Daniel Defense A1.5 Rear Aperture Problem

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rifleman14

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I just received my A1.5 rear sight from aimsurplus today and immediately I noticed that on the large hole aperture, it looks as if the hole was not drilled exactly in the center like with the small hole aperture. There is more metal on the left sight of the peep hole than the right, making me think that when switching between the small and large aperture, I will have a serious problem with my shots hitting to the right(if they are hitting POA with the small aperture). I am wondering if I am right in my suspision, or if this is meant to be this way. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
 

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the picture was taken with my iphone about 10 minutes ago right after the UPS guy dropped it off at my front door, so it's not the best quality, but I can say for sure that it is without a doubt drilled to the right. I'm just wondering if its supposed to be this way or if, once again, I got screwed over with yet ANOTHER faulty part for my AR. Seems like manufacturers just don't know how to MANUFACTURE anymore :cuss: :banghead:
 
I don't know if that's a defect or not: when you flip the aperture it also moves slightly to the side along the screw, and one or the other aperture must be offset slightly in order to keep both perfectly aligned with the front post. I don't know which aperture is usually the off-center one. Looking at an A2 carry handle the big one appears to be off center, while looking at a Troy BUIS it appears to be the small one. I have a DD 1.5 which I'll check later if I get a chance.

Beyond that, while I would absolutely want any new item to be perfect and would return one that's defective, the actual difference in windage if your rear aperture is off by the amount suggested from it being off-center would be tiny. If you try flipping between large and small apertures at the range you will likely find that the group opens up significantly with the large aperture, even at just 25 yards. The large aperture is, IMHO, primarily a night use or CQB aperture - while it's marked 0-2 for up to 200 yards, I personally would use the small aperture for any precision shooting at all (with an A2 or carry handle the elevation drum lets you adjust, even for distances as short as 25 yards using the "z" zeroing mark).
 
That seems too obvious to miss unless those folks have no QC. Investigate the possibility that it is off-center for a reason. See of the thing actually does travel left and right as it flips. I'd also measure from the edge of the hole to the sides...the wings. In other words, it doesn't matter if the hole is centered in the piece...it matters that the hole is centered along the centerline of the gun when installed.

I hate stuff like this when it happens to me.
 
I think I'm in the clear, as the aperture does move slightly as you switch from small to large, so I believe it is meant to be offset especially after seeing so many photos of standard A2 apertures that looked exactly the same. Unfortunately, the high level of quality on this sight allowed me to realize that my front sight is canted. So, being the perfectionist that I am, I am removing the tilted front sight from my rifle and replacing it with a gas block for use with flip up sight in order to run a red dot sight. Any suggestions on a good combination of gas block and flip up front sight?
 
Is there any reason you don't want to use a standard front sight base? The only flip up I have is the rear.
 
it's canted to the right by about 6 degrees or so. The way I see it, the irons are supposed to be precise, but how can they be precise when the front sight post isn't in line with the barrel anymore? I just placed the order yesterday for a KNS front sight post set with the different style posts, in hopes that they could hone my iron sight precision a bit more, but I don't even see the point of opening the package when it comes in the mail if the front sight base is canted like it is
 
Looks like I'll be getting a troy flip up rear sight and possibly that ARMS front sight, as I have seen in before and really like the idea/concept. Sure wish I would have known about this dang front sight cant before now. Now I have to either try to sell the DD rear sight and end up losing $15 or so on it, or trying to return it to AIM. I suppose that I will still be able to use the front sight posts that are coming in the mail with that ARMS sight, am I correct? Also, how's the sight picture with the ARMS sight? Does it look identical, or at least close enough to the original A2 front sight?
 
The front sight post, sight post receptacle and dog ears are virtually identical to the A2 front sight assembly.

When I installed it on my 20" AR, I mounted my upper receiver in a gun vise. I taped a sheet of paper to a wall and, using a level, I drew a plumb vertical line (stripe) on it with a marker. I adjusted the rear sight to center. I placed a small level on top of the rear sight "housing" to make sure the rifle was level in the gun vise, then I looked through the bore from the breech end and aligned the stripe in the center of the bore from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock. Then I looked through the rear sight and adjusted the front sight so the front sight post was centered on the stripe and the front stripe was centered in the rear sight aperature. I carefully tightened the capscrews while making sure the bore and front sight post stayed aligned with the stripe. This got a little tricky because I also had to make sure the front sight base fitted firmly back against the handguard cap. (The cap should not wiggle after installation. If it wiggles then the gas hole in the front sight may not align with the gas hole in the barrel, and the action may not cycle properly.) It took a little time and effort to get everything lined up and tightened but I was rewarded for my effort at the range when the rear sight required zero clicks to adjust for windage when I sighted-in the rifle.

Good luck!
 
I finally looked at my DD A1.5 tonight and its large aperture is not off-center to quite the degree of yours. It is slightly off-center, but only very slightly. I'll repeat that I doubt this would affect aiming much on the 0-2, but I wouldn't be happy with it and I would contact DD for a replacement.

DD has outstanding CS, do not worry they will fix the mistake.
Click to expand...

100% agree, based on personal experience.
 
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