IPSC Production Optics rear sight placement

[glockslinger]

I am planning to mill a Glock 17 gen 4 for an ACRO for use in IPSC Production Optics. It seems the rear sight dovetail has to be removed to mill the slide appropriately. However I have a need to have irons for co-witness on this pistol.

 

The IPSC rules state the following:

"Sights may be removed, trimmed, adjusted and/or have colors applied. Sights may also be fitted with fiber optic or similar inserts."

and

 "Aftermarket open and optical/electronic sights and mounting plates are permitted, provided their installation and/or adjustment requires no alteration to the handgun other than the milling of the slide in order to facilitate the installation of an optical/electronic sight."

 

One way to get my rear sight "back" is to move the dovetail in front of the optic, would this be within IPSC rules? The rules state that sights may be adjusted, and that milling the slide is allowed? I can't see any competitive advantage by doing this either. The other option is perhaps a shim sight set (ATEI style)?

[HCH]

I don’t know the IPSC rulebook. 

 

 

But why do you want irons AND the dot??

[blasterboy]

Not familiar with the Acro sight, but there's lots of others that work with the MOS version. Co-witness with irons in front would just be weird, I wouldn't want to have such a short sight radius. I'd sell it and get a MOS and pick a compatible sight.

Sent from my XP8800 using Tapatalk

[glockslinger]

The point of this gun is that it needs to be robust, and I want a backup for when the dot dies, it happens... MOS is a less secure mounting solution compared to direct milling. Many prefer backup irons in front of the optic for a less cluttered view.

[PatJones]

Iron sights that are tall enough to co-witness thru the optic have issues. They obstruct the view thru the sight. These front sights typically approach a half inch in height and many holsters will not accommodate a front sight this tall.

Open shooters have been using optics without backup sights for 30 years now. I don't see the need for backup irons on a competition pistol.

--
Pat Jones
Firestone CO
USPSA #A79592

[Schutzenmeister]

18 hours ago, glockslinger said:

 

One way to get my rear sight "back" is to move the dovetail in front of the optic, would this be within IPSC rules? The rules state that sights may be adjusted, and that milling the slide is allowed? I can't see any competitive advantage by doing this either. The other option is perhaps a shim sight set (ATEI style)?

 

 

I am an IROA RM but I do not have input to "official" rules interpretations for IPSC ... However:

 

The full text of the applicable rule (as you previously quoted) from the appendix is:

 

Quote

18.2 Aftermarket open and optical/electronic sights (see Rules 5.1.3.1 and 5.1.3.2) and mounting plates are permitted, provided their installation and/or adjustment requires no alteration to the handgun other than the milling of the slide in order to facilitate the installation of an optical/electronic sight.

 

In my experience, IPSC tends to be VERY strict in its interpretations of rules - especially when it comes to anything in Production.  Milling of the slide for your optic is permitted - BUT - What you seem to propose is to also mill an additional modification in order to move the rear dovetail sight to a new location.  Based on what I highlighted above, I STRONGLY suspect this would likely get you moved to Open.  If you want a more authoritative answer, I recommend you post your question on iroa.invisionzone.com and request a more "authoritative" reply from either the IROA President or Vice-President.  Be aware, they tend to take quite some time to respond ... Sorry!

 

Addendum ...

 

27 minutes ago, PatJones said:

Iron sights that are tall enough to co-witness thru the optic have issues. They obstruct the view thru the sight. These front sights typically approach a half inch in height and many holsters will not accommodate a front sight this tall.

Open shooters have been using optics without backup sights for 30 years now. I don't see the need for backup irons on a competition pistol.

 

Side note ... The OP specifically asked about IPSC Rules.  The holster issue you mention is basically a USPSA issue only, due to a difference in the way we wrote our rules.  Under IPSC Rules the shooter has no similar constraints on holster choice and may use a "race" type holster if he desires.  I would also note that virtually all Open shooters have their optics frame mounted in one way or another.  PO shooters MUST mount their optic on the slide.  This tends to cause a higher failure rate in the optics ... Hence some shooters like to have the irons remain as a backup.

[Joe4d]

If you dont trust the optic, dump it and run irons. I dont trust ANY current small red dot enough for social  use. Anything I have with a dot is for playing games. the BUIS nonsense is just that.. Nonsense. You end up with a confusing mess of a sight picture either way,. 

[glockslinger]

Thank you everybody for the input.

 

The question really is, if you have to mill away the rear sight dovetail to facilitate placement of the optic, are you allowed to place a new dovetail on the slide under IPSC prod optics rules, andcould it count as modifying the sights? 

[Schutzenmeister]

15 hours ago, glockslinger said:

Thank you everybody for the input.

 

The question really is, if you have to mill away the rear sight dovetail to facilitate placement of the optic, are you allowed to place a new dovetail on the slide under IPSC prod optics rules, andcould it count as modifying the sights? 

 

Respectfully, asked and answered.  If you want a more official answer than what I provided you need to contact IPSC directly and request an official interpretation.