Just had my gunsmith install a VC Ghost ring rear sight with attached pica tinny rail. Sight's look good and feel solid. Prior to having them installed, I emailed VC about compatibility with a Mossberg 590A1 already installed with factory ghost ring sights. I completely forgot about my email once my gunsmith said that they were compatible.

Today, I received an email from VC saying that the rear sight setup IS compatible with a Mossberg 590A1 receiver, but it won't work as a sight system because the factory front sight ramp is too tall.

This didn't make much sense to me, but I thought I would put it out here for more knowledgeable people than myself to answer.

Would the installed rear sight work in conjunction with the factory front sight ramp?

For point of reference, the shotgun that I bought:



And the rear sight that I bought and had installed that is calling my purchase into question:



Would these two be able to work in conjunction together? Does anyone else here have this setup?

P.S.: I initially was going to purchase the Aimpro Tactical Ghost Ring Rear but it is ITAR controlled and wasn't an option for me. That being said, the Aimpro model, other than being drilled and tapped specifically for a Mossberg receiver, appears to be at a similar height setup to the VC system. This is only adding to my confusion when I was told that the VC rear sight wouldn't work with the factory front sight.

If it relates to the construction of fighting shotguns and Hans Vang says it, it came down from the mountaintop on a stone tablet.

lol, fair enough. do you, or anyone you know have a VC Rear sight on a 590A1 in conjunction with the factory front ramp sight?

I know Hans Vang.

I tend to agree with what Combat_Jack said.  I don't know Hans Vang, but I've met and chatted with him a couple times.  If it's related to this topic, Hans Vang's word should be the first and is the last to the best of my knowledge.

That being said, since you have both sights, reinstall the original Mossberg ghost ring, run the elevation down as far as you can and take a measurement from a fixed point on the receiver, then run the elevation up as far as you can and take a measurement from the same fixed point.  That will give the range of elevation for the rear sight that the factory front sight is calibrated to to work with.  Take off the Mossberg sight, reinstall the Vang sight and take the same measurements.  That should show you if the Vang sight is even close to the factory sight as it relates to the factory front sight.  Make sense?

That does make sense, thank you! Actually, my gunsmith did that. He put the sights in front of the ghost ring sight to eyeball if they lined up properly. They appeared to and so he went ahead and removed the factory ghost rings and put these on.

I didn't have any issue until I got the email from VC.

Interestingly enough, a reply to my follow-up email from VC said that the read sight wasn't the issue, but rather that the factory front sight ramp is too tall. Suffice it to say, I don't know what to think anymore.

Aimpro Tactical for the 590

Take out and try to sight it in with slugs at 50 yards(or whatever distance you want), it shouldn't take many shots to determine if something is very far off.  If it is, try to adjust the sights to point of impact.  If there isn't enough "adjustment", you can always file down the front sight, cheap and easy, and touch it up with cold blue or whatever.

And your gunsmith "eyeballing" it is pretty different from actually taking measurements, particularly where tenths or hundredths of an inch can make all the difference in adjustment.

Good luck with your gun and keep posted on what happens.

That was actually my first choice but its ITAR controlled and the VC system is made for the 590. It's just a matter of the front sight height evidently. I'll take it out once I can and try sighting it in.

Putting a new front sight blade on isnt a big deal.

Agreed, but since this whole height issue, I'm not sure what front sight replacement options there are.

Best solution is to have one soldered on and cut to height.

Possibly. I watched a video yesterday on VC YouTube channel. They had a 590A1 with the rear ghost ring sight and their front sight soldered on. I have a hard time believing that the VC front sight is considerably taller or shorter than the stock front sight ramp of the 590A1.

Is anyone able to confirm the front sight height of the VC ghost ring front sight system? I found the height of the Mossberg front sight:

So finally clarified the issue regarding height. It appears that there was a bit of miscommunication between me and VC.

The rear ghost-ring sight base fits the 590A1 with no issue.

However, the FRONT sight is too tall. The stock front sight height is .350" and the folks down at VC suggested that i move to a more modest .250" in height.

I was given a part number by XS sights who make a dovetail insert that can replace the factory front sight ramp. It's just a matter of getting a company to ship it to Canada.

That being said, if anyone knows of a different company that makes a suitable replacement for my shotgun, I'm all ears.

A tenth of an inch(.1) isn't very much material.  A file and cold blue should work on the sight just fine and you could probably even radius the front a bit and break the back edge to give a stock look.  Just my $.02.....

that's my belief too. truth be told, while in my LGS, i handled the same model of shotgun that i bought (before installing the VC rear sight) and the sight picture is virtually identical. Even the employees thought so.

I'll be putting some slugs through my gun in its current state on monday. if it sights in properly, I'm just going to discard this front sight post height as frivolous.

I'll keep this thread updated as I progress.

Thanks for all the input thus far!

Quick update. I haven't been able to get time off that has coincided with good shooting weather. I did find out that the front sight of the 590A1 (blade and base) has a total height of 0.769" whereas the front sight aiming point of the Vang Comp is 0.850"

So the entire issue of the Mossberg being too tall escapes me at this point.

I have cobbled together sight sets for years on shotguns.

I use a "tall enough" front sight and an adjustable rear sight and then I make them zero at 50 yards with slugs. If i need to file the front sight, I can.

To "me" a shotgun is not a precision weapon, though a 3" group at 50 yards is pretty good. That is my goal, and when achieved, I call it good.

If you can achieve it as well, what matter do the "expert" opinions matter?

That was my thoughts exactly. On that note, a quick update: shot my shotgun today. no issues. went through 80 slugs (offhand) and have it the gun sighted in at 25-30 yards. I will refine it some more next time i go out, but so far, it seems like it is pretty dead on. Sight set-up appears to work fine and well! Will update if there are any issues, but other than one last sight-in (always have a second person shoot my rifles to verify), I don't think there will be any issues with my setup.