All of the above. Depending on the purpose of the rifle is how I outfit it. I love irons because they are dependable, but red dots and magnification serves its purpose in different applications.
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Optics or irons?
- Thread starter FF/ Trader
- Start date
If you're using iron sights that aren't original and permanently attached to your rifle/carbine:
1. Buy good sights. Matech, Troy, Magpul PRO, YHM, and several more.
2. Thoroughly degrease all male and female threads, then use a dab of blue Loctite.
3. If the sights get knocked around, or the weapon is dropped on the sights, get to the range and check them when you can.
I've seen iron sights fail in my classes, usually due to:
1. Cheap manufacture (either won't stay tight to the gun, or the adjustments fail)
2. Came loose
3. Knocked out of alignment
Iron sights can fail just like everything else made by man. Good ones, mounted properly and maintained, will be rugged and reliable. A quality RDS, like a properly mounted Aimpoint Micro, will be more reliable than a cheap set of irons that are ill-maintained. Just because they're irons, don't ignore them.
1. Buy good sights. Matech, Troy, Magpul PRO, YHM, and several more.
2. Thoroughly degrease all male and female threads, then use a dab of blue Loctite.
3. If the sights get knocked around, or the weapon is dropped on the sights, get to the range and check them when you can.
I've seen iron sights fail in my classes, usually due to:
1. Cheap manufacture (either won't stay tight to the gun, or the adjustments fail)
2. Came loose
3. Knocked out of alignment
Iron sights can fail just like everything else made by man. Good ones, mounted properly and maintained, will be rugged and reliable. A quality RDS, like a properly mounted Aimpoint Micro, will be more reliable than a cheap set of irons that are ill-maintained. Just because they're irons, don't ignore them.
I used to say, "Irons out to 200", but now my eyes don't work as good as they used to. Now I say, Iron always set, in case something happens to my optics, but I have a array of choices based on the capability I need. I have a CQ scope, longer range optic and a digital NV sight.
I've always said that I shoot tighter groups with a red dot optic than I do iron sights --even good iron sights like on my National Match M1A, my 03-A3 Springfield, or my M1 Garand.
But for the best groups sitting down from a bench rest, of course a magnifying scope with a crosshair reticle is better.
ONE THING people don't talk about much is how you can shoot faster with optics while achieving at least the same degree of precision, or more, than with iron sights.
The other day I did a test shooting a .22 rifle in my backyard from only 30 feet with low powered ammo. Standing, but leaning my butt and one shoulder against a wall for stability. The kind of shooting I would do in the field if I were hunting. With standard open sights, my group was 1.2 inches. And I had really take my time and concentrate on getting a good sight picture; it was hard to keep the front sight in sharp focus and let the target blur out without totally losing my idea of where the center of it was (well actually the bottom center because I was aiming a 6 o'clock hold.)
A few minutes later, I added a Tasco red dot scope on it; a cheap $40 scope with 30 mm lenses. My 5-shot standing group was only 0.52" center to center. And, I shot this group quickly with no hesitation, no blinking, no holding my breath for a couple seconds and then putting the rifle down because I couldn't get the shot off and then lifting it to try again. All five shots went quickly (about 4-6 seconds apart) and smoothly.
Finally, I stuck an old 4X Tasco deer rifle scope on the gun. I knew it was a poor choice for shooting a .22 rifle at extremely close range because the scope had factory set parallax to about 100 yards and my prior testing confirmed that it has significant parallax error at 50 feet so it must be even worse than 30 feet!
But, I tried to keep my head in the same position behind the ocular lens to minimize the effect of parallax. I don't know if it worked because my group was .70 inch. If you threw out the worst shot though it would be .5"
The scope still felt better and faster to use then iron sights, even with the added hassle of making sure my eye was centered behind the scope's rear lens.
I'd bet that if I were shooting this gun from 50 to 150 yards, that would be a range at which the four power scope would be noticeably superior to the non-magnifying red dot.
But for the best groups sitting down from a bench rest, of course a magnifying scope with a crosshair reticle is better.
ONE THING people don't talk about much is how you can shoot faster with optics while achieving at least the same degree of precision, or more, than with iron sights.
The other day I did a test shooting a .22 rifle in my backyard from only 30 feet with low powered ammo. Standing, but leaning my butt and one shoulder against a wall for stability. The kind of shooting I would do in the field if I were hunting. With standard open sights, my group was 1.2 inches. And I had really take my time and concentrate on getting a good sight picture; it was hard to keep the front sight in sharp focus and let the target blur out without totally losing my idea of where the center of it was (well actually the bottom center because I was aiming a 6 o'clock hold.)
A few minutes later, I added a Tasco red dot scope on it; a cheap $40 scope with 30 mm lenses. My 5-shot standing group was only 0.52" center to center. And, I shot this group quickly with no hesitation, no blinking, no holding my breath for a couple seconds and then putting the rifle down because I couldn't get the shot off and then lifting it to try again. All five shots went quickly (about 4-6 seconds apart) and smoothly.
Finally, I stuck an old 4X Tasco deer rifle scope on the gun. I knew it was a poor choice for shooting a .22 rifle at extremely close range because the scope had factory set parallax to about 100 yards and my prior testing confirmed that it has significant parallax error at 50 feet so it must be even worse than 30 feet!
But, I tried to keep my head in the same position behind the ocular lens to minimize the effect of parallax. I don't know if it worked because my group was .70 inch. If you threw out the worst shot though it would be .5"
The scope still felt better and faster to use then iron sights, even with the added hassle of making sure my eye was centered behind the scope's rear lens.
I'd bet that if I were shooting this gun from 50 to 150 yards, that would be a range at which the four power scope would be noticeably superior to the non-magnifying red dot.
