Mounting scope on AR question

[thebusinessend]

Im pretty new to the world of ar15s and was thinking about getting a scope for mine. I have a removable carry handle with the piccatiny rail piece that sits on top of it. Since I have a front iron site post that I dont want to remove I want to make sure the scope will clear it. I originally was going to look into risers and then get scope rings but I found some pictures of ARs with scopes mounted to the top of the carry handle and didnt know if that was ok for all scopes or if they needed to have a certain amount of MOA adjustment inorder for me to zero it in when being mounted that high.
Something like this.


Or would I be better off just buying a riser

 

[WBspectrum]

The scope won't have to sit high up on the rifle to clear the front sight, it should gather enough light to not be bothered with the sight. Having it high enough to be comfortable is another story all together. Still have to figure a good position on my MP15

 

[Mike S]

it doesn't matter if it isn't high enough, you'll never know the front sight post is there at anything over 4x or so.

Get a good mount that lets you move the scope far enough forward that the back of the scope is lined up with the charging handle, this will give you proper eye relief, especially shooting prone. Larue makes a REALLY good but pricey one, and Burris makes a good inexpensive one.

 

[chinalfr]

it doesn't matter if it isn't high enough, you'll never know the front sight post is there at anything over 4x or so.

Get a good mount that lets you move the scope far enough forward that the back of the scope is lined up with the charging handle, this will give you proper eye relief, especially shooting prone. Larue makes a REALLY good but pricey one, and Burris makes a good inexpensive one.

Mike hit the spot.

I'm using Burris PEPR as it's inexpensive. I would love to get Larue next.

 

[Seamsealer]

A scope on an AR15 needs to be mounted high so you can get a good cheek weld on the stock without being a contortionist. Rifle is easy, but AR has the recoil spring directly in a straight line with the barrel. I use a riser on a flat top to gain some height.

 

[soam]

I also use the Burris PEPR mount on my AR and it works well for me without any additional height. I have a front sight post and my scope is a 1-3x. If I look for it, I can see the front sight at 1x, but it doesn't interfere with my ability to use the scope at all, it's just a light fuzzy blur in the bottom of my field of view.

I'd suggest getting the PEPR and trying it out. If you find that you can't get comfortable with it at that height, then go ahead and get the riser.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

I use the Weaver "see thru" rings. Brings the scope up high enough for me. Jack.

 

[atmay]

One things for sure....having a detachable carry handle with the rail piece attached with the scope attached to that is just asking for failure. Too many moving parts.

Take the carry handle off, and get a scope mount made for a flat-top AR.

 

[Dirtypacman]

One things for sure....having a detachable carry handle with the rail piece attached with the scope attached to that is just asking for failure. Too many moving parts.

Take the carry handle off, and get a scope mount made for a flat-top AR.

I tried mounting with carry handle and I agree with above statement - I used it for a couple months and removed it all together and went without the handle.

 

[jar]

One things for sure....having a detachable carry handle with the rail piece attached with the scope attached to that is just asking for failure. Too many moving parts.

Take the carry handle off, and get a scope mount made for a flat-top AR.

This. I went with a LaRue for mine and would do it again. If that's not in the budget ($200), I hear good things about the Burris. I like the mounts that are cantilevered forward, as I shoot nose to charging handle.

 

[Chris.Cal]

Reading this thread I'm thinking about removing my carry handle on my stag model 1 and putting a red dot on. For those of you that did this..... Did you just buy a new rear site as a back-up and mount it behind your optic?

 

[atmay]

Reading this thread I'm thinking about removing my carry handle on my stag model 1 and putting a red dot on. For those of you that did this..... Did you just buy a new rear site as a back-up and mount it behind your optic?

That's generally what's done. Most people use a folding rear site, to keep it out of the way.

 

[OB1Kenobi]

That's generally what's done. Most people use a folding rear site, to keep it out of the way.

yup.

i have a Troy folding battle sight as my rear BUIS. front sight is a fixed. they match height wise and remember reading to match em.

-depending on what type of front sight post

that was a while ago though

 

[George D]

I have a flat top/no front sight AR and I have been thinking of putting a riser on my AR because I can't get my head positioned correctly with the scope mounted so low.

 

[atmay]

I have a flat top/no front sight AR and I have been thinking of putting a riser on my AR because I can't get my head positioned correctly with the scope mounted so low.

IIRC, sight offset on an AR with irons is ~2.5" (from the bore)...so you'll want rings (or ring/riser combo) that will put the center of the scope tube somewhere in that neighborhood.

 

[dcmdon]

Pretend the front sight is not there. It will be invisible with any kind of magnified scope.

The scope should be mounted higher than it would be on a standard rifle, which has some "drop at the comb", but it should not be mounted above the carry handle if at all possible. If you must use an optic on an A2 gun, you are better off using one of the goose neck mounts that drops down in front of the carry handle. In summary, the dot or crosshairs should be at about the same height that the rear aperture is atwhen the carry handle or any other rear sight is mounted.

This is a rifle I used to have with a Nikon scope. The scope and rings worked well even though the mount was a bit "improvised" to get it up with that secondary rail. In the end, I found the rifle to be way too heavy. I'm no longer a fan of railed hand guards.

Don

 

[mike93lx]

It has been said a bunch of times, but get a Burris PEPR. It is the perfect height and forward offset.

 

[Chris.Cal]

Thanks everybody. So this one would work good enough for me --------> https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_Micro_Dot_With_Fixed_Base_and_AR_Mnt_p/md-07-utg.htm

I would order with the mount stating 1/3 co-witness in the drop down menu instead of the absolute co-witness.

 

[Underwhere]

Get it the right height so your eye lands in the same place comfortably every time.
Ignore the front sight post. You won't see it.

I have an Accupoint TR24 which I use for close distances and not any sort of bench/accuracy shooting. I put it in a Larue LT104 which places the centerline of the optic 1.5" above the rail.

I could have gone with the LT139 which would place it 1.93" above the rail and had no issues. Knowing what I do now I would have done that for my 1-4x optic.
It's nice to be able to shoulder the gun and not have to cram your face into the stock to get your eye through the optic.

If I was using the rifle for longer distances I'd consider keeping it down lower. (closer to the barrel)

 

[Underwhere]

Thanks everybody. So this one would work good enough for me --------> https://www.primaryarms.com/Primary_Arms_Micro_Dot_With_Fixed_Base_and_AR_Mnt_p/md-07-utg.htm

I would order with the mount stating 1/3 co-witness in the drop down menu instead of the absolute co-witness.

I have an Aimpoint T1 with an absolute co-witness. I wish I had gone higher.

 

[stinger35]

I have an armalite I picked up at a show, that works good and is offset forward.

 

[dcmdon]

Lets get one thing clear for the OP.

If he buys a red dot scope like the primary arms he linked to or an aimpoint or and eotech he WILL see the front sight post.

If he uses some kind of magnified optic, the larger diameter of the objective will effectively allow him to see around the post.

So the height of a magnified optic is SOLELY driven by cheekweld and comfort.

The height of an unmagnified dot/holographic/reflex scope must reflect both cheek weld (more accurately jaw weld in this case) and the need to have the dot be at least as high as the front sight post.

Don

p.s. re backup sights. If your gun has a front sight, do this experiment. turn off your dot sight and try shooting by just instinctively putting the front sight post in the middle of the tube. I guarantee you will be able to hit reasonably accurately out beyond 25 yards. Also, lets be real here. I'm a 43 year old IT guy. I don't need backup sights on my ARs. I know I'll get flamed for this but my most likely defensive firearm is a handgun and my defensive AR is a box stock A2 style gun from a tier 1 maker. The rest of them are toys. As such I don't have backup sights on them.

Here is the view through an Aimpoint Micro T1 with the dot off. It makes a very satisfactory aiming platform.

My dedicated .22 AR uses an TRS25 aimpoint knockoff mounted at an absolute cowitness height. I prefer that height because I like to get my head down on the stock.

This is my 10.5" .223 AR with a real aimpoint. It sits higher because I like the dot to be a bit above the front sight. (1/3 cowitness)

 

[dcmdon]

I have an armalite I picked up at a show, that works good and is offset forward.

This is what happens if you don't use an offset mount for a magnified scope. My Nikon in this picture is not mounted far enough forward, but is mounted as far forward as it could go on a normal rifle. (this one happens to be a MRP so I could have slid it farther forward, but I didn't know any better.
With your nose close to the charging handle your eye is up against the tube. This scope has about 4" of eye relief so I realized after I mounted it that I had to keep my head back. Less than ideal.

 

[George D]

So, are my scope and sight set too far back?

 

[jar]

The sight is fine, but that scope is physically in the way of where my eye goes when shooting an AR, not to mention eye relief.

 

[Supermoto]

So, are my scope and sight set too far back?

not only that, you will never get good accuracy with the bipod attached to the barrel

 

[dcmdon]

The rubber hood is about where your eyeball should be.

See how his nose is about even with the castle nut:

Re the bipod. Yeah, you need to get that thing mounted to the free float tube. Thats why its there.

Get yourself one of these for about $1 and put it on the botom front of the FF tube. Even if you buy the tap at the local hardware store, you're done for under $10

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=42172/psize=96/Product/BIPOD-SLING-STUD-FOR-CUSTOMIZABLE-TUBE

 

[George D]

Thanks for the tips. The bipod is a quick release barrel mount so I'll probably need to just take it off and get a different one.