Does anyone actually do this? (From Gundigest)

[oldfool]

Considering the rig he is wearing, it's most certainly a 3 gun setup.

agreed
I cannot really relate to it
but I would bet the family farm that guy ain't "Gecko", and he ain't some "I am from the internet" guy

people who shoot Olympic class target pistols, and $10K custom built BR50 rimfire rifles , and pro-class 3 gun, etc., etc.
ain't me
but they do what they do for very real reasons

gangbangers from the hood they ain't

 

[Sam1911]

people who shoot Olympic class target pistols, and $10K custom built BR50 rimfire rifles , and pro-class 3 gun, etc., etc. ain't me but they do what they do for very real reasons

Very well said. Competition shooting is a bit like Indy car racing. Competitors will spend lots of money chasing smaller and smaller advantages. If someone thinks up some really crazy idea and it works well for them today, tomorrow everyone has one. Next year, either the fad has passed, or everyone's decided that it's the "only" way to go. It's kind of an accelerated, grass-roots concept testing arena. In the end, maybe only 25% of the stuff that competitors use really trickles down to the "street." (Too fragile, too bulky, too expensive, whatever.) But the entire shooting "culture" benefits (eventually) from their ragged-edge shenanigans.

 

[Legionnaire]

Seems like the setup accomplishes a similar thing to the "see through" scope rings on lever-action carbines that so many (I'll admit it, self included) have scoffed at. So it's not really a new idea at all; just a new implementation.

 

[oldfool]

yep, what Sam said

despite all the hype culture re: "new and improved", it doesn't happen all that often, not in really big ways... but the little ways do add up
think about it, and my bet is that every shooter has benefited in ways they don't oft think about

if not for "wildcatters", I would not know and love the 357 mag (etc.) cartridge
if not for the speed on steel handgun shooters, I would not have red dots on some of my (only slightly weird) setups
if not for the competition shotgunners, I would not have fiber optics on some of my (only slightly weird) setups
if not for the long range BR rifle competitors, I would not have 20X or higher scopes on some of my setups (even though I don't shoot past 100 yards, only slightly weird, but fun)
if not for the CAS/SASS guys, finding affordable 357 leveractions would be mighty tough

If not for all those serious competition guys, joe-average-me would be missing a lot that I value in shooting
We might sometime give the hard core comp guys a little attitude
but we owe 'em all a lot
they don't owe joe-average-me a doggone thing

 

[hso]

Pretty common and pretty commonly used in matches where a reflex sight and telescopic sights are used during the course of fire.

 

[Justin]

Offset iron sights like that are much, much faster on close range targets than using a magnified optic, and obviously the magnified optic is going to be much more effective for engaging targets at distances out to 500+ yards.

The biggest disadvantage with offset irons, however, is that they can snag on stuff. That said, such a setup is still quite popular among Tactical or Limited Division 3Gun competitors, and will likely continue to be widely adopted until the new scope designs that go from 1x-8x come online in a big way.

Currently, these are the configurations that a lot of Tactical/Limited Division shooters use for their rifles:
-Fixed magnification optic with offset irons as pictured.
-Variable 1-4x scope such as a Schmidt & Bender Short Dot.
-Fixed magnification optic with an occluded eye scope cover. (This is what I run.)

Try going prone with that mag sticking out a foot or so and you'll see the reason for a side mount sight.

I can and have gone prone with an extended mag in my AR, and while it looks awkward, it's not the herculean task so many people seem to think it is.

An AR-15 can easily be deployed to 500 yards with iron sights, let alone with some type of optic (my gun wears an Eotech).

AR's can and are effectively deployed with iron sights out to 600 yards. High Power shooters do this regularly. However, in my experience and observations, when shooting under field conditions to medium and long distance a magnified optic is much, much more effective, allowing the shooter a higher probability of first round hits, as well as making it easier to make corrections for follow-up shots.