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Posted: 3/28/2012 5:34:51 AM EDT
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I bought a RRA Operator 2 (5.56) about a year ago and added an Eotech 512 several months ago. You guys are probably familar with the "tacticool" operator and how it comes standard with a folding front sight, and I opted for the dominator rear rail. This setup provides absolute co-witnesses with the 512.
However... now I have to bug to change things around. The operator is heavy- mostly due to the barrel, handguard, fake collapsible stock and the dominator mount doesn't help. I'd like to start changing things around with the gun, but I'll talk about those items in the other forums. (overall I regret buying the operator and wish I had built one... but its my first AR so I'm learning I guess). So what I would like to do now is get rid of the dominator mount and replace it with a folding rear sight. My questions: -I am going through reviews of folding rear sights now (I'll keep the folding front gas block sight I have now because it functions fine but eventually I might replace that too). Are all folding rear sights the same height? -I would like to keep absolute co-witness with the irons fliped up, but by eliminating the riser that the dominator rail provides I would think I would have to add a new riser/mount to the Eotech, correct? Would I be looking for something like the Larue LT110 mount (whats the raised rear portion of the LT110 for?)? Yankee HIll Machine YHM-220? What would work? -Down the road I may switch to a scope, I assume that wouldn't really play too much into my desicion for a folding rear sight, right? -If I found a quick release riser would it consistantly zero-in or do you have to re-zero every time you take it on or off? (if I wanted to go back and forth between just irons, holographic or scope eventually). Current: http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/tealetm/Misc%20Pictures/photo.jpg Larue LT110 (not that you need a picture of it...) http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/tealetm/Misc%20Pictures/photo1.jpg Yankee Hill Machine YHM-220: http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/tealetm/Misc%20Pictures/photo2.jpg |
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All folding front sights are not the same height. They typically make a shorter version of the front sight for being installed on the quad rail hand guard and a longer version for being installed on top of a railed gas block. Troy folding sights are said to be the very best. Personally ... I'd just keep your existing front folding sight (if the height is standard) because your hand guard is cut away to wrap around it. My Rock River came with a similar front folding sight, but my hand guard doesn't wrap around it. I kept mine on and most any rear folding sight works great with it.
I am not sure about height differences with Eotechs and compatible risers with regard to the height of sights. I have a good feeling that you could simply remove your riser/rear sight combo, use a QD riser like you're talking about, get yourself a decent rear flip sight and you should be good to go. If you use a scope or any other optic (even an Eotech) then that is where the flip sights come in very handy. You just fold them down and they are out of sight. If you use a good QD riser then you will have NO worries about losing your zero. LaRue makes excellent mounts so their riser will be no different. I have removed my LaRue mounts and replaced them MANY times without any noticeable shift of zero. One thing I'd like to add ... true cowitness is nothing special. There's nothing wrong with having a lower 1/3 cowitness. Many people actually prefer a lower 1/3 cowitness. The LaRue mounts on all my red dot sights provide a lower 1/3 cowitness. I have a feeling that in your case, your Eotech without a riser might sit too low. Like I said ... I'm not real knowledgeable about Eotech heights, but it stands to reason that with your existing riser you have a true cowitness ... without the riser it would sit lower. |
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Thanks for the info.
Yes, I will be keeping the front sight I have for now. The handguard that I have is nice because it is cut around the folding front site, but its heavy and bulky. The Troy rear sights were one of the options that I was looking at. Im just a bit lost now on risers as I'm not sure on the height that I'd be looking for. There are too many options... |
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The manufacturer of the risers WILL be able to tell you what kind of cowitness you will get with the Eotech model you have. It's their business to know. It might even have that info in their product literature, but calling them should give you a quick & factual answer.
QD mounts, like LaRue's are amazing. I know they are expensive, but try and find someone that regrets having purchased one. They perform exactly as described and will outlive the optic and all of us. I use QD mounts for everything now. Not just a fan boy, but I've experienced the benefits so when I buy a new optic it just goes without saying that a QD mount will be needed. |
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I would like to keep absolute co-witness with the irons fliped up
If you truly want Absolute Cowitness, you'll want your EOTech mounted directly to the flattop. That's what it's designed for. Any of the risers you show (including the one you already have) will give you roughly lower 1/3 Cowitness. It's possible you're misunderstanding the terminology. [edit] My wife's carbine has an EoTech 512.A65 on a LaRue LT110, with a Troy folding sight behind it. It gives a lower 1/3 Cowitness, and she's been happy with it. We had a YHM riser on it at first but preferred the LT110. [edit 2] 
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Thanks guys. I picked up a Troy rear folding sight last night and put it on after I took the dominator rail off. I'll sight it in this weekend and figure out how it co-witnesses without a QD base on the eotech.
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f23/tealetm/photo1.jpg Now I have to figure out how to remove that hand guard... |
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Well the new sight setup works well, I got it sighted in over the weekend. I don't need a riser for the eotech, and the setup provides absolute co-witness just as you guys said it would.
I was still able to shoot better with the irons over the eotech though at 80 yards- must better grouping (1-2" versus 3-4" with the eotech). Anyway, as I mentioned before I'm going to eventually replace the handguard with something different (Troy Alpha is on the top of the list right now) and will need a new front sight. I was going to get the Troy flip up front sight to go with the Troy flip up rear that I already have but I wanted to check with you guys that have them. The stock front sight I have now has quite a large sight pin- its definately not for pinpoint accuracy. Does the Troy front sight have a narrower blade or are there other front sights that I might want to look at? I figure if I'm going to buy something, I might as well buy something that I want. http://troyind.com/%20/back-up-iron-sights/folding/front-folding-black-fde/troy-battlesight-front-hk-folding I had looked at the Troy alpha rail with the integral sight, but is there any advantage or disadvantage over that setup? http://troyind.com/%20/rail-systemsaccessories/rails/ar15m16-rails/free-float-rails/troy-alpha-rail%c2%ae-13%e2%80%b3-with-sight |
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