ECVMatt
Member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2004
- Messages
- 2,867
Good evening to all,
We have a family house in the desert a couple of hours away from our home. While we use it mostly for recreation, it also serves as a place where we can go to be safe in crazy times. We spent the first 9 months of the pandemic up there which allowed us to escape the crazy mayhem going on down below. During this time I was able to bring everything I need up there to keep safe, but I began to think about assembling a small collection of defensive arms to leave there, stored in a safe, that would allow us to leave immediately if need and be protected once we got there. I wanted good, quality arms, but not things that would break the bank.
I initially put together a basic 16" AR-15. Then I found a cheap Glock 17 to go with the AR. Lastly I found a basic Mossberg 500 to add to the safe. I was happy with everything except for the 500. It had a plain bead sight, which works, but is not optimal. I looked at different sighting system and then found Defender Tactical. They make a simple safety replacement that is made from machined aluminum, incorporates a shallow V, and a white witnessmark for sighting. I guess it is sort of a field expedient express sight. I ordered it on Monday and had it on Wednesday so no complaints about shipping or processing. Packaging notes that it is made in China, so that is one strike for me.
The initial impression of the sight is that it is well made, much easier to use as a safety than the factory part, and does provide a much better sighting reference than just the bead. Installation is simple and everything was done in less than five minutes. My safety sight came with a new hex-head screw with lock washer (much easier to install) an extra safety ball bearing in case you lose the factory one, and a taller and wider brass bead for the front end. The whole kit was about 30 bucks shipped.
The safety sight does sit significantly higher than the factory part it replaced, but has rounded edges and does not seem like it will snag or get caught on things. I was fired up to go test it this weekend, but we have had continuous rain for the past couple of weeks and it has flooded out the road to my close shooting spot. I will update once I get a chance to shoot it, but so for is looks like a uncomplicated, affordable option for improving a basic Mossberg system while retaining the simple and affordable aspects of the system.
Here are some pictures for reference:
We have a family house in the desert a couple of hours away from our home. While we use it mostly for recreation, it also serves as a place where we can go to be safe in crazy times. We spent the first 9 months of the pandemic up there which allowed us to escape the crazy mayhem going on down below. During this time I was able to bring everything I need up there to keep safe, but I began to think about assembling a small collection of defensive arms to leave there, stored in a safe, that would allow us to leave immediately if need and be protected once we got there. I wanted good, quality arms, but not things that would break the bank.
I initially put together a basic 16" AR-15. Then I found a cheap Glock 17 to go with the AR. Lastly I found a basic Mossberg 500 to add to the safe. I was happy with everything except for the 500. It had a plain bead sight, which works, but is not optimal. I looked at different sighting system and then found Defender Tactical. They make a simple safety replacement that is made from machined aluminum, incorporates a shallow V, and a white witnessmark for sighting. I guess it is sort of a field expedient express sight. I ordered it on Monday and had it on Wednesday so no complaints about shipping or processing. Packaging notes that it is made in China, so that is one strike for me.
The initial impression of the sight is that it is well made, much easier to use as a safety than the factory part, and does provide a much better sighting reference than just the bead. Installation is simple and everything was done in less than five minutes. My safety sight came with a new hex-head screw with lock washer (much easier to install) an extra safety ball bearing in case you lose the factory one, and a taller and wider brass bead for the front end. The whole kit was about 30 bucks shipped.
The safety sight does sit significantly higher than the factory part it replaced, but has rounded edges and does not seem like it will snag or get caught on things. I was fired up to go test it this weekend, but we have had continuous rain for the past couple of weeks and it has flooded out the road to my close shooting spot. I will update once I get a chance to shoot it, but so for is looks like a uncomplicated, affordable option for improving a basic Mossberg system while retaining the simple and affordable aspects of the system.
Here are some pictures for reference:
