ar-15 accessories

Generally, you don't even have to remove the red dot. You can use it like a giant ghost ring sight at close range or you can flip up the irons and use it through the dead red dot.

The detachable carry handles are nice if you want to shoot irons longer than 300yds. For just about everything else, I find that the flip-rear irons does the same thing just as well and is more convenient.

I'm not familiar with a S&W brand red dot so I couldn't comment on that.

I had a red dot (Aimpoint) and a set of Yankee Hill flip-up irons on the flattop AR I just sold, and they worked great. If I build another AR, I'm going to go the same route but probably with an EOTech HWS instead of the Aimpoint. The carry handle seems kind of pointless to me.

8 feet? Ha! My PTR-91 (G3 clone) flings brass about 30 feet forward and right. In CQB if I miss the bad guys with the bullets, I might just bean 'em with the brass!

Sorry guys, I don't want to steal this thread, but I have an accessories question that I asked a couple of days ago and it never got answered:

Yesterday, I bought a 4 rail handguard, and a foregrip. Here in about a week, I'm going to get a eotech. I really liked the 512, because it takes 2 AA lithium batteries and the battery life is 1100 hours, opposed to the 200 hours of the 511. The only problem is, the detachable carry handle is 4 inches, and the 512 is 5 inches long...Does this mean I have to get the 4" 511?

thanks

Click to expand...

I definately want it to co-witness with the iron sites, and I definately don't want to take the detachable carry handle off either.

If the red dot sight co-witnesses with your front sight, then you don't necessarily need a rear sight. You can get away with using the body of the red dot sight as a giant aperture rear sight. Obviously it won't be as accurate as a real rear sight would be, but it might be good enough for your application. Try it out at the range sometime and see if it works well enough for you.

It seems to me that lots of AR stuff seems to go in trends. Everyone goes crazy for the BUIS that flip up and down and I think they are only necessary for serious work (LE and military , SD ect). I suppose that many like the idea of haveing them if they need them but mostly they like the "look" and the trendyness. Nothing at all wrong with that, just not my thing so much.
I live in CT and can only have a adjustable stock on a pre ban so I actually searched out and paid a premium for one just to have one.Truth be told I like the feel and shoot much better with the standard stock on all my other ARs.
The standard removable carry handle is a fine sight and once set up will pretty much return to zero if you pay attention and clamp it in the same slot every time. Watch out for the cheepo knock off handles that go for $40. Any of the brand names (includeing DPMS,bushy,stag whatever) will work fine and the two different apetures of the flip will give you more flexability than the BUIS . I have several Bushys that go with my bushy uppers and one DPMS that I bought at a discount through Midway (C&R)and the quality is similar. It is very reasonable to want to pay a little extra to match a bushy cary handle with your bushy upper. Try the Equipment Exchange at AR15.com for a used Bushy handle to save some money.
I don't know anything about the S&W red dot. The standard go fast guys use either Aimpoints or Eotech about $300-$400 (kind of like a ford vs chevy thing,very emotional) with the military and the rich guys going for the ACOG at about $900+. I run an Eotech on one gun and it is a fine sight but truthfully in most of the matches I shoot for fun (plate shoots ect) I am running a cheepo china made red dot that I got at a gun show. You have seen them around , they have a dot,small and large cross,and a donut that you can swap around by throwing a lever.Most of the sights like Midway have them for about $50. I bought I so I would have the choice between reticals but find I only use the dot.This sight has the mount built onto the bottom and will clamp right onto the flatop similar to the Eotech. The aimpoint needs a ring or mount in addition to the sight (but you can get all sorts of different types and sizes to set things up or co-witness on any gun.
I would say run the S&W that you have untill it quits or you see something that you like better.

Have any of you all tried the millett red dot on their AR? I tried an ATN holographic on mine this past weekend, and liked it. However, I will probably just use the dot reticle, and the millett looks pretty nice for about half the cost of the ATN.

Another question I have regarding optics is if I would need to raise a reddot scope or could I just mount it directly to the flattop. The ATN was perfect when mounted to the flattop on my rifle. The front sight was visible just below the holographic image. I am concerned though, that the reddot may sit lower than the holographic sight.

BazookaJoe said:

I definately want it to co-witness with the iron sites, and I definately don't want to take the detachable carry handle off either

Click to expand...

If you plan to mount it forward of the carry handle on the handguard, you should be just fine since there is 7" of rail surface there. You can also mount it on the receiver by removing the detachable carry handle and letting the front hang over the barrel nut with no problem. One thing to keep in mind though is that unless the rail system you got was free-floated, it can shift position and if your sight is mounted to it, the zero may shift as well.

However I know a few guys running red dots on non-free floated rail systems and none of them notice any problems out to 100yds, so it must be fairly solid.

Nhsport said:

Any of the brand names (includeing DPMS,bushy,stag whatever) will work fine and the two different apetures of the flip will give you more flexability than the BUIS

Click to expand...

Most of the flip-rear sights on the market have two different apertures, including the most popular sights - the ARMS #40L and Troy. What they usually lack is an elevation adjustment, though there are some sights that have elevation adjustment as well (Wilson, Knight's 600M, Matech, are a few). Since a 50yd zero will let you shoot out to 300yds without messing with elevation though, elevation adjustment is normally not needed unless you plan to use irons to shoot further than that.

In the meantime, people like BUIS for the obvious reasons of convenience. The irons are always there with the rifle when you need them and not in a bag somehwere else. They are zeroed; because they have remained on the rifle and they are also easier and faster to deploy. Finally, they aren't much different pricewise from a good quality detachable carry handle (unless you buy the carry handle off AR15.com from all the people getting rid of their carry handles because they bought flip sights).

Here is an anecdote explaining why this gear is handy even for recreational shooters. We had a shooter with an NCStar red dot and a detachable carry handle. He drove about 90 minutes to get to the range and planned to spend the day there. Unfortunately for him, the NCStar was dead before he could finish the first magazine and he didn't pack the detachable carry handle in his shooting bag. So his entire day with the AR was pretty much shot unless he wanted to walk up to the pro shop and buy another handle/sight.

Ok, I decided on removing the detachable carry handle, and mounting the eotech to the rail, along with a flip up rear sight....Will this sight mount directly on there?

http://www.del-ton.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=ARMS144&PhotoNumber=2#largerphoto

Will this sight mount directly on there?

Click to expand...

Absolutely. The model in the picture has a quick-detach (QD) lever on the side. Simply open the latch, place the sight in the notch (Preferrably as far to the rear as possible) and lock it down. BTW, I like the way the aperatures are set up on that one. And Del-Ton is a great company to deal with.

Mike