What Ar 15 irons?

[SVTOhio]

I've started to build a dedicated hunting AR so the Nikon 3-9x will be coming off of my 16" AR. I'm looking to then in turn upgrade the irons on my rifle. The guns primary use will be at the bedside for home defense. But I would also like to put some hard work in at the range. I want something that will be accurate enough for range use but possibly a fiber optic/Night site on the front. The gun is a mid length with A2 FSP and fixed ace stock. Right now It wears a Matech Buis on the back and standard blade in the A2 FSP. I'm an not opposed at all to a carry handle sight if people believe that is my best option.


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[Tirod]

One suggestion is to keep what you have and add a green laser. Iron sights costing another $100 more won't do anything to improve shot placement at ranges under 25 feet. If it comes with a 100 lumen or more area light then so much the better to actually ID the target before pulling the trigger.

Irons in the dark aren't the answer for lo/no light work.

You then get to train for spot lighting the target and snapping off a shot in less than 3 seconds with movement to prevent them using your lights to reference where to shoot back.

And I won't clutter the thread, but HD is about the home's exterior defenses, not the last ditch desperate response because they totally failed with no warning whatsoever. Ya, I understand it's a gun forum. We talk about guns not the big picture.

Use the irons you have and add something that will work in near total darkness when irons are useless.

 

[SVTOhio]

One suggestion is to keep what you have and add a green laser. Iron sights costing another $100 more won't do anything to improve shot placement at ranges under 25 feet. If it comes with a 100 lumen or more area light then so much the better to actually ID the target before pulling the trigger.



Irons in the dark aren't the answer for lo/no light work.



You then get to train for spot lighting the target and snapping off a shot in less than 3 seconds with movement to prevent them using your lights to reference where to shoot back.



And I won't clutter the thread, but HD is about the home's exterior defenses, not the last ditch desperate response because they totally failed with no warning whatsoever. Ya, I understand it's a gun forum. We talk about guns not the big picture.



Use the irons you have and add something that will work in near total darkness when irons are useless.

I guess I wasn't descriptive enough in my question. I would like sights that will be better at distance when target shooting then my current set up of Matech BUIS and stars are blade in the A2 front sight post.

 

[maxxhavoc]

For ranged shooting, the go-to sights are the carry handle, A2 sights only (without the handle) or Matech. Most of the "upgrade" sights do not have click-adjustable windage and elevation like the GI offerings do.

A NM front sight post will help some for sure, it is a smaller diameter.

The best accuracy upgrade I made to my 16" carbine was a 15" free-float tube. That let me put a Troy front sight post farther out, giving the carbine a sight radius close to a 20" rifle. I just cut down the A2 Front post to clear the tube, so it is still a pinned gas block. It won't make as big of a difference on a middy, but increasing the sight radius by that 15-20% will definitely help shrink groups.

 

[jmorris]

Get a KNS front sight post assortment, a 1/2 MOA rear sight and an assortment of hoods.

You will have a trade off of accuracy vs speed but if you keep everything stock you have the opposite.

Fiber optics are fine for acquisition but are counter productive for precision work.

I don't know what your hunting but the 3-9 is likely a good choice.

 

[SVTOhio]

For ranged shooting, the go-to sights are the carry handle, A2 sights only (without the handle) or Matech. Most of the "upgrade" sights do not have click-adjustable windage and elevation like the GI offerings do.

A NM front sight post will help some for sure, it is a smaller diameter.

The best accuracy upgrade I made to my 16" carbine was a 15" free-float tube. That let me put a Troy front sight post farther out, giving the carbine a sight radius close to a 20" rifle. I just cut down the A2 Front post to clear the tube, so it is still a pinned gas block. It won't make as big of a difference on a middy, but increasing the sight radius by that 15-20% will definitely help shrink groups.

So your thinking the MAtech would be fine for my uses? It seems the diameter is a little large for my liking.

 

[maxxhavoc]

So your thinking the MAtech would be fine for my uses? It seems the diameter is a little large for my liking.

That is a personal preference issue. If the rear aperture is too big for you, the A2 sight may be your easier choice. It certainly has a better elevation setup than the Matech (since the numbers on the Matech never seem to match up with reality.) Some people auto-center easier than others. My eyesight is on the decline, so the .050 aperture is good to go for me. The pinhole on a M1903 leaves me searching for that blurry little front sight for far too long. The smaller the aperture, the more light you need to see the front sight clearly. As you get older, the apertures get bigger

You can buy replacement apertures for an A2 from a few places (although i don't see many in stock.) The standard should be .050/.060. They used to be out there commonly for .030/.040 This APPEARS to be one of those but I have no experience with this product:
http://pkf.sdsaccess.net/rear-sight-aperture-national-match-040-and-030-item-f-nm

Or this might be the ticket for you (once again, I do not own one) since it can also do 1/4 MOA adjustments if you like:
https://www.rockriverarms.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=291

Both of these options will require some sort of A2 sight, either standalone or carry handle.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

A NM front sight post will help some for sure, it is a smaller diameter.

Personally, I find I shoot better with a standard GI front post. The NM is too skinny to get a good focus on. YMMV of course.

I do like the NM peep though, at least until an overcast day or dusk on any day.


I'd go with a red dot for the bedside and a carry handle for marksmanship practice. Use a torque wrench when swapping sights and you should get pretty good return to zero. Or, just buy a second upper

 

[maxxhavoc]

For comparison, here is a 20" rifle, 16" with 15" rail, and 16" carbine. The sight radius becomes the same as a 20" rifle, so you can use standard click documentation for an M16.

Especially helpful on a carbine.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I like the Knights Armament 200-600 rear BIUS.

Seems to work out pretty when when you get it sighted in. simply adjust the collar for range. Pretty simple.

I used a removable carry handle for years on my carbine. Worked great.

However, if you want to put some kind of optic on the carry handle, I must recommend against it.

The sight over bore on an ar is noticeable at close distances. An optic on top of a carry handle makes it even more noticeable.

 

[SVTOhio]

I like the Knights Armament 200-600 rear BIUS.

Seems to work out pretty when when you get it sighted in. simply adjust the collar for range. Pretty simple.

I used a removable carry handle for years on my carbine. Worked great.

However, if you want to put some kind of optic on the carry handle, I must recommend against it.

The sight over bore on an ar is noticeable at close distances. An optic on top of a carry handle makes it even more noticeable.

I'm thinking a carry handle may be my best bet. I want to stay away from reddots because of the battery/reliability issues with the cheaper ones (money is too tight to drop 4-600$ on a decent reddot)

 

[Onmilo]

I've started to build a dedicated hunting AR so the Nikon 3-9x will be coming off of my 16" AR. I'm looking to then in turn upgrade the irons on my rifle. The guns primary use will be at the bedside for home defense. But I would also like to put some hard work in at the range. I want something that will be accurate enough for range use but possibly a fiber optic/Night site on the front. The gun is a mid length with A2 FSP and fixed ace stock. Right now It wears a Matech Buis on the back and standard blade in the A2 FSP. I'm an not opposed at all to a carry handle sight if people believe that is my best option.


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In my opinion you answered your own question.
Matech back up rear is quite good and the A2 rear sight set up on a detachable carry handle has qualified many a military trainee as expert.

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

I'm thinking a carry handle may be my best bet. I want to stay away from reddots because of the battery/reliability issues with the cheaper ones (money is too tight to drop 4-600$ on a decent reddot)

I can get next to that.

If you like the look of the carry handle and/or will use the carry handle for carrying the rifle, I say go for it.

If not, you may consider a sight that has windage/elevation adjustment but does not take up all of the real estate on the rail.

Just food for thought.

 

[henschman]

For target shooting at distance, you will want some sort of rear sight that is adjustable for elevation (if you plan on shooting past 300 yards or so). Look at what NRA and CMP Service Rifle shooters use on their game guns. "Target shooting at distance" is what those games are all about. Usually they will have an A2 carry handle upper with a national match rear sight with a smaller than factory aperture. Front sight width is a pretty personal choice -- some guys like a fatter front post because it is easier to focus on... I personally like a narrow front post, because I feel like it allows for a more precise hold, and my 31 year old eyes have no trouble focusing on it. My favorite AR front sight is the round A1 style match front sight that Tech Sights sells (www.tech-sights.com). It is 4 MOA wide when installed on a 20" rifle's FSB. I like the approximately 2 MOA wide front sight in a M1903 even better... but I haven't seen one that thin for an AR.

 

[Mike C2]

The KNS sight set as mentioned above is great. It gives you several different style posts with different aiming devices. Points, valleys, balls, reduced size square posts.

Each has it's merits and almost all make for a finer more accurate aiming point than the GI standard post or even the NM post for that matter regardless of front sight manufacturers.

 

[Hardtarget]

You can get a sight set from Sun Optics that offer rear sight windage and elevation. Only seen them on line...never held and inspected a set.

Mark

 

[goon]

If you like the A2 style sight without a carry handle, LMT makes one.

If you like a set-it-and-forget-it type rear sight, try a Daniel Defense A1.5 rear sight.

Either will work fine with the stock front sight.