .22 AR (Nordic Components top end) I use a set of fixed sights (UTG) which have a changeable rear aperture and matching

front post for use during competition (Appleseed qualifiers, etc.).  They are solid non-folding, and I really like them as they remind me

of the original carry handle sighting arrangement.  I've added a red dot on it that uses a riser to put the sights in the far

lower 1/3 of the scope because I'm shooting steel challenge-like competition more and more these days.  The irons may come off

for this type of game.

 

My 5.56 has a set of folding Dagger Defense irons, already zero'd at 50yds, and is waiting for a red dot sight on a riser next, also to

be zero'd at 50 yds.  With the 55 gr soft-point our local LE uses I'm following their lead and using a 50/250 zero.  I'm looking at a

Swampfox Red dot and the include the riser.  I'm using full length Picatinny rail on top, although if you have a A2 front sight with the 

gas block you might need a slightly taller riser after removing the carry handle.  IIRC the rear sight height above bore is 2.5 inches.

 

The first picture is the .22, the second is the 5.56.   The .22 has an A2 stock with cheekpiece and recoil pad for LOP, the 5.56 has

a Magpul PRS stock adjusted to match the .22.  Both run ALG mil spec triggers at 4.5 lbs.   

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

Properly adjusted with the appropriate riser, you should be able to use irons and dot at the same time.  It's called "co-witness".  The dot should appear just at the top of the front sight.  

[PowderRiverCowboy]

Co- witness or you also can add 45 degree mounted sights to your firearm , for close ranges I follow the point and click method as most times if you need to use this you dont have time to gain a sight picture . I will dig up a video that explains it better than i can , but basically how you grip the hand guard (one finger forward  towards target) where your finger points is general area that bullet will impact and click the trigger .

 

[Pb Mark]

First question.  Is your AR one with a carry handle that has the rear sight in it or is it a flatop?

[Trigger Mike]

2 hours ago, Pb Mark said:

First question.  Is your AR one with a carry handle that has the rear sight in it or is it a flatop?

It’s a flat top , or rather going to be.  See , what happened was I had thought of getting an SBR so had a receiver made and the dealer suggested an Sig Romeo red dot .  Then the atf declined due to a technicality, and I just don’t feel like going through the hassle so thought I’d get a normal upper , so palmetto state armory sells uppers with iron front sight post for 189 but no sights flat top for a little more.  Trying to decide what will work and use the Romeo sight.

[Pb Mark]

Palmetto has nice stuff at good prices.  Total opinion only: You will not see a scope really with a built-in front sight post but do with the red dots.  A set of Magpul foldup plastic backup sights are a pretty inexpensive way to go.  A good red-dot with fresh Duracell will last a long time.  My only recommendation on the red-dot is to buy one that allows for the battery to be changed without removing the red-dot from its base so no requirement to re-zero.  I use an Aimpoint H-1 on a LaRue QD base, full co-witness to the backup sights.  Nice thing about full co-witness is you can sight in the red-dot, then just use the dot to sight in your backup sights.  You will not use those backup sights if you get yourself a nice red-dot.  Sig Romeo are holding up well.  Trijicon are too.  Holosun are not, but cheaper, decent and only break if really using the heck out of them. Our state cops getting Holosun (on the Glocks) but they really do not shoot much relatively speaking and get new ones for free if they breakum. Deltapoint Pro and Trijicon are the sturdiest of those little reflex sights from what I know. 

 

Other decisions:  (Opinion Only)

Dot size.  I like 2-4 minute dots.  More accuracy.

Carbine or Mid-length gas system on the barrel.  I like Mid-length.   

Etc, etc. lots of opinions out there.

 

[Dubious Don #56333]

Mounting the sight on a carry handle above the irons sight line is old school. Ain't seen it done that was in years. But we did it because weren't no flattops, LOL.

It doesn't really matter how you....YOU choose to mount sights and a red dot as long as it works for you.

 

As Lawman Mark said, having irons and a red dot co-witnessed, meaning that when one looks through the tube the dot is "co-witnessed" at the tip of the front sight is the way many law enforcement rifles are set up, the theory being in case one fails you have a backup. I've been doing it this was for decades because it's simple, works and is repeatable. I can immediately verify that part of the weapon is correct before shift or after a banged it around jumping fences and stuff like that. I find the fold down rear at a minimum is preferable. You can get both or neither. Having front, rear, dot all in there at once. Kinda busy like that, though. I also have scopes set up on iron-sighted rifles, some still have a fixed front sight/base and even with the LPVO's turned down to 1x, can't see it because the glass can't focus that close.

[Trigger Mike]

I decided to not get the upper with the fixed iron front sight and go with a flattop and these days they make flip up front sights that don’t require a nail to adjust , they come with a knob like the rear sight so will use both, just in case.