The Firearm Blog

I saw the below photo on the Sabre Defense website. Can someone please explain the reasoning behind mounting iron sights at a 45 to 75 degree angle?

My guess is that it allow quick transition between the Backup Iron Sights and the main EOTech holographic sight if the EOTech glass cracks up or something. Compared to a quick release mount for the EOTech, this seems like a poor solution. Firstly it would require a fair amount of practice to shoot accuracy in that position and secondly who wants sights sticking out the side, just waiting to snag on something (if you sights are going to be flipping down, reaching to flip them up surely would not take much longer than releasing a quick mount EOTech).

Am I wrong? [edit: I am]

UPDATE: ExurbanKevin and Tony explained in the comments that it is a 3-gun competition rig. In a competition some targets may be require to be hit with iron sights so this allows super quick transition.

A while back I covered diamond rifle sights, and recently I became aware that Trijicons “Bright & Tough” night sights use a sapphire crystal to focus light into the tritium lamp.

Pretty cool. The Brownells description of the night sights:

Nighttime and low light shooting tests prove sights equipped with these glowing dots are easier to see and more accurate than instinctive shooting with standard black sights. Rugged, heavy duty, Traser®, luminous, 3-Dot tritium lamps provide their own long-lasting energy source. Lamps are mounted in silicone-sealed, metal cylinders to give maximum protection from breakage or leakage. Polished sapphire, crystal windows give a bright, crisp and perfectly round aiming dot in low light. Inlaid white rings around each sapphire make the sights appear as standard white dots in daylight. Very narrow blades do not have the white ring and will look more like a plain black blade in daylight. Most can be installed in factory dovetail or sight base. Glock® models require use of special Trijicon installation tools to prevent sight damage.

I do not know the MSRP but Brownells have them listed for $99 – $145 depending on the handgun model.

Any volunteers to update the Wikipedia page for Sapphire with by far the coolest use of the stone?

[ I make no money what-so-ever from linking to Brownells and have no business relationship with them. ]

Magpul have developed a low cost backup iron sight (BUIS) called the Magpul MBUS (Backup-Up Sights). They are designed for the AR-15 platform but will fit any firearm with a picatinny rail.

The front sight will sell for $39.95 and rear sight for $59.95.

Click to expand.

Hat Tip: MrMojoRising for the scanned advertisement.

HEYM USA, purveyor of fine rifles [I am unlikely to ever afford], offer a front sight for their double rifles that uses a diamond as the bead. Apparently it is a night sight. I have never seen this before.

Anyone know how effective these are?

When the boyz in the hoodz hear about these, the first to offer them as Glock sights will make a fortune

This is a very clever idea. The rifle is a Mossberg 144LSB Target rifle that is currently listed on gunbroker.

The advantage of having the sight raised is that when shooting from a offhand/verticle position you can keep you head as close to upright as possible to achieve better balance.

Hat Tip: RFC

Apparently it refers to the use of a electronic sight along with backup iron sights. I was aware of the concept but not the word.

A “Co-Witness” AR from eguns.com

Traction Control explains.

… and their use, or lack of use, of iron sights amazes me.

From MilitaryPhotos.com

Palestinian police officers loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas violently dispersed a demonstration against the Annapolis peace conference, and medical workers said one protester was killed in Hebron, a West Bank city, according to The Associated Press. A Palestinian police officer pointed his weapon at protesters during clashes in Hebron.

In case you did not notice, the above ‘police’ officer is holding the rifle sidewards ‘gangster’ style. Why these soldiers/’police’ officers cannot be taught to aim their full auto AKs is beyond me. I know some people think iron sights are hard but I started shooting with them and to this day still do most of my shooting with iron sights. I think they are easier to use than scopes once you know what to do (obviously depending on the application).

Here are some of those classic Liberian rebel photos

More of the above photos here.