AR iron sights bad eyesight

[indyjoe]

I was out to the range last night with my AR builds, trying to make sure they run before signing up for the Atterbury Appleseed.

I have terrible eyesight and decent astigmatism, so I wear glasses. This seems to make iron sights a little more challenging.

I seem to have more of a problem with the sights on my AR than Tech Sights on my 10/22s. It looks like both the smaller front post and smaller aperture are the reason, when I compare the two. (Also, had an A1 front sight tool, but no A2 front sight tool with me. Yeah, that whole bullet adjust works "great". )

While shooting an AQT, the "400 yard" targets were much harder to see than I can recall.

I'm thinking about ordering a smaller front post and National Match rear peep. The thing I worry about is if it will be too small. All reviews from buyers of it say how it really helped with their poor eyesight.

I figure I could carefully drill it out on the mill if I had to. Just need to re-blue the center.

Anyone else with experience on this? I want to do my best to not have to go to glass. It is a battle rifle for Heaven's sake.

 

[Hookeye]

When you drill out a peep you end up with a cylinder for a hole. This lets light reflect off the sides of the cylinder and can easily give a ghost image.

IMHO a peep orifice should have a bevel to an angled/ blade like edge.

So drilling/milling isn't going to help IMHO, in fact may make things worse.

 

[sloughfoot]

You don't mention your age or whether you have a clear front sight so I will relate my experience as a 60 year old service rifle competitor.

I started needing reading glasses about 10 years ago and in order to get a sharp front sight, I use a smaller rear aperature (.045) and the standard width (.072) front sight. A narrow front sight makes it worse.

If you want to try a smaller rear aperature, Brownells sells a set of aperatures that fit in the standard A2 rear sight and that is the easiest and fastest way to try out different aperatures. It isn't very expensive either, less than 20 bucks if I recall for 5 or 6 various sized inserts.

Of course, you know that the target should not be clear, only the front sight. You place the front sight on the black blob down there in the same spot for each shot. But a smaller aperatrure can help with sharpening up the front sight and the target too.

There are optomotrists that don't mind you coming in with your rifle to help you achieve your goal of the proper focal length to get a sharp front sight and reasonable target. Dr Schrann here in Ft Wayne has been known to come to the range with his gear and set shooters up with solutions.

Good Luck

 

[Hop]

I'm having a similar problem with my eyes. An optic would help me a lot but since my kid is also going to Atterbury. She's going to use my ACOG which leave me with either an EOTech/3x equipped 10.3" SBR or with an iron sighted Colt 20" A2. I might need to bring all 3 guns.

But, I have something on my Colt that might help you. Micro peep rear sight inserts. There's 3 sizes and they fit inside the larger 0-200 sight hole. I'll have to go home and check the bag and see who makes them. I got them from Brownells YEARS ago but don't see them listed anymore.

Doh, just read the above post.

I think one of the problems with these inserts is that the larger 0-200 peep has a different POI than the 300 Meter peep.

 

[Hop]

Ouch! This is the modern expensive version I guess. Mine are just inserts held in place by an O ring.

The Original SR MicroSight - AR-15 Parts - Parts & Accessories | Creedmoor Sports

 

[indyjoe]

I'm 36. I can see the front sight mostly clear, but the top of it occasionally looks angled. I've heard this more common with astigmatism. When the top of the post is a little blurry, and the target is a blurry blob, alignment gets crazy.

I had some cloverleafed 3 round groups at 25m, due to relying on NPOA, but none were exactly on target, due to slight alignment issues. I seems like the big front post was the toughest part, as the blurry target blob was 1/3 the size of the front post.

 

[sloughfoot]

I would head to the eye doctor with a cased rifle. A pro should be able to help with shooting glasses. I am not an eye pro, I just know what works for me.

BTW, I found my inserts from Brownell. Part number is 565-016-000 and is no longer available.

 

[Brown]

Indyjoe
I will be one of the instructors at the Atterbury Appleseed and I have the smaller front post installed on my AR if you want to try it out. I have a few other extra front posts from the kit I bought so if there are others in there of the same size you can have one.

 

[rhino]

If you want to try a smaller rear aperature, Brownells sells a set of aperatures that fit in the standard A2 rear sight and that is the easiest and fastest way to try out different aperatures. It isn't very expensive either, less than 20 bucks if I recall for 5 or 6 various sized inserts.

This is what I would try first.

The larger aperture on standard A2 rear sights is almost worthless to me. I can get decent results with the smaller aperture, so that's what I use on the occasions when I choose to use iron sights and that is the aperture I use for zeroing.

 

[KoopaKGB]

In boot camp we just wrapped up our BCGs nosepeice with an earplug that way they sat higher on the face. But this is a totally different problem then what you're having. The OP just made me laugh because I remember having to do this.

 

[Ericpwp]

I bought the 7 pack of front sights for the AR, KS something or other. I also picked up a smaller aperture by dpms. They all came from midway. I like the smallest front sight, but the smaller aperture lets less light through to your eye. It is JUST bearable. This is the cheapest, best upgrade (IMO) for the AR. Some 100 yard results:

 

[wolfts01]

I also have terrible eyes with strong astigmatism (I'm 22), and I have trouble using my tech sights on my 10-22 for anything. IMHO the main problem is the 'minimizing' effect that my nearsighted prescription causes. The stronger the prescription and the farther away the lens is from the eye the worse this effect gets. I actually had a hard time with balance and spatial orientation when I first wore contacts because it mostly eliminates the effect. I can tell a huge difference in the apparent size of the rear aperture (as well as the front sight) going from contacts to glasses.

If you can tolerate contacts you might give them a shot to see if it helps.

Another issue I have is that when I'm looking down the sights my eyes end up looking more close to the edge of the lens, so the prescription will not be as effective. I also wonder if the positive effects of the rear peep on the light are somehow distorted when you have glasses that are not tuned for shooting.

I also have issues with not being able to see my targets in lower light conditions. I've had trouble even just before dusk.

 

[indyjoe]

I will not be able to make the Appleseed after all, but I did order a post and aperture from Midway to play around. I have some old sealed contacts, but want to try to make a workable solution with glasses, as that is what I normally wear.

 

[fastang50]

Good topic, I have a similar problem and have to think the small aperture will help. Thanks!

 

[sepe]

I've got astigmatism in both eyes and bad eyesight on top of that. If your astigmatism is bad with your glasses, get your eyes checked and if the eye doctor can't get it pretty clear...find someone else. Even with new contacts, I've got a bit of a blur with my Aimpoint PRO and my AR iron sights aren't perfect. With my backup glasses (Rx is 3-4 years old and not right anymore) the Aimpoint is a perfect dot and the front sight post is crisp and clear. I may be switching to Rx glasses for shooting and contacts for everything else as the contacts work just fine for everyday.

Trying a different aperture could help but if you do have an astigmatism, I'd see about getting it corrected with your glasses.

 

[Hop]

I double checked my aperture inserts last night and they did come from Brownells and they aren't listed on the website anymore. I have 3 sizes and will bring them to the shoot (I'm switching to the middle sized one & will re-zero this weekend).

I'm pretty sure elevation is slightly different between the 0-200 and 300M peeps though. This could change your zero if the gun was sighted in on the 300M peep and you try my inserts.

 

[indyjoe]

Trying a different aperture could help but if you do have an astigmatism, I'd see about getting it corrected with your glasses.

I believe my biggest issue is that I'm clear vision normally, but shooting involves viewing out the edges of the glasses. Contacts would eliminate this, as should getting real prescription shooting glasses.

I'm pretty sure elevation is slightly different between the 0-200 and 300M peeps though. This could change your zero if the gun was sighted in on the 300M peep and you try my inserts.

Yes. The 0-200 is accurate at 200 with a 300 elevation setting. I'm planning on getting a 200 zero with the 2 clicks down from 300. (I believe this is call Improved Battle Sight Zero. This just means that I would have to set the rear elevation on 8/3 for using the 0-200 peep.

 

[rhino]

I believe my biggest issue is that I'm clear vision normally, but shooting involves viewing out the edges of the glasses. Contacts would eliminate this, as should getting real prescription shooting glasses.

You might also want to check your head position. Perhaps you can fine tune your cheekweld a bit in order to get the center of your lens aligned with the sights.

Yes. The 0-200 is accurate at 200 with a 300 elevation setting. I'm planning on getting a 200 zero with the 2 clicks down from 300. (I believe this is call Improved Battle Sight Zero. This just means that I would have to set the rear elevation on 8/3 for using the 0-200 peep.

Are you going to be using two apertures (i.e. flipping them when you choose)? If not, and you're just going to use one aperture, there's not much point in using Chuck Santose's IBZ method.

Is this for a high power target shooting rifle, or a defensive weapon? If the latter, I'd say just find an aperture that gives you the best compromise between visual acuity on the front sight and speed of acquisition of the front sight, then zero for 50 yards. That will put you on again (don't forget to confirm) at about 200 meters (depending on your gun, ammo, etc), which are the distances specified by Lt Col Santose for his IBZ method. That will give you the longest "point blank" where you don't need to worry about holdovers/unders for most shots until you get past 250 m or so.

 

[It'sAllFun&Games]

Merit recently came out with an AR aperture sight.
It's an iris sight, so you can control the aperture (amount of opening). Just like how the aperture on a camera lens controls the depth of field, you can adjust this opening so that the front sight and the target are in focus at the same time. I'm not totally sure if this is the issue you're having, but I thought I'd mention this just in case you haven't seen these.

 

[indyjoe]

I installed a smaller front post. When I compared it with my 10/22 setup, it now looks good. I had some roll pin punches on order, to swap out the rear aperture. It is also smaller on the 10/22 Tech Sights. I'm going to shoot with the smaller post and existing rear first, as the biggest problem felt like the post size. I'd rather not give up light through the aperture if I don't need to.

You might also want to check your head position. Perhaps you can fine tune your cheekweld a bit in order to get the center of your lens aligned with the sights.

I am bringing cardboard and duck tape to the range next time to mess with this. I noticed on my first trip that about 1/4" rise on the stock would help.

Are you going to be using two apertures (i.e. flipping them when you choose)? If not, and you're just going to use one aperture, there's not much point in using Chuck Santose's IBZ method.

Is this for a high power target shooting rifle, or a defensive weapon? If the latter, I'd say just find an aperture that gives you the best compromise between visual acuity on the front sight and speed of acquisition of the front sight, then zero for 50 yards. That will put you on again (don't forget to confirm) at about 200 meters (depending on your gun, ammo, etc), which are the distances specified by Lt Col Santose for his IBZ method. That will give you the longest "point blank" where you don't need to worry about holdovers/unders for most shots until you get past 250 m or so.

This is a 20" A2 style, so I'm hoping to find a good method that will allow me to dial in the rear sight adjust so that it hits at indicate distances out to 4-500 meters. I built this for more rifle than carbine style shooting. I like that I would be able to use the small peep down to 200 for accurate POI = POA. Since the larger aperture adjusts down from a 300 zero to 200, I should be able to set the rear at 8/3 and use the larger peep for in close.

So I'm the former of your options. I would take some hold under at 100 yards to get accurate adjustments for distance with the rear sight.

When I build up my 16" M4 style, then I will setup like you are talking, Rhino.