AR sights for home defense use: open irons, red dot, scope?

[Tzook]

At worst you need a white light and quality fixed iron sights. If you have the money to snag an Aimpoint or other quality RDS, you will be better for doing so.

[ColtSeavers]

Light is mandatory, it needs to be repeated as often as possible. Currently using 'old school' Surefire 6PX tactical in a Gear Sector offset mount, but am saving up for Surefire XC-1 to sit at 12.

Sling, for home defense, I do not prefer them, more crap to fiddle with. Nothing wrong with them and there's plenty of people out there that can do amazing things with them in any scenario.

Optics are personal, iron sights will work, but you have to train to use them in in the role you plan to use them in. I went the prism sight route instead of the red dot sight route using the Vortex Spitfire 1X and am extremely pleased with the sight.

[MegademiC]

I would definately put the aimpoint on the ar, and get a scope for the rifle, or another red dot.

Slings 2 pt. I like my setup ymmv but how I have mine, I can pick up the rifle and Don the sling in one motion. Cinch it down if you need to move, but sill able to use strong hand when tight. I have a vcas. Boone packer looks good if your pinching pennies.

Light, I use a surefire g2 with Cree led. Plenty bright for indoors and I havnt found a need outside yet. I'm not a fan of qd lights, I have a great sector mount, I like a light on my gun 100% of the time. Tlr1 is good, I have one, and it's great. Surefire models are probably better if you have the coin. I moved my light a few times to find the best place, somewhere you can aces strong or weak ha d and above the bore is best.

[Skyyr]

With all of the statements of a light being required, what is the verdict on the Inforce WML? I know it got positive reviews a few years back, but haven't seen much about it since.

[cd228]

I'd take the Aimpoint you already have and put it on the AR. The TR-1 can be jumped to the AR as well, you'll need to add a piece of rail. I recomend a 500 lumen surefire fury in a VTAC or Larue mount. The Larue can be dismounted fairly quick if you want, but I just leave the light attached. The Larue can attach to the top of your rail without impacting your sight picture. 500 lumens scares some folks, but with familiarization it's no big deal. I'd find somewhere you can do night shoots or get some lowlight training. While you can do low light with irons and ambient light, irons and a light is better and a RDS and a light is the best for non military. I loved my PVS-14 and PEQ-15 when I was a PL, but Uncle Sam purchased them for me. VTAC and VCAS slings have been the gold standard for years (I own both) the VTAC is better with body armor the VCAS is better without armor (no tail, lower profile adjustor). There are other good slings out there as mentioned above, but I don't have any experience with them. For mounts, I'd talk to some folks who have those rails. I'd keep it as simple as possible. Hope it helps.

[daddyusmaximus]

My AR SBR is my go to HD gun. For me there is no comparison... Aimpoint for the win. However, I must point out that I shoot right handed yet am left eye dominant. A RDS is the only way I can shoot without closing my left eye. My speed of engagement is way better with a RDS.


Humongous +1 on adding a light. Love my Surefire. It's Saturday morning at 3am and you awaken to the sound of someone stumbling through your dark house. Is it a bad guy, or just your son coming home for a surprise weekend visit from college? Handgun, shotgun, or rifle... every HD gun needs a light.

[ColtSeavers]

With all of the statements of a light being required, what is the verdict on the Inforce WML? I know it got positive reviews a few years back, but haven't seen much about it since.

I was very close to getting one not too long ago due to rave reviews. However, I did not because upon further reading I have found there are problems with the body cracking where the LED end screws in because the threads are press fit/glued and there is photo evidence to support it. I also found complaints of the light randomly not working or having other bizarre problems (like buzzing).

Due to these reports, I decided to stick with my old school Surefire in Gear Sector setup and save for another Surefire, which as of right now is going to be the XC-1.


ETA: To be fair, I have also read that Inforce has been excellent in their warranty service.

[dbain99]

For a dedicated HD gun with limited short range use I can't imagine a better combo than an Aimpoint & Surefire light.


Sent via telegraph with the same fingers I use to sip whiskey.

[donlapalma]

With all of the statements of a light being required, what is the verdict on the Inforce WML? I know it got positive reviews a few years back, but haven't seen much about it since.

I have one on my SBR and it has been holding up well through a couple thousand rounds. It seems to be durably constructed and the momentary on/off switch is easy to use. The brightness is more than sufficient for my needs (indoor and home defense). It's mounted at roughly 10 o'clock in a thorntail offset mount. One minor thing to note, when on it does make a very audible buzzing sound. Also, there is another thread floating around regarding battery drain. I cannot say with certainty that I've had this issue but my most recent battery did seem to die earlier than expected. However, I'm withholding judgement for now since this could've been due to accidental activation while in my range bag. I will be watching this much closer going forward.

With all that said, I'm not sure I would buy this light again. My preferred mounting position is 12 o'clock and while this could be mounted in that spot, the X300 series does that much better in my opinion.

[Slvr Surfr]

For quick target acquisition red dots are hard to beat. You also don't have to have light to use them as you do with iron sights. You will still need to use the light for target ID which is critical.

My personal home defense rifle consists of these items:

X300U, at the 12 O'clock position chosen due to its smaller footprint and reliability.

VTAC padded two point adjustable sling w/ QD sling swivels, one on the butt stock the other 9 O'clock on the handguard nearest the receiver. This has been my choice for slings for the last four years. You can find the same sling by Botach for $20.00. I use the botach version on my work carbine and it is identical to the VTAC version as far as I can tell.

Aimpoint H1 w/ lower 1/3 mount, which allows me to co-witness my irons in a pinch. Any Aimpoint combat red dot will fit the bill. I chose the H1 to keep the weight down.

My humble opinion is to not skimp on the anything when it comes to your and your families safety. Buy once, cry once. It is all piece of mind that your defensive package will function properly when you need it most.