Quoted:
no other opinions? I'm surprised. I guess I'll just drop an A2 in there, unless someone else pipes in with their favourite...
I have XS same-plane apertures on a 16" pencil carbine, with an XS skunk-stripe front sight. It is a great arrangement, even for an old fart who otherwise would struggle to see iron sights.
I cannot imagine that that an open-notch rear could possibly work that close to your eye. There is a reason that AKs mount their open sights halfway up the barrel!
I prefer the same plane sights as they give you a quicker battlesight when you're using the large aperture; the A2 large ap is meant for center-of-mass hits out to 200, but it makes hitting things smaller than a breadbox somewhat problematic at any distance. As a result, I used the small ap for virtually everything when I had them on the carbine. Actually, I still use the small ap for most things, but for acquiring a larger target in a hurry, the big hole is the way to go. The black & white front sight is bunches easier to pick up against nearly any background, again helping speed and accuracy.
Moon