Iron Sights

[fueddy]

Ok so I don't know much about how those that shoot Irons do what they do...I will say its amazing you guys hit what I can barely see lol But what sights do you use. I get people asking me for Iron Sight advice and only know abit about them. So please share some knowledge so that I can finally give some true help without guessing lol

Thanks

[kellyn]

Kind of a vague question.

1) Get a skinny front post. Maximize sight radius if possible.

2) Zero your rifle at 300

3) Look at your hold overs and hold unders at various distances on a ballistic computer. Then confirm on the range.

4) When shooting make sure that the front post is centered in the rear sight (SIGHT ALIGNMENT). When you see the SIGHT PICTURE that you need to see (Have visual patience), break the shot. Learn what sort of sight pictures are needed for what sorts of targets adn distances. Manipulate the trigger without moving the rifle.

5) Accept that you will have a wobble area (although with irons it is harder to see than with an optic)

6) Shoot from the steadiest position that you can if it is a more difficult target presentation

7) Repeat. Go on to defeat Kurt Miller, Isto Hyyrylainen and Mika Riste.

[P.E. Kelley]

How to Iron Sights

I may not be the same "cailber" shooter as the names KellyN listed but I do know a little something about the

use of Irons in our game.

Patrick

[Brian Payne]

Sir Kelley,

I have to give you kudo's on that article. I wish I had seen that five years ago, it might have changed my thoughts on optics vs iron sights. It still might as a matter of fact. I always did love that He-Man Division.

[Bryan 45]

Sir Kelley,

I have to give you kudo's on that article. I wish I had seen that five years ago, it might have changed my thoughts on optics vs iron sights. It still might as a matter of fact. I always did love that He-Man Division.

Quit resisting, Brian.... come to the dark side...

[Stlhead]

Shooter, photojournalist, poet, porn star, power plant operator. Patrick, is there anything that you don't do well?

[bigbrowndog]

he even knows what a "glory hole" is!!!!

Kelly pretty much covered the manipulations and Pat's article is definitely worth reading, I've saved it in my favorites.

Trapr

[mike4045]

Nice info been shooting irons lately. Planning to shoot irons at FB3 gun this Dec.

[HRider]

Sir Kelley,

I have to give you kudo's on that article. I wish I had seen that five years ago, it might have changed my thoughts on optics vs iron sights. It still might as a matter of fact. I always did love that He-Man Division.

Quit resisting, Brian.... come to the dark side...

Dark side or Blind side?

[1911vm]

I do not have a 300yard range around me. Is shooting a reduced target work? And this may sound stupid but why 300. I was told 200 that will give you zero at 25, 6 o’clock @100 and 12 o’clock @ 300

[Alaskapopo]

I do not have a 300yard range around me. Is shooting a reduced target work? And this may sound stupid but why 300. I was told 200 that will give you zero at 25, 6 o’clock @100 and 12 o’clock @ 300

50 yards is very close to a 200 yard zero depending on the ammo. A 25 yard zero is close to a 340 yard zero.

25 yards

50 yards

100 yards

[Nuke8401]

Aiming high with irons at distances of 250-300 and greater can (read will) result in your front post covering the target. With a 300 zero you can hold at 6 for 100-250, dead on at 300-350 and then start holding over for longer range targets and hopefully those at >350 will be larger targets and not completely covered by you front post. The main idea is to have a zero that works for most distances without dialing. If you are dialing your in the hurt locker. I would only dial if trying to hit sub 4 MOA targets at >350 yds and then it may be better to just engage and take the penalty, which I have never done, but is a choice. If not already mentioned you most likely will be more successful with a smaller diameter front post, say .035-.045.

Good luck.

David E.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Nuke8401

[Bryan 45]

I shoot a little different than most w/ irons. I use a 200 yard zero and dial for anything over 250. I think it's my OCD that won't let me hold low on targets.

There are exceptions to all rules though. Like Pat Kelley's article mentions, if you know your dope, you can come up with a plan after scouting the stage. If a stage has a small number of targets under 250, but several over, I may start the stage w/ my sights set for 300, hold low on the close target or two, then hold dead on w/out having to adjust.

[Dan Sierpina]

I shoot a little different than most w/ irons. I use a 200 yard zero and dial for anything over 250. I think it's my OCD that won't let me hold low on targets.

There are exceptions to all rules though. Like Pat Kelley's article mentions, if you know your dope, you can come up with a plan after scouting the stage. If a stage has a small number of targets under 250, but several over, I may start the stage w/ my sights set for 300, hold low on the close target or two, then hold dead on w/out having to adjust.

Bryan,

I think that an M1A's sights are a bit easier, and faster for adjusting than the AR style sights. Are you using a NM rear sight? If so, what size?

[Bryan 45]

Dan, I think you are correct on the M1A's sights being easier (and better!). I use a standard rear and up through Ozark 3G I used a .062" front. I had a lot of trouble on the auto poppers, I think due to the front sight being wider than the targets. I went to work with a small file on the front sight at the recommendations of Trapr and now it's between .045" and .050" wide. I can't get my caliper between the ears to check it with certainty.

I have considerably less match experience w/ the AR than the M1A, but I still use the dial method for the little rifle. I don't think it's faster, and obviously has a higher disaster factor, but my little brain processes the sight picture MUCH better seeing the front sight where I want the bullet to land. I think this is probably an issue of experience (or lack thereof in my case) with hold-overs rather than anything else but I'm too stubborn to practice.

[Lead-Head]

300 yard zero and holding lower third worked well on the little popper at Ozarks. Unless they were leaning left or right.

I like a KNS 0.034 front sight, especially how it tapers. Easy to pick up at close range and draw a bead on far targets. A regular A2 rear aperature.

I do not dial up at anything over about 375 yards. If i have to hold at the top of a flasher, fine. If i have to hold a foot above it, I would rather dial up to my 400 yard mark an hold on. Only did this once last year at BRM3G. But it worked well.

[ArturoJ]

An interesting article I found on iron (aperture) sights. Parallax Suppression with a Target Rifle Aperture Sight—

[isto]

Kind of a vague question.

1) Get a skinny front post. Maximize sight radius if possible.

2) Zero your rifle at 300

3) Look at your hold overs and hold unders at various distances on a ballistic computer. Then confirm on the range.

4) When shooting make sure that the front post is centered in the rear sight (SIGHT ALIGNMENT). When you see the SIGHT PICTURE that you need to see (Have visual patience), break the shot. Learn what sort of sight pictures are needed for what sorts of targets adn distances. Manipulate the trigger without moving the rifle.

5) Accept that you will have a wobble area (although with irons it is harder to see than with an optic)

6) Shoot from the steadiest position that you can if it is a more difficult target presentation

7) Repeat. Go on to defeat Kurt Miller, Isto Hyyrylainen and Mika Riste.

Agree 100%. I would maybe add a step 6.5: Repeat a few more times. And add beating Kelly Neal to step 7. ;-)

With Irons your zero is key to success. Know it, do not think you know it. See step 3 last part. I have blown matches with uncertain zero for 300m. You should verify your long distance zero as often as possible _with_your_match_ammo_. It is not enough to zero short distance (I do not trust my 150m zero) and use a ballistic calculator to know where you will hit at 300m or longer. A small error closer is huge at the far distance. Verifying your zero often is needed to average out different wind conditions. I have been bitten by wind zero as well. I thought I was spot on but had miscalculated the wind drift when zeroing for the match.

In a competition I always take the most stable shooting position available for shots past 50m, even if taking it loses some time. It is too easy to miss those long distance paper shots we tend to have a lot here in Finland. Also, I find that in the end I shoot faster overall even though the stable position takes some time to get to. This is due to the follow up shots being faster.

isto

[Bryan 45]

In a competition I always take the most stable shooting position available for shots past 50m, even if taking it loses some time. It is too easy to miss those long distance paper shots we tend to have a lot here in Finland. Also, I find that in the end I shoot faster overall even though the stable position takes some time to get to. This is due to the follow up shots being faster.

isto

Isto, I really like this advise. Thanks for sharing.

[kellyn]

Isto is the Dolph Lundgren of Irons! He can certainly add beating Kelly Neal to #7!!