Fighting AR's and front sights...

[Hawkeye]

My preferred sighting setup on an AR intended as a fighting weapon has long been a fixed front sight, Aimpoint, and flip up rear sight. I have always preferred a fixed front sight because I find that if my Aimpoint were to fail, I can use it as a giant ghost ring in conjunction with a fixed front fairly rapidly, and can maintain minute-of-man accuracy out to 50 yards or so. With a flip up front sight, this could not be done nearly as fast I dont think, because you have to go through the motions of flipping the front sight up.
I am curious though what others thoughts and preferences are, and especially experiences.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

My preferred sighting setup on an AR intended as a fighting weapon has long been a fixed front sight, Aimpoint, and flip up rear sight. I have always preferred a fixed front sight because I find that if my Aimpoint were to fail, I can use it as a giant ghost ring in conjunction with a fixed front fairly rapidly, and can maintain minute-of-man accuracy out to 50 yards or so. With a flip up front sight, this could not be done nearly as fast I dont think, because you have to go through the motions of flipping the front sight up.
I am curious though what others thoughts and preferences are, and especially experiences.

I've never used an Aimpoint in the manner you describe, but with such a large "rear sight", couldn't the same level of accuracy be achieved by enough point shooting training?

I personally use a flip up MI BUIS for front and rear, as I really enjoy the unobstructed view that a folding front sight gives my Eotech, not to mention when I do flip them up, I have an absolute co witness rather than a lower 3rd.

[mmike87]

I prefer the standard fixed from sight with non-magnified optics. I don't even really notice the front sight is there through the Aimpoint. On one rifle I am running a fixed BUIS with lower 1/3 co-witness, and on the other a YHM flip up rear sight. Both have standard fixed front sights.

I really prefer the fixed BUIS as you can transition to the irons with only a slight adjustment of your head. I don't like looking through the irons all the time as you would with an absolute co-witness. That bugs me personally.

That said - with a magnified optic I can not stand a fixed front sight. I tried my new Leupold 1.5-5 on one of my RRA carbines and at 1.5 the front sight seemed like it was really in the way. That made me feel good about my choice to use flip-ups on my next rifle which will ultimately wear the Leupold.

In the end, like everything else, what's a "better" setup probably depends on the person, their eyes, the rifle's use, and your training. For me, the lower 1/3 co-witness seems to be a working combo for my eyes.

[Jay Cunningham]

My preferred sighting setup on an AR intended as a fighting weapon has long been a fixed front sight, Aimpoint, and flip up rear sight. I have always preferred a fixed front sight because I find that if my Aimpoint were to fail, I can use it as a giant ghost ring in conjunction with a fixed front fairly rapidly, and can maintain minute-of-man accuracy out to 50 yards or so. With a flip up front sight, this could not be done nearly as fast I dont think, because you have to go through the motions of flipping the front sight up.
I am curious though what others thoughts and preferences are, and especially experiences.

We are in complete agreement:

[militarymoron]

hawkeye, are you using a lower 1/3 co-witness or is the front sight at the same height as the center of the aimpoint? if it's a lower 1/3 co-witness, using the tube as a ghost ring is going to be pretty far off from POI.
i have mostly flip up fronts and rears on my uppers (i sometimes use low power magnified optics and don't like the front sight in the FOV), but i'm also in agreement that fixed is probably the best choice for a 'fighting gun'. on my MARPAT painted rifle, i have a standard fixed front, and an LMT fixed rear BUIS, using a lower 1/3 co-witness. as mmike87 mentioned, it's just so easy and quick to shift your eye from the irons to the dot and vice versa.

[Hawkeye]

MM, mostly 1/3. I have one thats more centered. As for the POI, no, its not going to be hitting the same as normal, but I find I can keep things in the chest cavity out to about 50 yards. The idea of using the Aimpoint as a ghost ring with the front is simply an emergency use thing, in case the Aimpoint dies for whatever reason, and to allow you the ability to stay in the fight and be reasonably effective until you can get to a position to deploy the rear sight.
I've tried a fixed rear, and for me personally, I find it distracting.

[TWR]

mmike87, have you tried the 1.93 LaRue mount? A buddy ordered one and I can't see the FSP with a 1.5-5, clean sight picture on 1.5 power. Mine will be here Monday.

I don't notice the FSP through my aimpoint unless I want to. Of course my opinion shouldn't carry any weight on a fighting carbine but I still prefer a pinned non folding front sight.

[militarymoron]

MM, mostly 1/3. I have one thats more centered. As for the POI, no, its not going to be hitting the same as normal, but I find I can keep things in the chest cavity out to about 50 yards.

with a 1/3 co-witness, if i center the front sight in the tube like a ghost ring, and then turn on the aimpoint dot without moving my head, to see the offset, it's significant - more than 2 or 3 feet at 50. you'd definitely have to remember to hold WAY low. i found it more accurate just to keep the front sight at the same height in the tube (bottom 1/3) and shoot it that way, without centering it in the tube in height.

[rob_s]

On a 1x, I like a fixed front and rear. For a rear I just use a cut down carry handle.

[BushmasterFanBoy]

I have to ask, what makes fixed sights so good? Is it the superior durability over flip sights, or the instant "deployment"? I prefer folding front and rear to get my view as clear as possible without any obstructions. I like being able to absolutely co-witness while also being able to have an unobstructed view. To me its the best of both worlds. And what situation warrants the speed of solid rear sights if an optic fails that couldn't just either be done as quickly with point-shooting or if time allows, the 1-2 secs to deploy flip sights?