AR newb: How do I use these sights correctly?

[The Swede]

Here is the picture of my sights. My question is how would I line up the sights to hit exactly where I want to hit. This my sound like a dumb question, but I am really just use to a rear sight with a notch cut in it. The way I've been doing it is lining up the bottom of the rear sight with the top of the front sight post. Is this correct? It seems awkward to me. It is supper fast to acquire a target just by putting the post sort of in the center of the circle but doesn't seem reliable enough for placing a shot where I want to place it. I hope my question is understood. These sites are just different to me.

 

[Funderb]

put the post in the center of the peep, left and right,
and half way top to bottom. bullet goes on top of post.

if you still need assistance, download a military manual free somewhere on the internet and you will be shown the correct setup.
I can email you one if you don't find it.


The sights are actually very accurate, better than the post and notch, this coming from a mosin fan.

 

[Avenger29]

Alright, get your cheekrest. Look through the rear aperture. Do not think about it, just look through it. Focus on the front sight. Align the front sight with the target, squeeze trigger. The beauty of an aperture sight is that you don't have to worry about the rear sights. The eye automatically centers the front post in it.

 

[The Swede]

Ok, Thank you! I went shooting with a friend who also has an AR, he was telling me to line the bottom of the peep with the top of the front post, it didn't seem natural and too blurry. But yes, putting the post right in the center of the peep is fast and natural. Thank you.

 

[SimpleIsGood229]

Yep. Just focus on the front sight.

 

[Swampy]

I went shooting with a friend who also has an AR, he was telling me to line the bottom of the peep with the top of the front post, it didn't seem natural and too blurry.

NO!! NO!! NO!! NO!!.......

Center the top of the post in the rear aperture....... Don't "look" at the rear aperture, just look THROUGH it. Ignore it and focus on the front post. Your eye will naturally center the top of the post in the aperture.

Now place the top of the post where you want to hit and press......

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
2007 NRA Missouri State 600 yard Service Rifle Champion.... with an M1

 

[P-32]

I agree with everyone above......Once you get used to using the peep sights and focusing on the front sight, you will find they do work very well. There is a reason why the US military went away from the V notch many years ago.

 

[MassMark]

Find a new friend...Just kidding... Everything takes practice and it sounds like you are on the right track - you'll be out-shooting your buddy in no time if you follow the above advice...

PS: Try your wide aperture for close in - you'll find it less obtrusive.

 

[Soap]

The proper sight picture is with the front post centered in the circle of the peep. My advice would be to rip that EOTech off of there and learn how to shoot with irons first. Then you can graduate to an optic. Every rifleman needs to know how to shoot with irons properly IMO.

 

[sacp81170a]

Looking at your picture, you have the long range peep flipped up. Be aware that there is a difference in zero between the long and short range. With the long range peep, you can zero at 25 meters. Based on the trajectory of M193 and M855 ball and the design of the sights, you will be battle zeroed at 300 meters. This means that you should be able to get hits on a man sized target out to 450 meters with no hold over. Zero the short range sights at 42 meters and you're good out to 250 meters. At very close ranges (<25m), the offset of the sights will make you hit above the point of aim. Look for FM 23-9. It should be available for download on a number of sites.

Get good with the irons first, then co-witness your Eotech to the irons.

ETA: Correction, at close ranges, you will hit below the POA. My bad, carry on.

 

[Eightball]

.....I could've sworn somewhere that someone told me that the correct way to use those style sights was to get the ears even to the middle of the circle, and shoot "cherry on a post" (similar to "6'o'clock hold") style, rather than get the post itself centered w/ bullet going to the top of the front post, w/front post being middle of bullseye?

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

For general use, I recommend the larger aperture.

Nose to the charging handle, let the rear sight fade away. Focus on the front sight and put the tip of the post on whatever you want to hit. Very effective and accurate iron sights.

 

[Coronach]

There are two differing schools of thought on two different aspects of peep shooting, but there common aspects are this:

1. Get a good solid cheek position. Keep this consistent. Consistency aids accuracy.

2. Roughly center the front sight post in the peep.

3. Now, look THROUGH the peep and concentrate on the FSP.

4. Place the FSP in the target. The target will be fuzzy. The rear peep sight will be very fuzzy, or you'll "lose" it completely. The FSP should be very sharp.

5. Control your breathing, and pause.

6. Squeeze the trigger gently, until it breaks.

7. Follow through (hold that position for a moment, then back off the trigger until it resets).

8. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The different schools of thought center around cheek position and placement of the FSP.

The .mil teaches 'nose to charging handle' to get your eye close to the rear sight and to use the charging handle as a landmark for keeping your position consistent. I know some very good shooters who like to back up more and use the 'wings' of the front sight assembly as a reference for how centered the front sight is in the peep. Both methods seem to work, but we're talking combat accuracy, not bench rest accuracy, and I have no idea if one is faster than the other.

The placement of the FSP is variously described as:

1. directly on the target

2. "pumpkin on a post" or 6 o'clock hold, or something just a smidgen more than that, where you can see a sliver of white between the top of the FSP and the bottom of the bullseye.

Criticism of holding the FSP directly on the target is that it can be hard to judge elevation exactly with a black FSP and a black target. Criticism of the 6 o'clock hold is that it is dependent on you shooting a black bull of such and such dimensions, since your point of aim is actually the very bottom of the bullseye, and your rounds impact a certain distance above that point (length of the radius of the bull).

Which to use depends on what you're trying to do. Advocates of combat shooting say you put the FSP tip where you want the bullets to land. Most everyone else advocates 6 o'clock hold. If you're just learning, I would go with 6 o'clock hold, since it is easier to figure out what you're doing wrong.

Basically, though? Center the FSP in the rear sight, superimpose on target, focus on FSP, pull trigger.

Mike

 

[taliv]

there are several other FSP placements, such as flat tire and reverse flat tire. alternate names for 1 and 2 above are "center hold" and "line of white"

when shooting bulls eyes, choice of sight pictures is also affected by age. as people pass from youth through their 40s and their eyes change, they often find it necessary to go to a different picture

 

[Sistema1927]

Here is exactly what it should look like:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bb/M16_rifle_correct_sight_alignment_FM_3-22.9_(23-9)_Fig_4-17.png/593px-M16_rifle_correct_sight_alignment_FM_3-22.9_(23-9)_Fig_4-17.png

As stated previously, you just look through the rear aperture and the human eye lines it us just like this.

 

[cracked butt]

Just put your nose on the charging handle and put the target on top of the front post. If you are looking through the rear sight you actually have to try if you want to uncenter thefront sight. Don't try, just do.