A GUIDE TO IRON SIGHTS
Iron sights have been around as long as powder-actuated weapons and are intuitive to the human brain, yet some new shooters will no doubt have questions on how they developed in recent history and what you should use. The focus of this will be around rifle use, specifically modern sporting rifles, i.e. AR-15 rifles.
Iron sights are the stick shift of firearms
ReplyDeleteAmen brother. I only owned one scope before this year. It came on my Daisy 880 from the factory.
DeleteFrom 1978 till 2000, Army EOD was issued either M-16A1s or A2s. Iron sights only. The only thing scoped was our M-82 Barrets. I can still shoot quite well with irons out to 500 yards. I like ACOGs and red dots, but I’ve never had a battery die on an iron sight. And tritium damn sure does have a half life, got one going back to Trijicon soon. Trying not to be a Fudd but I’ll be okay when the lights go out for good. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteI've got Sig Sauer Romeo 5 red dots on mine and they have something like 50,000 hours of battery time, using one of those flat CR2032 batteries. That particular model of red dot also has 'shake-awake' technology - if you set the rifle down the red dot turns itself off after a couple minutes then turns itself back on when you pick it up, so it's not on all the time but will be ready without any fumbling when something goes bump in the night. I've never had a battery go dead on me, but I change them out every 2 years. I also keep a spare inside my Magpul grip's compartment just in case.
DeleteNow, all that being said, any time I've put together a AR, I buy the back up sights first, then the red dot. If I can only afford one at the time of the build because of cost overruns, I go for the back up sights.
Kenny,
DeleteI have been looking at the Romeo 5. Would you recommend it?
Do not rely on a Romeo 5 there was a bad batch. An ex police officer and I spent an entire evening at the range sighting one in. It was still off. I sighted my 44 mag with a red dot in in 6 rounds. 3 shots, adjust and 3 more to make sure that they were on.
DeleteTexan: Absolutely and without hesitation. It's a great sight, fairly affordable and dependable. Every AR I've owned, except for the one that I scoped, sports a Romeo 5 if that tells you anything.
DeleteNed: I've never heard of anybody getting a defective Romeo 5, but I've got more than enough rounds through mine to know they're going to work.
DeleteBut if you order one and you're unlucky enough to get a bad one, just send it back.
If you sight your A1 or A2 carry handle sights in at 25 yards, with bullet impacting on top of your front sight, you will shoot high out to about 300+ish yards where the bullet descends back down to your point of aim. At around 175 yards, you'll be 5 or 6 inches high. I know, you already knew that.
ReplyDeleteMarksmanship is a perishable skill, so get out and shoot up some of that precious ammo. At least practice with 22. We need to keep that muscle memory tuned.
Criminals always look for easy money. And in these parts Marshalltown is not known for producing brain surgeons.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kenny, passed this on to some new shooters. Sometimes one needs to hear the same topic delivered differently a few times to get it. Thanks for all you do here.
ReplyDeleteSaber 7
Sometimes it takes a particular way of saying something before it takes hold. Glad I could help.
DeleteI keep reading stuff by proponents of iron sights for rifles. Yes, you should know how to use them.
ReplyDeleteOptics have advanced to the point where irons-only shooters are choosing to type correspondence on an IBM selectric rather than on a computer.
If one is concerned about close up shooting there are plenty of variable power optics that start with a "1" and which don't need batteries. Even with irons one still has to practice proper eye relief and alignment. It's all easier to do and faster with optics.
Optics have the benefit of making longer shots easier and also faster.
I genuinely don't understand how this isn't obvious.
Here is an excellent video on AR zeros--
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFbpjNh4DBA
https://www.riteintherain.com/military-target
ReplyDeleteWorth the money
You can get them on Amazon for about 20$ for 100
ReplyDeleteFirst I never could hit with an M-16 for some reason I never used a peep sight before so that was probably a big part of it and I am not a fan of the 5.56mm cartridge. We had a multinational shoot in my last unit in the mid-80's. We got to shoot the German G-3, British L1A1 and other NATO weapons'. For some reason I the sights on the G-3 Were dead on for me. I was hitting the target with almost every shot. i would have loved to have an ACOG on the M-16 I was issued. I have a variety of Scopes on my rifles now. It makes zeroing a lot easier. I have the rite in the rain targets and they are excellent. I have to get out to range and get some Nitro0-cellulose therapy as soon as I get this walking boot off.
ReplyDelete