AR Sponsor
Posted: 3/18/2007 5:15:44 PM EDT
| Anybody ever experemented with this? |
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How effective this is depends a lot on your eye sight, the ambient lighting and the target/background you are shooting at. I painted my IPSC pistol's front sight orange, and it works for me, though the jury is still out on whether it's really any better than black sights with sight black (my prevous configuration). For pistols, a lot of people swear by fiber optic sights these days. Before that, people played with colored sight inserts (like on S&W revolvers), and beads made from ivory or gold. I think there is a lot of merit to what Brian Enos once said about contrasting front sights. He tried them all. Initially they gave an improvement, because they look different and thus encourage you to concentrate more on the front sight. However, over time he said you get used to the new look and your front sight focus tends to diminish again. By all means try it, but be aware that the improvement may only be temporary. For a rifle/carbine, a technically superior solution is to use a red dot sight... it allows you to focus on the target rather than the sight, which makes for increased hit probability and situational awareness. For longer ranges, a magnifying optic also helps with target ID. If you must use irons (e.g. to comply with competition rules) then you may or may not see an improvement with colored sights. If it helps you make a decision, my 3-gun Limited/Tac Iron rifle has a regular A2 rear sight and a JP Globe front sight with crosshair reticle. |
Yes, a narrower front sight is another great option. I would not bother to shave the one you have down, as there are several good and inexpensive narrow front sight posts available. Brownells and others sell a National Match front sight post for the AR15 that works well for many peopls. This is an even bigger advantage with carbines, due to the shorter sight radius. |
Nope, you can use both the A1 and A2 on any AR15 FSB. The round A1-style post is actually nicer IMHO, as it has more "clicks" per revolution, thus giving finer elevation adjustment than the original Colt A2 NM post (which must be rotated in 180 degree increments). I have this one on my 16" carbine, and it works very well. |
With the post in hand, chuck it up in a drill (lightly on the threads), the spin file the post sides down. Also while you have the post in the drill, true the post as well. A lot of times, the post will not be true with the threads, and as you adjust the post in the FSB, it will change the windage as well. As for taking the post back to black, use a green scotchbrite pad for the last pass to lessen the polished surface while being spun, then dip the post in Cold blue (cold black if you can find it) to re-blacken the post. Or there is the option of just buying lathe thinned post, but do check to the make sure that the post is true with the threads before installing. |
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