Question about red-dot and iron site co-witnessing..

[Colt117]

On many AR-15s that I see, many of them have a set-up where they have the traditional fixed front sight as well as a red dot sight such as an aimpoint. Does co-witnessing through a holographic sight along with an iron sight make things difficult or annoying? Why not simply get a flip up sight as the front iron sight instead of a fixed sight post? Is there a reason for this? I've never shouldered a weapon that has co-witnessing sights so this could be a stupid question.

 

[AK103K]

I have guns that do both. With my AR's, I prefer the fold down front sight. The sight picture is just a lot less "busy".

My AK's all cowitness, and the irons are right there too. Usually, the dot sits above the iron sights when your looking at it. Just slightly roll your eye down and look at the iron sights, and the dot follows your eye down, and rests on the front sight, just below the tip.

Once your used to looking at the target and not the dot, the dot appears where your looking on the target, and your eye picks it up. You really dont see or pay attention to the irons, unless you were to shift your attention to them.

 

[wally]

Co-witness is nice, but is a PITA to get everything right unless the optic was designed specifically to co-witness.

I'm happy simply if the irons are usable through or under the optic as a backup.

--wally.

 

[HorseSoldier]

Does co-witnessing through a holographic sight along with an iron sight make things difficult or annoying?

I think most people aren't bothered much by having a front sight in their field of vision when shooting a red dot. Personally, I never really noticed it being there at all with an EOTech or AimPoint.

Why not simply get a flip up sight as the front iron sight instead of a fixed sight post?

Also a good option. The only downside would be that you've got to deploy the flip up front sight if your optic goes down. With the fixed front sight, you can immediately make engagements at close range the moment your sight craps out, and it's a bit quicker getting just a rear BUIS into position than flipping both a front and rear up.

Not really a right or wrong sort of choice, more just a set of different pluses and minuses.

Is there a reason for this? I've never shouldered a weapon that has co-witnessing sights so this could be a stupid question.

It seems to be something that a lot of new AR or prospective AR buyers consider. There are some options out there that address it (risers and such) if it is a big deal for individual shooters.

 

[mavracer]

with a EO tech the red dot moves in the window following your eye(this eliminates parallax)
with the rear BUIS folded down, you can raise your head a little, this puts the red dot above the post.