i did some searching and i need to start out fresh here, so how about sharing your thoughts?

first off im dealing with an rra 16 inch a2. im wanting to shoot both off hand and from a bench out to 100 meters.

now i have looked at the eotech and like some of you posted in the aim point vs eotech thread i find the eotch quite distracting.

the direction im headed (i think) is a set of m4 handguards with the rails built in from cmmg and some sort of red dot scope. so i wonder in a co witness setup how does magnification affect the sight plane? are you guys using non magnification red dots? btw im unfamiliar to the aimpoint and acogs, so any links about those would be great! it seems odd that the front sight could be magnified and not the rear.

i want a simple reliable set up that doesnt severly change the appearance of the rifle.

why is it that everyone uses a red dot? what about a 4x24 conventional reticle scope? i live very close to bushnells factory outlet and can get a great deal on a firefly reticled scope.

money isnt really a problem i just dont want to buy the wrong thing just to turn around and sell it.

what say you?

If your are shooting at one or two targets slowly, then the classical X4 power scope will work well for you.

Once you get to either close targets that are closer than typicall found at the range (i.e. less than 25 yards) or multiple targest at 50 yards and less, the Eotech / Aimpoin / Relex / ACOG w/BAC etc. allow you work easier with both eyes open and thus be able to move between targets quickly.

Would recommend watching a subgun match or some of the 3 gun match if you interested in this area.

If you want to co-witness, you can't use a magnifying optic.  With a conventional scope, you won't be able to see the front sight as the magnification will blur it out.

Red-dots are used because they provide quick target acquisition and allow you to keep both eyes open.  (The M2/ML2 and EoTechs are not magnified)  This allows you to have an unrestricted field of vision while presenting well defined aiming point.  Also, most are parallax free which means the reticle stays on the target, even if you move your head.

If you're looking at regular M4 handguards with rails built-in like the Fobus/Samco units, I'd recommend against mounting optics on them.  They aren't stable enough to maintain zero.  I'd recommend you use a good gooseneck mount on your A2 and place an Aimpoint out there.  Troy has a few pics of the sight picture on some other threads around here.

Have seen goose neck mounts for the EOTech also.

[img]http://www.rushusa.com/images/pictures/jpg/eot-9-m16-mwg-1.jpg[/img]

thanks i figured it couldnt be a magnification scope. makes sense. wow thats a really handy website. now i got one fella says not to mount to the plastic replacement hanguards with the built in rail. hmmm. anyone want to back him up? while im waiting point me to a good gooseneck mount for an aimpoint.

thanks again

I would take a look at the [url=http://www.armsmounts.com/list.html#39]ARMs #39[/url] mount.

The plastic hand guards with a rail are IMO at the very most for mounting a flash light etc.  

When mounting optics any small change in the angle of the mount will have a great effect at a distance.  The only time I would consider mouting on the "hand guard" is with one of the rail systems from Knight or AMRs (even then I like the free foating ones).  The down side is the cost starts to go up with a nice rail system.

I would also take a look at getting a flat top upper to mount your optics on.  The classic being the M4, however, I like the HBAR probably the best in full auto (looking at an ACOG for the HBAR and the M4 & 9mm already have Aimpoints)

Thought ther are snug at first, they will eventually have a bit more play in them as they get older.  It's like your standard handguards (they actually mount the same exact way). If you want a constant zero, then mounting them on the plastic handguards with the rails or even attatcing rails to your standard handguards is not a good idea.

i think im gonna do this

http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/budgetreddotsight.msnw

it says here all the way at the bottom that the aimpoint mount will work with m4 handguards which is what i have. doesnt look like m4 handguards in the pic. looks pretty tight. i hope it works

http://groups.msn.com/TheMarylandAR15ShootersSite/sightsopticsfaq.msnw

not sure if ill use the same site he did. cant seem to find it anywhere?