your thoughts on replica BUIS?

[palakaboy]

guys?

please no replica bashing...i'd like to hear some opinions based on experience with replica back up iron sights.

[Ballistic043]

i had a GG&G MAD BUIS copy. it was made of chinese pot metal and fine for target shooting. but i wouldnt bang it on anything like with a troy or midwest sight.

[Ugly Dwarf]

Are you getting a great price on the GG&G? When I looked on ebay and their site right now, it looked like they run $90-$150 each for F / R.

I noticed DPMS is selling these Mangonel (a brand I'm not familiar with) for $139 for a pair (clearance).

[maxicon]

No actual experience, but some of the Chinese replicas use metric threads for the adjustments, so if you get something that has click adjustments, like the A2 style sight, it won't work with milspec procedures. For sights where you just zero them and leave them, it doesn't matter.

At that point, assuming the fit is good, you have to compare things like how tight the zero detents or adjustments are compared to the real thing, and how much play there is in the assemblies, whether dual apertures are the standard size and offset, etc. All this totally depends on the sight style - simpler ones have less to go wrong, of course. Some copies are look-alikes, rather than clones, and aren't exact copies.

It's hard to check all that without having both the real thing and a fake in front of you. For a range gun or plinker, it's unlikely to matter once it's tightened down.

[bobfried]

I have played with a few of them and they come in different levels of finish and durability. The higher end ones are decent, but than your looking at something that cost upwards of $50 each. And frankly speaking, only the $50+ ones are worth considering, the cheaper ones will break from finger pressure.

The rub is that you can easily get a REAL rear BUIS for $50 all day long. The Matech's, YHM's, Mangonels, Larue and a few other can be had on the used market for around $50. Front BUIS are even cheaper as they only run $20-$50 for a real fixed front sight and a flip up front can be had for $50.

I have bought a set of YHM for $75 before and when you consider how much a fake BUIS can cost it doesn't make much sense.

For the same price you can get a pot metal replica with no guarantees or a real BUIS that is actually machined and reliable. It's your money so I'd think long and hard before trying to save $10-$30. I spend that kind of money on frozen food.