which night sights for AR-15?

[jhark123]

hello all,

I am new to the AR-15 and would like to put some kind of night sight on it. This gun is for home defense. I've found two options so far and would like opinions on them. Of course, I am open to other options if there are any.

1. Trijicon front and rear sights. Basically a three dot set up

2. Xs sights "stripe" front post. a glowing vertical line, also available with a trintium rear sight same a trijicon.

 

[Onmilo]

I personally like a Meprolight front, which is a vertical post tritium vial instead of a dot tritium vial as used in the Trijicon front.
I use this with the Trijicon two dot rear which is brighter than the Meprolight rear sights.

XS tritium sights tend to be too course for fine shooting in daylight.

 

[Fast Frank]

Personaly, I think the EOTECH makes the best night sight for an AR15.

Turned way down low, it can be used in any light condition that allows you to identify a target.

The "Two Eyes Open" part is very benificial in near pitch dark conditions, too.

If you can see it, you can shoot it.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

+1 for EOtech. It's super-fast and leaves your perephial vison open. Is there a reason you want to stick with irons?

 

[jhark123]

I am sticking with irons due to cost and reliability. I don't see myself having time to turn on the eotech when I grabe the rifle in the middle of the night

 

[jhark123]

the xs sight is a vertical unit also, it's the very top left in the attached pic:

Their website says that it is .100" wide.

1. how wide is a standard front sight?

2. how wide is the meprolight?

I noticed that both the xs sight and the meprolight have the trintium vial set lower than the top of the sight. Wouldn't the lower vial give you a different point of aim at night versus during daylight?

 

[Onmilo]

When one is shooting at night minute of bad guy is a pretty big target and the point of impact won't matter.
At night on a foggy or cloudy one, anything past 35 meters you aren't going to see well enough for precision shooting unless you have night vision goggles..
For inside a residence or on the property proper POI won't matter, the target will be big enough to draw a bead on.
I don't have the exact dimension handy but the Meprolight is the same diameter as the standard round post A1 front.

Like I said, the XS are very good night sights, lots of light output, easy to aquire, even in total darkness, they are just too course for fine daylight shooting.
The tritium vial on the Meprolight front is small enough that it won't be a distraction in daylight shooting and most night sight fronts feature a 'dual post' that allows you to rotate the trite sight out of the way without changing point of impact.
I don't bother with this feature, I get the front sight set and just ignore the vial in daylight.

 

[DMK]

I am sticking with irons due to cost and reliability.

I've got a set of Trijicon night sights I'll sell ya cheap. I went with a red dot on my AR.

 

[Hauptmann]

I use trijicon which has a better reliability and longer life span history. The only down side to night sights on an AR is that the front dot is below the sight post similar to that of a handgun sight. This means that you have to sight in your AR according to the dot, or according to the top of the sight post. I have the best of both worlds. I have marked my elevation dopler not only in 100 yard increments(one elevation tick for every 100 yards), but according to whether I want to use the top of the sight post, or the tritium dot. I revert to using the top of the sight post during the day because I can see the target better and have a greater degree of precision. I like open sights, and I have the same setup on my Robinson Arms XCR.

I recommend that you consider getting a very good flash hider for your AR or else you won't see the night sights after your first shot. I use a Vortex.