This should prove how ubiquitous the AR15 has become – my very not ‘Tactical Tod’ neighbor got one. It needed zeroing but neither he nor I could figure out elevation adjustment on the MBUS ‘iron’ sights. I took it home with me promising to do a little Magpul research and then zero it for him, then he and I can go over the rifle’s care and feeding together. Fortunately the ‘research’ was easy since Ian was right there and I just asked him.
So this morning I took my portable target stand and toys to the wash and got it zeroed at 50 yards…
…and since he’s already convinced of the superiority of red dots, now I’ll do a little Holosun-related market research. Then I’ll invite myself over to his place and we’ll go over the controls and how to strip it for cleaning.
Red dots are fine but one can do nearly as well close up with the right LPVO on 1X and also have the option of magnification, in 1-6X or 1-8X The “budget” LPVOs are in the Aimpoint Pro price range, although the really good stuff runs about $1300. If fixed magnification is a requirement the are 2X, 3X and 5X prism optics. Given the distances one finds in your area being able to dial up to 6X might come in handy.
All depends on the rifle’s purpose. I’d never used nor even looked through a red dot until this year. I bought one for testing, liked it, & bought another, the second with the “shake-awake” feature. I do like the red-dot sights, but the “for waht” part is important.
For rapid acquisition, I won’t use one; I’m going to try a holo sight. If that’s unsuitable for me, I’ll stick with irons. Part of the problem is that, at 55 & being unused to optics, my eyes just have trouble quickly sighting down a tube.
Ooops–“for what”. I really must proofread my posts.
If I’m ever trying to type “whoa” & it comes out “woah”, as some imbeciles spell it, I shall commit seppuku from the pure shame of it.
I have been using a red-dot sight (on a competition handgun) for a very long time.
First was a Tasco PDP4 in the early ’90s, and then later a PDP5, that I bought when I sent the -4 in for service.
If you a “sighting down the tube”, then you are doing it wrong (or you are referring to a traditional ‘scope with a red-dot reticle, which is unlikely since you mentioned “shake-awake”).
There are two BIG advantages of red-dot sights;
– the dot and the target are in the same focal plane (no more “front sight in focus, target blurred)
and
– you shoot with both eyes open (which allows you to see ALL of the target)
One eye looks directly at the target (along the side of the sight), while the other looks at the target through the sight. This relies on the magic of the human visual cortex to do its stuff and combine the left and right eye images into one of the target with a nice red aiming mark on it. This is nothing unusual, by the way, it’s how our binocular vision works, every day. The key here is “look at the target”. Do NOT focus on the dot. Focus on the target. Try to forget that you have a sight on the gun.
For rapid sight acquisition, there is not much that’s quicker. It’s simply a case of focusing on the target, drawing the gun, then moving it into shooting position between face and target – presto, there’s the aiming mark.
For me it took only a little practice to modify my presentation of the pistol a little lower to account for the higher position of the sight above the bore axis. This is due to the fact that I use a bridge mount to attach the sight to the frame of my 1911-style pistol. Later versions can (allegedly) handle the pounding of being directly attached to the slide.
Sendarius: Thank you for the clear explanation. Unfortunately, I and the two people closest to me who might have to shoot something have only three eyes between us, i.e., one each. Dammit. I’m still waiting for my Terminator Clone Eye Mk I. Sigh.
Actually I have also mostly lost my right eye for sighting purposes, and have found a red dot very helpful as I learned to shoot lefty. Personally I find it a big improvement over irons.
Haven’t had much experience using them on pistols, but Ian occasionally brings a toy along and they seem equally useful there as well. Don’t really understand the controversy, personally – though my experience with them on pistols is very limited.
Robert: Sorry to hear that. It helps clarify why you might be having an issue that I don’t.
If you get that Terminator Clone Eye, see if you can upgrade to the one with inbuilt targeting, like Robocop.
You may want to look into the Bushnell Lil P. It has the advantages of being a prismatic sight (reticle is still present without battery charge and it is clear for people with astigmatism) and can be found on sale at decent prices.
Others may have differing opinions of them. I’ve been impressed with it the few times that I’ve used mine thus far.
A glass eye would almost be worth it if I could put in a red LED ala Terminator for halloween. 🙂 Anyway, I assumed a red dot sight required binocular vision, so I’m grateful for your description of it.