New AR/Rear Sight Question

[Aiko492]

Well, been kicking the tires for a little while (not too long). Wanted to get a decent AR without spending a ton....yet. I went with the DPMS A3 Lite from my FGS. They also carried Bushmaster, Stag, Rock River and Olympic. For a neophyte, this seemed to be fine...and upgradable.

My question is about rear sights which I need to add. I have little experience with AR's other than the couple of times I rented them. Are sights similar to those that come on an MP5 an option or even a good option-range adjusting?

I am a pretty good shot within 100-110 yds w/ out optics and would like to hold off on a red dot.. For a bit.

So, what what rear sight? And eventually what optics? I looked through an AR red dot optics once and it looked pretty nice. How accurate is it really and to what distance can it be?

Thanks for your thoughts..probably for the 10th time. They are appreciated.

 

[wally]

I assume you've got a "flat top" with the "standard" front sight. The issue is did they put an "F marked" tower on it when they made it?

If you've got the "short" tower and put on an A2 height rear you will have to pull the front sight up to almost the point you can see under the locking wheel to get a zero.

You can buy a front sight post that is taller than normal to compensate.


I've been happy with the cheap UTG A2 and Magpul flip up rear sights because I just adjust to get zero at 50 yards and then never mess with them. If you plan to count clicks to adjust POA/POI with range I suspect you will want something better, but for my old eyes its a waste of money as I need a scope for this!

The Magpul folds very flat, but does not have elevation adjustment, only windage.

But I really like having backup sights when using a red dot optic so I'm not SOL when the battery goes dead. I try to set up my red dots for "lower third" co-witness, although co-witness works well too, I like viewing the dot above the irons with both eyes open for fast steel plate shooting.

 

[chrome_austex]

You have two good routes for irons + rds.

Fixed rear sight with elevation and windage adjustments, or a flip up rear with only windage (the standard AR front sight is adjustable for elevation, but doing so is a bit of a PITA, and isn't something you can do without breaking position.

A lot of guys who run a Red dot go with flip up rears as a backup and just leave them folded down most of the time to get a nice clear view of the dot.

Going with fixed rear sight gets you a better sight, more suitable for irons work at a variety of distances beyond 200y, but many red dot users dont care about that.

Accuracy with a red dot is limited only by your ability to discern a good sight picture, which is usually a bit trickier than with a low power scope. Lowering the brightness and getting a red dot with a 2moa dot will help a little, depending on your target. If you have an astigmatism(sp?) that can cause a red dot to look blurred, and can hurt your sight picture.

 

[wally]

My main tip for using a red dot optic is to keep the brightness as low as you can to see it quickly and then look through the dot and focus on the target.

 

[Zerodefect]

I like the Diamond Head rear sights.

I think Troy also has a diamond shaped rear sight.

If you like to rely on your irons more than me, that the fixed DD and LMT rear sights may be what you're after.

 

[wnycollector]

I picked up a Midwest Industries fixed rear sight for $50 here http://www.midwestindustriesinc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=234 to put on my BCM Middy.

 

[gotigers]

The MI above is a good choice.

another is the Daniel Defense:

http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XDD11002