Offset sights left or right?

[Canstopwillstop]

Good morning gentlemen and gentlewomen,

I have a subject I've wondered about for a long time. First off I'll start by saying that I personally like 45 degree offset iron sights. I've had them before and think they are extremely useful. But it seems like most of the offset mounts are canted to the right and most of the people using them have them on the right. This seems odd to me. I know a lot of people would say the main purpose for them is for when your primary optic isn't useful (broken) or is to much magnification for a close target. I wonder though, why they are not on the other side (canted to the left). It seems like it would be more useful to use your iron sights on the left so that every time you rotate your rifle clockwise to reload (if you had counted rounds properly and left 1 remaining in the chamber) you can look through them while reloading a new mag but still use the 1 remaining round in the rifle accurately. This would be especially useful in places like CA where, because of the ridiculous magazine capacity laws, you are more likely to need to reload more often. Maybe I'm off my rocker but I've always thought that iron sights should be immediately available for use. Isn't that why we buy all this gear for our guns haha? To get on target faster.

What do that good people of calguns have to say? Smart? Dumb? Unnecessary?


If guns kill people I can blame my pencil for misspelled words.

[joelogic]

Charging handle in the way.

[Canstopwillstop]

Thank you for the input. What about an ambidextrous charging handle like the raptor? Or if they rear sight is far enough forward?

[joelogic]

If the rear sight is in the way you can not karate chop the charging handle. If you have to pinch the charging handle you are just slowing down that function.

Moving rear sight forward shortens sight radius plus will just get in the way of something else.

Easier to roll gun to right when prone or in any other non standard shooting position.

Shooting has been advanced by outside of the box thinkers so dont stop with the ideas.

[9mmepiphany]

The sights are off-set to the right, because it is more comfortable, for a right handed person, to rotate your wrist counter clockwise (down) than clockwise (up).

Rotating clockwise would drive the pistol grip into your chin.

BTW: Fighting schools I've attended teach to shoot the AR empty rather than doing a tactical reload...it is easier to seat your fresh magazine if the bolt is locked back

[musketjon]

This would be especially useful in places like CA where, because of the ridiculous magazine capacity laws, you are more likely to need to reload more often.

What do that good people of calguns have to say? Smart? Dumb? Unnecessary?


If guns kill people I can blame my pencil for misspelled words.

Are the Ruskies marching down your street? Are you planning on going to war any time SOON? If not, what's your big concern about a rapid mag change? I've never seen any one attacked at the range by deranged targets.
Jon

[Canstopwillstop]

Um. how many riots have we had lately? I'm just saying if the point is to train to be faster and better and more accurate does this idea on how to set up your gun makes sense or not?

And if you don't believe that trying to reload faster is important then do you also follow the mindset that we shouldn't have standard capacity mags because "no ruskies are marching up their street". Because that's basically the same train of though Feinstein takes when it comes to this sport?


If guns kill people I can blame my pencil for misspelled words.

[TempleKnight]

Are the Ruskies marching down your street? Are you planning on going to war any time SOON? If not, what's your big concern about a rapid mag change? I've never seen any one attacked at the range by deranged targets.
Jon

This is the competition, action shooting and training forum. In action shooting competition you need to train to go fast. Perhaps you were looking for the stand in one place at the square range range and shoot one round every 30 seconds forum.

[Canstopwillstop]

It applies to any style of competition where you might need to reload and take a shot at the same time. 3 gun for instance.


If guns kill people I can blame my pencil for misspelled words.

[musketjon]

Um. how many riots have we had lately? I'm just saying if the point is to train to be faster and better and more accurate does this idea on how to set up your gun makes sense or not?

And if you don't believe that trying to reload faster is important then do you also follow the mindset that we shouldn't have standard capacity mags because "no ruskies are marching up their street".

Locally, we haven't had any riots lately, and I have no problem with STANDARD CAPACITY mags. I don't see the need for a 30 or 50 round magazine to just blaze away.
Jon

[PM720]

Locally, we haven't had any riots lately, and I have no problem with STANDARD CAPACITY mags. I don't see the need for a 30 or 50 round magazine to just blaze away.
Jon

Then you haven't been to a 3-gun match.

Scott

[musketjon]

Nor do I intend to. NMC (XTC) and mid-range are my games. To each his own.
Jon

[Webologist]

The sights are off-set to the right, because it is more comfortable, for a right handed person, to rotate your wrist counter clockwise (down) than clockwise (up).

Rotating clockwise would drive the pistol grip into your chin.

BTW: Fighting schools I've attended teach to shoot the AR empty rather than doing a tactical reload...it is easier to seat your fresh magazine if the bolt is locked back

I run offsets on my 20" SDM-R to acquire close in targets, which is tough with a long range scope.

Sights offset to the right feels more natural to use for someone right handed, but rotating counter-clockwise to use them puts your optics in front of your left eye limiting your field of view to the left.

If you're gaming and already know where your targets will be acquired that's fine. In the unlikely case of a life and death situation, I would prefer the wider field of view.

I run my offsets on the left and my chin is a good 3 inches from my grip at my LOP. A very minor reliability advantage is that the ejection port is angled down, rather than up.

Are the Ruskies marching down your street? Are you planning on going to war any time SOON? If not, what's your big concern about a rapid mag change? I've never seen any one attacked at the range by deranged targets.
Jon

Really?