Help with AR-15 "night sights" for yotes.

[Tacoma]

Before I start, let me say that I already have a AR Varmint rifle. ( 24" bull , Magpull PRS stock, 20x scope, bipod, etc). However, it weighs over 11 # and is hardly a quick pointing "walkign gun". That said, I have a underused 16" A-2 style Ar sitting in the safe that needs a purpose.
So lately, I'm getting woken up at 3 AM ( regularly) by yotes howling within 50 yds of my window. So I'm thinking of dressing up the A-2 to make it a yote buster for these short, quick shots. So, without dropping $$$$ on a night scope, what are my best options for close shots in dim light within the limitations of the fixed carry handle.
I was thining a barrel mounted light and either : a) a tritium front sight or b) a dot optic mouned on the carry handle.

Thoughts and experience welcome.

 

[Dr.Rob]

Make sure spotlighting is legal before you do it, but many animals will 'freeze' in a spotlight. You don't need anything but irons at that range and it makes you identify your target.

 

[Nikdfish]

There's a green laser based illuminator that sells for $250 - $300. You can collimate the beam spread to pretty much match your scope field of view. You would need to pair this with some form of scope/sights. The literature claims it will fully illuminate a target out to 250 yards. It is not a "night vision" product, the beam is completely visible...

Nick

 

[blacktailhunter]

Goahead and look at night vi scopes you can get them realy cheep now about a 100$ at a sporting goods store.

 

[Grumulkin]

Just get a scope mount for your AR and use a regular scope. A lighted reticle would be nice but probably not absolutely essential especially if there is a full moon; snow makes it even better.

Just remember, on an AR, the scope will be pretty high over the barrel. This means that for close shots, you'll have to shoot high. Practice at the ranges you intend to shoot at would be a good idea.

 

[Tacoma]

Thanks for the input. I did order a set of tritium iron sights, carry handle scope mount and a barrel mounted tactical light last night. I'll continue to research optics. At the ranges I'll be shooting, I'm thinking that something like a larger apature dot sight might work well. Truglo makes a 2x 42mm that looks interesting for cheap $.

 

[rcmodel]

Truglo makes a 2x 42mm that looks interesting for cheap $.

Forget that.
Just get a standard red-dot sight with no magnification.

2x power will reduce low-light ability.
And the 2x Tru-Glo has a very bad reputation for having excessive parallax.

Do a search and you will find several posts like this one:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=2230894&postcount=14

And this one:
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=2226708&postcount=9

rc

 

[d2wing]

When I tried to use a red dot at night, I could only see the dot. Target disappeared, even with both eyes open. I've had better luck with a 1x scope.