A quick tip for all you ....... more.... senior shooters , like myself . Get some bright white acrylic and some neon orange or green acrylic , paint your front sight post with the white paint first then the next day or when it's totally dry , paint it with the orange or green over the white , that front sight post really pops and works well for older eyes . I personally use the paint pens with the fine tip , I've done all my AR's like this and it works good.
Nail polish is a great option as well, and a bit cheaper (especially if you have a wife/daughter/sister/mother that paints their nails). Neon on white (not just neon) is a great idea, I'll have to test that out.
Right on! I’ve been doing this sight painting technique a long time. I figured out the brightness & contrast gained this way on accident. (painting a sight white, then decided later on orange) Another neat trick on sight painting-->{it’s very meticulous} Paint the front sight post white, then orange just as you described, then very carefully glue a single piece of orange glitter directly on the sight post for the focal point. Any color of glitter will work
I did such with Testors model paints. They had almost every color fluorescent and it only takes a couple of brush strokes so the tiny bottle of paint could do literally thousands of sights.
As a Marine who only ever shot the range with Iron Sites it’s sad to hear that they don’t even teach it anymore. The accomplishment of shooting 500 yards with irons was so awesome!
@@effincook4176 funny you say that. i only ever seen 2 in my 4 years that ended 6 months ago. but i won't say never used iron sights. Used "Irons" on M320, Mk19, M2 50 cal. and M240. but m240 and the forementioned big guns. typically used in the Up guns weapon station or on crows. and the M240 have alot of range time shooting at pop up moving targets looking through a PAS-13D
Thank you! I know videos like this generally don't do well in terms of views but I still like to produce them for the reason you mention - new shooters. We have millions of new gun owners out there now and sometimes things we old shooters take for granted aren't fully understood by new shooters. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Agreed. We have many new gun owners out there like they stated in the beginning of the video. It's nice to see the bigger channels make informative videos like this. Also there are many gun owners who only own pistols as well and don't know much about other type of guns (someone I work with owns 8 12 different pistols but has no idea how a shotgun or AR works).
68 yr old former Marine, I have used irons my entire life. Started with a single shot 22 at 12 yrs old. Don't have the need for optics. Semper Fi brothers. 🇺🇸💪
I'm 32 years old and I'm all for iron sights, not a fan of red dots. I'm the only guy at the range with an all OEM stock AR15 in a field of guys with Gucci-up AR15.
@ Thomas Cilento I wonder if it is only certain units in the USMC that do not train recruits to actually fire with live ammo on the range with iron sights, or if none of them do at this point? If none of them do at all, I am pretty shocked, because I think they are missing out on some crucial training. You'd think they could at least have them practice with irons on 50 or 150 meter targets or something just for familiarity's sake.
@Ethan Snyder That all makes sense, and I know it is probably not likely, but what happens if something breaks or gets lost? A brief overview or class about the concept of iron sights and how they work is better than nothing, and only so much time and ammo can be allotted to a unit for training...but to the degree it is possible, you'd think even a brief familiarization fire exercise with closer targets using iron sights might be a good idea.
@The Noble Pointman rules on paper are overly enforced, I don’t know what world yiu live in. I served from 08-12 and used both. Irons only in bootcamp. The Marine Corps has gone down the toilet further influenced by POGs and officers who have no damn clue about combat. It’s a disgrace and it’s sad. Discipline is out of the window from my understanding from my brother who is currently in.
because an acog is more reliable than iron sights, theyre built like tanks, if you break an acog, you'll 100% be able to break your irons with that same action.
I served as Korean army special commando. We do have electronical optics but command officers hate using them just because optics weren't exist when they were young.
Same thing with my country's military, police & other law enforcement agencies. When in basic, everyone shoot with iron sight. Not every unit have optic sight. Even if they have, they will train with iron sight as well, just in case.
I firmly believe you need to master irons before you ever get any sort of optic, heck! Up until maybe 4 years ago, I never really had a lot of faith in optics. Great vid mac!
I understand what you mean but the rest of my brain demands that the stick shift is a bolt action because they're both sticks you grab and yank around.
Reminds me of the first time a shot a gun. I was like 9, it was a "Cops and Cowboys" shootout. They let everyone that was watching shoot a little after the show. First was a black powder revolver, second was some kind of full auto rifle the cops had. That was a great day.
Oh how I struggled in basic training to always get the same sight picture with iron sights. Plus at that time I was terrified of the 1st bag I could never zero my rifle. 30 years later I laughed at my younger self.
i went to a outdoor range with my buddy 3 days ago, my reddot failed and i had to mount the iron sight backup. oh boy it was not pretty, i put the rear iron sight on backward, the location was too far forward, and my friends had alot of fun teasing me i need to learn actually to use the iron sight and use it well, especially you can still hit 100m-300m out with it. thank you for these instruction videos!
a fun fact ; in 39'-40' legendary Finn sniper Simo Haeyhae used exclusively iron sights as giving him a lower profile for cover ,besides after noticing a soviet counter sniper's scope reflections ,when wielding his rifle , by the nordic's winter low set sun .
Really good easy to understand and well explained video. Thank you. I'm 60 and I like your advice about the paint on the front sight. Great idea! I would have never thought of that. I've been shooting since 1974 Dad a Marine Korean war veteran taught me everything including reloading. I just lost him last week. He was with us until he was 88 years old and this video reminds me so much of him. He was strict and yelled at me a lot when I was learning to shoot and even yet he just yelled at me last year when we were out at the range. I just wasn't doing good that day. Couldn't hit right. He said "John what the hell are you aiming at" lol. It annoyed me that day but I'd give anything to have him with me again. Thank for a great video. I know Dad would have liked it too
When I moved to a red dot I still had a fixed front post so I learned to co-witness. You get the best of both worlds, the extra precision and the red dot makes keeping both eyes open feel so much more natural. Would recommend!
Awesome video & topic. Old Marine here. M16A2. We had only iron sights and learned all the principles that went with them. Sad to hear that they are not still teaching about them. Semper Fi!
From a new AR shooter thank you. Picked up one with A2 front site and flip up rear. Was use to just the old school .22 rifle and BB guns. This will definitely help when trying to to practice
As a young Marine myself who just left active duty a few years back, the first rifle I purchased post-service was an FN-15 M16 clone, identical to the one I was issued (bar the automatic trigger assembly). My intention at the time was to purchase a Trijicon ACOG for it, but after just one range session with the BUIS that came with it, I'm hooked. I really wish that Marines were still instructed on the use of iron sights during boot camp, despite how obsolete they're becoming in modern warfare.
Yeah you are absolutely right concerning aiming at the belt line with an AK. The Russian military doctrine for foot soldiers has been aiming at the belt line when shooting the AK almost the entire time AK’s have been around. It greatly increases your hit capabilities with the AK and I highly recommend it.
Thanks for presenting this, its the kind of thing that gun fuds usually say “if you have to ask then you will never know.” I have recently come back to Irons I really love how open your field of view is with a simple notch and post.
I used a garand for years for deer season. I remember one year hunting in the rain and sighting in on a deer and the peep apiture had filled with water. Couldn't see a damn thing, learned to quietly blow on the peep first before shouldering.
Hey MAC any chance we’ll get a full playlist of “back to basics”? Would be very convenient to share with the newbies as a precursor to in person training
Awesome! I never used a scope for years as a child, learning to shoot in the 90's Army Cadets in Canada. Every Wednesday night, indoor 22.cal Enfield converts, every other weeked for my first 3 years were rifle range weekends. I learned to shoot on the FN FAL at 12 and was blessed by God for the chance. They use pellet rifles now. We shot 303. British Enfields, the 22. Convert and the FAL. 100% of the time that was not special range gun club meetings. Best time of my life. It helps when the C.O. is an Ex- Airborne Captain, who knew literally everyone, and everyone owed him a favour. Never seen anything like it in my life. God bless you MAJ. ROGER TURCOTT They gave him and Honorary Major's rank after Retirement.
It never hurts to keep a set of backup iron sights for when your optics go out (and they will). Best to learn to use iron sights first before slapping doohickeys on your rifle.
One thing that gets overlooked with optics is cold air. If you're using an optic in cold weather, like under 40ºF, it is very easy to fog the lens just by breathing on it wrong. You have to manage your breath direction to avoid fogging the lens, which is difficult to remember under physical stress. Irons don't have that problem. You can't fog irons by breathing on them wrong. You can't fog them by suddenly bringing them into a warm building. You don't have to worry about wiping your sights clean just so you can aim. Things like red dots are great, but before you rely on them, take them out hiking on a cold winter day and see how the optic (and you) performs.
Really like this type of content. I learned irons pretty quick as a result of being broke, kinda still am, but it was always fun watching the amazement on the faces of once-a-year sight in guys at the range while they watched me slap steel around at 200 yards with a crusty SKS and they were missing feet off the target with magnified optics and larger calibers. I know a lot of this stuff is heavily opinionated, but I love hearing your take even on the simple stuff, I mean, you've probably fired more guns and ammunition than I've ever seen after all.
when I joined the army, there where only iron sights and I hated them, until I shot the MP5. Those sights are amazing. Then we moved from the G3 to the G36 and the red dot made shooting too easy.
I'll defer to someone who's actually shot the gun, but I was under the impression that most shooters despise the MP5/HK irons (I guess the rear drum in particular).
@@samuelb4140 @Samuel B Most people seem to like the G3/HK33 diopter sights. I've only met a few personally who actively disliked them. The MP5 diopter (iron) rear sight is like the G3/33 diopter, but rotating the rear sight drum of the MP5 does not change elevation like on the G3/33, it just lets you choose a larger or smaller aperture to look through on the rear sight. I will say though, that I have heard many complain about the notched "Castle" rear sight drum on the MP5K/SP5. Often people will switch out that open notched rear drum sight for a normal MP5 one with the "peep" apertures to look through.
@@samuelb4140 Interesting. I actually never heard that before. Best iron sights on the planet for short range stuff. Things is, in the German Army training is crap. I was SOF for the longest time, and one afternoon training with US Army guys and a President 100 shooter as an instructor, was worth 25 years of German training. What I am saying is that the sights do not need training. That's why I loved them instantly. Glueck ab!
In Army BCT in 2019, I learned both iron sights and CCO. Many of us scored better with the iron sights as opposed to the CCO. In theory, the CCO is superior and works well under ideal situations. However, if it is rainy outside, the CCO will have drops over the lenses and you will not be able to see properly at all. If the CCO is bumped or jostled, it will completely throw off the zero. This is what caused several trainees to fail or almost fail their CCO qual. What happened was that the Drill sergeants would routinely kick over the log stacks of M4s and that screwed up the zeros of the CCOs. I qualed, but barely. I had to aim the dot well into the dirt to compensate for the messed up zero. Iron sights may not be sexy, but when used properly, they will not fail you in bad weather or lose the zero due to dropping the weapon. This is just one Soldier's opinion.
I got out in 2004 I started basic with a M16A2 and got my M4 at my first duty station. Never used anything other then iron sights in the military unless you factor sights while using night vision.
I be damned you taught me something. I was taught to use the front side guards to hit the rear sight edges and center the front sight post, now you say don't worry about the guards, Wish I could find ammo to practice that. I wanted to say as well, many of these comments are hilarious. You have a new sub thank you.
If you cant use the irons, do you really deserve the glass? Personally i love irons, not for everything but i love using them. Just came in to give you a view and a thumbs up🇺🇸
I am in agreement with you. Magnified optics and such are there to help you see the target better, but I think new shooters should practice first with iron sights.
sleepless247, Of course, I was thinking the same thing. BUT then I recalled MAC's heads-up. THAT would distract from what MAC advised and forewarned us about at the get-go. This drill is ONLY about learning, re-learning the basics of a sight picture focusing and centering that all-important sharp, clear front site. "Thank you, Federal" for supplying MAC's demonstration ammo in our frustrating, costly resources-limited times.
I was thinking about that. Actually, I was expecting that...but it never happened! I think it's always important to show the results of what you are presenting. The explanations were excellent!
Without even specifically saying it,you just explained to me why my buddy who learned A2 sights in the Army always tells me the small aperture is superior to the large one without much of an explanation. Besides being a finer point of aim it cancels out those ears. Good on you sir!
I started teaching my partner how to shoot and was having a hard time articulating how to use the irons. I was trying to draw garbage pictures. 😂 The visuals in this video should help a lot. Thanks!
When I joined the Marine Corps in 2001, we only used iron sights. By 2005 when I was deployed to Iraq most Marines used ACOGs. I couldn’t get used to the ACOG at the time so I used iron sights on my A4. Now that I’ve been out the military for years my eyesight has worsened so I prefer my red dot.
Idk if you mentioned it in the video (still watching), but looking through the rear peep aperture does two good things: 1) it suppresses paralax with sight alignment, and 2) it also increases your depth-of-field to see the target clearly.
@@4tango123 no. He’s correct. The video is wrong as to aperture sights. All you need to do is put the center-top of the front sight on the target. That’s it. You don’t need the front sight centered inside the aperture’s circle because the aperture has already aligned your eye with the front sight. That’s what an aperture does. It’s a phenomenon called parallax suppression. www.biathlon.net/Aperture_Sight.pdf
are you supposed to zero the AR with the rear sight on the tiny peep setting, or the large ghost ring setting? and when are you supposed to flick the rear sight from one setting to another?
started using iron sites at 9 years old with my bb gun (thank you dad) and never look backed and now im 65 years old and yes i have glass on my guns but not All, good video MAC
Another great video! I've been guilty of using BUIS after the purchase of a prism scope because the gun in question didnt come with iron sights. Nothing more satisfying than getting both scope and iron sights to co witness while knowing if my scope breaks I'm not up shit creek without a paddle. It is fun shooting with irons or BUIS's.
Although I already had an idea of irons this video was still in formative as I recently got my first ar and it came with flip up irons as every other rifle I own is a type of hunting rifles that all have scopes
I remember back when my Department went to lasers on our service weapons. I wasn't against the laser at all, but firmly believed that everyone be able to qualify with open sights before they could obtain the laser. Excellent video Tim, Thumbs-up ~John
This is a great topic I have always been a big fan of irons I grew up with them and feel this is an important part of learning the basics of marksmanship.
I'm the same way. Left eye dominate and right handed. I can shoot with iron on my right side if I close my left eye, but I can have both open when shooting with my left side. It's weird.
I'm luck to be right handed and right eye dominant, I don't need to close my eyes when aiming. I learned to close my eye if needed but I have no need to.
I, for one, do use the ear blades on the sides of the front post as part of my sight picture. I place my cheek on the stock to where when I look through the aperture the blades are touching the sides of the peep hole. Then I line up the front post on the target. For me this allows me to shoot tighter groups since the front post will always be in the exact same place of the sight picture every single time. Placing the front sight in what I think in the center of the aperture with out doing this will allow for small variances from shot to shot that will only get bigger as your distance to target increases.
As big as the US is on guns and military, I am surprised that you guys don’t have mandatory military training. In my country we get 1 whole week of military training including handling the Ak47 in high school and another whole month of military training in college with more advanced stuff. Basically anyone older than 18 know how to use iron sight.
Where ? I like that philosophy. When the Germans invaded Russia, they were met with armed, trained civilian marksman. I don’t know why we don’t teach it here.
Simple: the costs would outweigh the benefits. USA is in no danger of being invaded and it wouldn't be well received by public to have drafted teens sent home from far away oil-rich countries.
@@zz3690 i think you misunderstood me somewhere. What I referred to is basic military training that carries out like lecture/classes at their high school and 1 month of military training camp like one of those summer camps. It’s just teaching military knowledge not drafting teens to the military and them sent overseas.
@@YulHolic24 yes, I mistook mandatory military training with mandatory military service. Anyway, school lectures can't really be relevant in modern combat (if they ever were). IMO you either go through the drill or you don't.
Great idea for a video and good info. Thank you. I finally bought a gun on which I plan to add no scope, no red dot, no laser, no flashlight, nor any attachments whatsoever (Socom16); this will be my SHTF mid-range, hard-hitting, storming-zombie spray machine. This was very timely and useful.
Diamondhead sights are leaps and bounds ahead of traditional round-peep-hole irons. Square matches in the square, shoot where your front post is pointed. Their steel sights are honestly outrageously expensive but their polymer sights can be had for about $30 more than a pair of MBUS (sights).
Just got my first firearm a couple months ago, Ruger PC9 carbine and it has good iron sights. I put a tiny dot of yellow nail polish on the very top of the front post to help it stand out against dark backgrounds. It makes a big difference. Good review of the fundamentals.
I have the square front post that can be adjusted up or down. My rear peep hole sight has a windage adjustment which I have at the center position. I will be putting on a red dot, but I’ve always used iron sights on my shotgun when deer hunting, by Gods grace I Always put ‘em down on the first shot. Thanks Matt
Man I’m 24, and have used iron sights since my grandpa taught me when I was around 6/7 on his .22 with old cans lol! I’ve used one scope on my dads rifle and that makes things a bit too easy
Started shooting with a BB gun, then a .22 with iron sights. I did not own a optic for a rifle until I finished my four year enlistment in the Navy of the at age 22. I bought a AR-15 and thought I needed an optic. Now day's at 61 years old I still have quit a few iron sighted weapons that I can still shoot very well. I have several AR type rifles and if I do the iron sight / red-green dot sight combo I sight in with the red-green dot then adjust the irons to the optic. Seems to work pretty good.
RK62. Finnish made Ak variant in 7.62. Diopter/peep sight on that is good. Longer distance between front and back that others and then flip up notched sight with wide notch for to flip the front side all so. We used the aperture for 100-300m shooting and notch for 25-75m with zero that you hit centre mass if you just aim in the midle. Either a bit above or below.
Learn irons FIRST and have them as a backup on any rifle you plan on fighting with. I’m in electronics design and you wouldn’t believe how delicate sights are inside and how many parts can fail.
@ Grand Theft Avocado Yeah, I am not against technology where it is useful, and magnified optics and so forth can be very useful, but I can't believe some soldiers and Marines do not actually familiarize themselves with irons out on the actual range (not just in a classroom). Things can break (or fall off unexpectedly!) and then what does someone do if he doesn't know how to use iron sights?
Learned as a kid on a tube fed 22lr thanks dad .... later the army had more to say on the subject with a M-16 a1 .... uhhh the drill sergeant didn't like to be thanked .... said the army thanked him twice a month with a check .... NOW I am learning red dots and scopes .... but a review can do me nothing but good. but I do thank you.
btw ... I am one of those .... right handed that is left eye dominant, so a left handed shooter . That m16 a1 required a stripper clip rigged in the dust cover hinge to keep the hot brass out of my right armpit. I can use either hand with a hand gun, but a rifle is left handed only.
Just like what Alan Smith said. The sound of ringing steel is so therapeutic.. It's ASMR for gun lovers. That and the sound of loading a round or the racking the slide/working the action.
Just sighting in some old Magpul pro sights today and realized that for me to get the best accurate centered shots that cutting my POA with my post at least at 25y does fine
It’s not in America really either. It’s just a specialized system that doesn’t need to be applied to most vehicles. A lot of people have them just to have them as opposed to needing the extra control.
This is great advice. I had to install iron sights on every one (including my builds) of my ARs. Whereas every milsurp I own (except the 91/30s….lol) has very good iron sights.
I was just searching and searching for a video (hoped for a good video. This certainly is good.) on sighting with iron sights. Both as a refresher for me and to share with my wife, and possibly my children. Now we shoot pistols and shotguns with iron sights which have similar but distinctively different characteristics. I have recently returned to small caliber rifles for plinking and wanted to grow my open sights skills back to at least 50-100 yards while I still have the eyes for it. I would like to have some family fun before the kids all leave for university or work. So thank you, sir, for a more easily understandable presentation of the information then I ever could.
Outstanding tutorial. I'm 55 years old and have been shooting since I was 10, but I always figure that I can learn something new. I was first taught to shoot by my Father, a WWII Marine who made 3 beachheads in the Pacific Theater and one thing I never had a chance to learn from him before he passed (He'd have been 100 years old this last Feb 12) was how to use a sling. Thanks for the information and am looking forward to getting off the bench and giving this method a workout with my AR10.
Some of those new gun owners are lefties too...they have no idea how to load or operate one and that's not good....the riots last summer have them spooked...but, they will vote for the Dems next time who want to take them away from the American public...it's stiinkin thinkin...
I learned to shoot with what are arguably the finest iron sights ever made, the iron sights found on the standard length M14 / M1A rifle... this allowed me to transition to the irons on other rifles with ease.
Inherited an old rifle from my grandfather that has irons and is too old to have attachments without some intrusive modding being done (and I don't wanna mod it cuz it was my Grandpa's, y'know?) so this was very helpful! Thank you so much!
I joined the US Army back in 1990 that was the only authorized method in the range was the use of iron sights this was true up to the year 2006 we still went to qualify with our M-16A2 on iron sights.
Iron sights don't just align the rifle with the target. They align the shooter with the rifle. Some see that as a good thing and others see that as a bad thing.
Exactly. They align the eye. This guy is incorrect as to aperture sights. All you need to do is put the center-top of the front sight on the target. That’s it. You don’t need the front sight centered inside the aperture’s circle because the aperture has already aligned your eye with the front sight. That’s what an aperture does. It’s a phenomenon called parallax suppression. www.biathlon.net/Aperture_Sight.pdf
Army infantry OSUT 2018. We used iron sight on our M4s first, even at the range multiple times before finally being issued CCOs and eventually had to qualify with that. We didn’t have to qualify with irons but we def did get practice with them. No Acogs. Fun fact, 19D (cav scout) get issued M16s instead of M4s in basic for some reason. At least that’s how it was when I went to sand hill.
I use these front sight ears to center the post in the peep. Move your eye relief, or head back or forward to aquire the edges if ears to edge of peeps. This gives you a perfect fast acquisition reference. Whether this was designed this way or not it works perfectly.
started using scopes to hunt with after old man eyes took over. *sighs* now that i can afford all types of guns and ammo...my body can't use it to the fullest. lol
@@keinokfarang851 Wow! Congratulations; that's some testimony. Lucky you to hang in there using iron sites; make that -- use iron sites with some degree of success!
So all my friends and even my children… I start them with irons. I had an older man tell me 20 years ago… “you got no business running a nail gun till you can put one in by hand.” It’s stuck with me my whole life. Run a tree service now. All new guys start with a hand saw then a misery whip… then a power saw… it builds respect for humanity and it’s history and an acknowledgment of the viability of older ways.
Scopes are a tool in shooting, not the be all, end all of shooting. Thank you for showing how to use iron sights. I learned to shoot with iron sights when I was eight years old. Did not learn to use a scope until I was 30 years old. I prefer iron sights.
Yes and no. I bought/built my AR for home defense so red dot it is. I do run a front post because it's an FSP, and I've started to run backup sights, but in the distances that the rifle is intended for, using irons isn't all that important to me.
you'll not be 100% "completely proficient" with anything. mistakes will happen, always it's about training w both to get to a satisfactory average while being comfortable while shooting
Great way to learn but the dot takes a little learning to...But use the skills you learn from irons to transition to red dots...Rrd dots tend to sometimes make you a lazy shooter...Keep the good habits from irons when you go to red dots...Ignore speed until you are very confident in hitting targets with both...Then work your speed without sacrificing your accuracy
One of the issues I've found shooting irons is that the front sight post, if too reflective, will pick up the sunlight more on the side facing the sun. This gives the illusion of shifting the post in the opposite direction of the reflecting side, shifting your point of aim. Square posts are a little less affected than round posts but can still have the issue. Also one of the advantages of a completely hooded front sight like on some of the older HK rifles.
A quick tip for all you ....... more.... senior shooters , like myself . Get some bright white acrylic and some neon orange or green acrylic , paint your front sight post with the white paint first then the next day or when it's totally dry , paint it with the orange or green over the white , that front sight post really pops and works well for older eyes . I personally use the paint pens with the fine tip , I've done all my AR's like this and it works good.
Nail polish is a great option as well, and a bit cheaper (especially if you have a wife/daughter/sister/mother that paints their nails). Neon on white (not just neon) is a great idea, I'll have to test that out.
White tritium... light in the day, glows at night. It’s like 19.95 for 1/2gm
Right on! I’ve been doing this sight painting technique a long time. I figured out the brightness & contrast gained this way on accident. (painting a sight white, then decided later on orange) Another neat trick on sight painting-->{it’s very meticulous} Paint the front sight post white, then orange just as you described, then very carefully glue a single piece of orange glitter directly on the sight post for the focal point.
Any color of glitter will work
I'm 22 and I always do this just to help me when I really take my time shooting long range with irons
I did such with Testors model paints. They had almost every color fluorescent and it only takes a couple of brush strokes so the tiny bottle of paint could do literally thousands of sights.
As a Marine who only ever shot the range with Iron Sites it’s sad to hear that they don’t even teach it anymore. The accomplishment of shooting 500 yards with irons was so awesome!
Exactly!!!
Do you have any extra tips for shooting with iron sight?
You actually believe this guy? Google, verify, THEN consider being upset.
(They switched to BUIS)
@@effincook4176 funny you say that. i only ever seen 2 in my 4 years that ended 6 months ago. but i won't say never used iron sights. Used "Irons" on M320, Mk19, M2 50 cal. and M240.
but m240 and the forementioned big guns. typically used in the Up guns weapon station or on crows.
and the M240 have alot of range time shooting at pop up moving targets looking through a PAS-13D
I hit at 250 yards with my AK iron sights. Felt like John Wick for a week.
I really appreciate you taking the time to cover things that everybody just assumes that new gun owners already know. Good information - thanks!
Thank you! I know videos like this generally don't do well in terms of views but I still like to produce them for the reason you mention - new shooters. We have millions of new gun owners out there now and sometimes things we old shooters take for granted aren't fully understood by new shooters. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Agreed. Been a subscriber for a while and I’m in between optics right now. Bad timing I know. I really needed this right now.
Agreed. We have many new gun owners out there like they stated in the beginning of the video. It's nice to see the bigger channels make informative videos like this. Also there are many gun owners who only own pistols as well and don't know much about other type of guns (someone I work with owns 8
12 different pistols but has no idea how a shotgun or AR works).
It’s a good review for those of us have them, but don’t use them all that often.
I watch all the really collieO videos and bought every new cool optic. Guess whats on my rifle? 😆 My drill sgt worked hard on me.
68 yr old former Marine, I have used irons my entire life. Started with a single shot 22 at 12 yrs old. Don't have the need for optics. Semper Fi brothers. 🇺🇸💪
When your eyes start to go you will
@@bowlofrice8 had cataract surgery, eyes are great.
So you don't ever need to make clean shots on animals past 100 yards? 🤔
@@BrassBashers I can easily hit center mass @300 but I don't have to because here in NH the woods are so thick never have to shoot past 50.
I'm 32 years old and I'm all for iron sights, not a fan of red dots. I'm the only guy at the range with an all OEM stock AR15 in a field of guys with Gucci-up AR15.
Im from and live in KEN-TUCKY AND WE LOVE OUR WINDAGE!
MAC you are the best bro. Thank you
Thank you brother, freedom on!
Hey neighbor!
If someone can't shoot center with irons, I don't consider them a marksman of any real measure.
Semper Fidelis!
"iron sights aren't necessary anymore"
Sidearms: AM I A JOKE TO YOU?
Most pistols are using rds now
@@mrs.vasquezz I'll believe that when I see it in effect at the local range
@@TheJBerg eww you go to ranges
Optics can and will fail. Knowing iron sights is smart.
@@hawk66100 as if Irons don't fail.
My 10-8 steel sights broke twice.
As a dealer I've seen plenty of iron sight issues.
Good modern optics are fine.
Tim, to properly aim an AK, you MUST be wearing an Adidas warm up suit.
A full ski mask is also a big help but not always necessary
Thems the rules
Squatting helps with accuracy
You also can't kneel. You have to squat to get proper aim. Make sure both heels are touching the ground!
And a vodka buzz or a goat as a girlfriend.
Amazed that usmc, an institution that prides itself and was founded on marksmanship, would not teach mastery of iron sights.
@ Thomas Cilento I wonder if it is only certain units in the USMC that do not train recruits to actually fire with live ammo on the range with iron sights, or if none of them do at this point? If none of them do at all, I am pretty shocked, because I think they are missing out on some crucial training. You'd think they could at least have them practice with irons on 50 or 150 meter targets or something just for familiarity's sake.
@Ethan Snyder That all makes sense, and I know it is probably not likely, but what happens if something breaks or gets lost?
A brief overview or class about the concept of iron sights and how they work is better than nothing, and only so much time and ammo can be allotted to a unit for training...but to the degree it is possible, you'd think even a brief familiarization fire exercise with closer targets using iron sights might be a good idea.
@The Noble Pointman rules on paper are overly enforced, I don’t know what world yiu live in. I served from 08-12 and used both. Irons only in bootcamp. The Marine Corps has gone down the toilet further influenced by POGs and officers who have no damn clue about combat. It’s a disgrace and it’s sad. Discipline is out of the window from my understanding from my brother who is currently in.
You forgot to put the tip of your nose on the charging handle, ensuring the same sight picture time after time.
because an acog is more reliable than iron sights, theyre built like tanks, if you break an acog, you'll 100% be able to break your irons with that same action.
I’m from south Korea and served military. We only use iron sights.
I know the Russian military still uses them quite a bit too.
I served as Korean army special commando. We do have electronical optics but command officers hate using them just because optics weren't exist when they were young.
Same thing with my country's military, police & other law enforcement agencies.
When in basic, everyone shoot with iron sight. Not every unit have optic sight. Even if they have, they will train with iron sight as well, just in case.
Try out an ACOG if you get the opportunity, it's kinda foolproof.
@@Gr3nadgr3gory agreed!
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to use iron sights and he'll never shut the hell up about it.
Darn straight
:)
I thought that was how that saying went 😂.
Good one!
I firmly believe you need to master irons before you ever get any sort of optic, heck! Up until maybe 4 years ago, I never really had a lot of faith in optics. Great vid mac!
I feel the same way ! Told my friend before i get optics on my firearms i have to master Iron sights
“The stick shift of the gun world”
To prevent the young whipper snappers from using your firearm😂
I drive a stick shift, but do 99% of my shooting with dots haha.
European here. Driving with manual transmission and shooting with iron sights.
I never liked driving with an automatic. It just doesn't have the soul of driving , it's not enjoyable really.
I understand what you mean but the rest of my brain demands that the stick shift is a bolt action because they're both sticks you grab and yank around.
Sound of steel hitting is so therapeutic
It legitimately is.
Pew dink pew dink pew dink oh so soothing
Ye it is !
Reminds me of the first time a shot a gun. I was like 9, it was a "Cops and Cowboys" shootout. They let everyone that was watching shoot a little after the show. First was a black powder revolver, second was some kind of full auto rifle the cops had. That was a great day.
Like those gun range Christmas tunes.
Oh how I struggled in basic training to always get the same sight picture with iron sights. Plus at that time I was terrified of the 1st bag I could never zero my rifle. 30 years later I laughed at my younger self.
i went to a outdoor range with my buddy 3 days ago,
my reddot failed and i had to mount the iron sight backup.
oh boy it was not pretty, i put the rear iron sight on backward, the location was too far forward, and my friends had alot of fun teasing me
i need to learn actually to use the iron sight and use it well, especially you can still hit 100m-300m out with it. thank you for these instruction videos!
Navy boot, we used the Garand at FMF training at Pendleton we trained with the M14. All with open sites.
Thanks for the memories of shooting iron sights. I still remember hitting the target at 500 meters with irons. Semper Fi!
a fun fact ; in 39'-40' legendary Finn sniper Simo Haeyhae used exclusively iron sights as giving him a lower profile for cover ,besides after noticing a soviet counter sniper's scope reflections ,when wielding his rifle , by the nordic's winter low set sun .
Really good easy to understand and well explained video. Thank you. I'm 60 and I like your advice about the paint on the front sight. Great idea! I would have never thought of that. I've been shooting since 1974 Dad a Marine Korean war veteran taught me everything including reloading. I just lost him last week. He was with us until he was 88 years old and this video reminds me so much of him. He was strict and yelled at me a lot when I was learning to shoot and even yet he just yelled at me last year when we were out at the range. I just wasn't doing good that day. Couldn't hit right. He said "John what the hell are you aiming at" lol. It annoyed me that day but I'd give anything to have him with me again. Thank for a great video. I know Dad would have liked it too
When I moved to a red dot I still had a fixed front post so I learned to co-witness. You get the best of both worlds, the extra precision and the red dot makes keeping both eyes open feel so much more natural. Would recommend!
Awesome video & topic. Old Marine here. M16A2. We had only iron sights and learned all the principles that went with them. Sad to hear that they are not still teaching about them. Semper Fi!
"Target of Truth" "Wand of Wisdom"...Outstanding! LOL
Ok so I kinda learned this just by guessing but I am very genuine when I say thank you for the video cause this confirmed I was using them correctly
😀👍
Same here, when I was a kid with a daisy red ryder
I love the iron sights on HK weapons. Two circels, one post, very natural for novice shooters. The old scorpion subgun has nice ones too:)
From a new AR shooter thank you. Picked up one with A2 front site and flip up rear. Was use to just the old school .22 rifle and BB guns. This will definitely help when trying to to practice
As a young Marine myself who just left active duty a few years back, the first rifle I purchased post-service was an FN-15 M16 clone, identical to the one I was issued (bar the automatic trigger assembly). My intention at the time was to purchase a Trijicon ACOG for it, but after just one range session with the BUIS that came with it, I'm hooked. I really wish that Marines were still instructed on the use of iron sights during boot camp, despite how obsolete they're becoming in modern warfare.
Yeah you are absolutely right concerning aiming at the belt line with an AK. The Russian military doctrine for foot soldiers has been aiming at the belt line when shooting the AK almost the entire time AK’s have been around. It greatly increases your hit capabilities with the AK and I highly recommend it.
With 2021 ammo prices my calculations are for test ammo he spent $18k.
Thanks for presenting this, its the kind of thing that gun fuds usually say “if you have to ask then you will never know.” I have recently come back to Irons I really love how open your field of view is with a simple notch and post.
"Iron sights on rifles is like manual transmissions on cars" LOVE IT!
Good iron sights are robust, impervious to freezing/wet weather conditions, and don’t require batteries. That can be pretty darn useful.
I used a garand for years for deer season. I remember one year hunting in the rain and sighting in on a deer and the peep apiture had filled with water. Couldn't see a damn thing, learned to quietly blow on the peep first before shouldering.
Hey MAC any chance we’ll get a full playlist of “back to basics”? Would be very convenient to share with the newbies as a precursor to in person training
Awesome! I never used a scope for years as a child, learning to shoot in the 90's Army Cadets in Canada. Every Wednesday night, indoor 22.cal Enfield converts, every other weeked for my first 3 years were rifle range weekends. I learned to shoot on the FN FAL at 12 and was blessed by God for the chance. They use pellet rifles now. We shot 303. British Enfields, the 22. Convert and the FAL. 100% of the time that was not special range gun club meetings. Best time of my life. It helps when the C.O. is an Ex- Airborne Captain, who knew literally everyone, and everyone owed him a favour. Never seen anything like it in my life.
God bless you MAJ. ROGER TURCOTT
They gave him and Honorary Major's rank after Retirement.
It never hurts to keep a set of backup iron sights for when your optics go out (and they will). Best to learn to use iron sights first before slapping doohickeys on your rifle.
Buis for the win!
One thing that gets overlooked with optics is cold air. If you're using an optic in cold weather, like under 40ºF, it is very easy to fog the lens just by breathing on it wrong. You have to manage your breath direction to avoid fogging the lens, which is difficult to remember under physical stress.
Irons don't have that problem. You can't fog irons by breathing on them wrong. You can't fog them by suddenly bringing them into a warm building. You don't have to worry about wiping your sights clean just so you can aim.
Things like red dots are great, but before you rely on them, take them out hiking on a cold winter day and see how the optic (and you) performs.
Really like this type of content. I learned irons pretty quick as a result of being broke, kinda still am, but it was always fun watching the amazement on the faces of once-a-year sight in guys at the range while they watched me slap steel around at 200 yards with a crusty SKS and they were missing feet off the target with magnified optics and larger calibers. I know a lot of this stuff is heavily opinionated, but I love hearing your take even on the simple stuff, I mean, you've probably fired more guns and ammunition than I've ever seen after all.
when I joined the army, there where only iron sights and I hated them, until I shot the MP5. Those sights are amazing. Then we moved from the G3 to the G36 and the red dot made shooting too easy.
Too easy = effective in stressful situations
I'll defer to someone who's actually shot the gun, but I was under the impression that most shooters despise the MP5/HK irons (I guess the rear drum in particular).
@@samuelb4140 @Samuel B Most people seem to like the G3/HK33 diopter sights. I've only met a few personally who actively disliked them. The MP5 diopter (iron) rear sight is like the G3/33 diopter, but rotating the rear sight drum of the MP5 does not change elevation like on the G3/33, it just lets you choose a larger or smaller aperture to look through on the rear sight.
I will say though, that I have heard many complain about the notched "Castle" rear sight drum on the MP5K/SP5. Often people will switch out that open notched rear drum sight for a normal MP5 one with the "peep" apertures to look through.
@@samuelb4140 Interesting. I actually never heard that before. Best iron sights on the planet for short range stuff. Things is, in the German Army training is crap. I was SOF for the longest time, and one afternoon training with US Army guys and a President 100 shooter as an instructor, was worth 25 years of German training. What I am saying is that the sights do not need training. That's why I loved them instantly. Glueck ab!
In Army BCT in 2019, I learned both iron sights and CCO. Many of us scored better with the iron sights as opposed to the CCO. In theory, the CCO is superior and works well under ideal situations. However, if it is rainy outside, the CCO will have drops over the lenses and you will not be able to see properly at all. If the CCO is bumped or jostled, it will completely throw off the zero. This is what caused several trainees to fail or almost fail their CCO qual. What happened was that the Drill sergeants would routinely kick over the log stacks of M4s and that screwed up the zeros of the CCOs. I qualed, but barely. I had to aim the dot well into the dirt to compensate for the messed up zero. Iron sights may not be sexy, but when used properly, they will not fail you in bad weather or lose the zero due to dropping the weapon. This is just one Soldier's opinion.
I got out in 2004
I started basic with a M16A2 and got my M4 at my first duty station. Never used anything other then iron sights in the military unless you factor sights while using night vision.
Maybe the army should focus more on actual training instead of transgender sensitivity training.
I be damned you taught me something. I was taught to use the front side guards to hit the rear sight edges and center the front sight post, now you say don't worry about the guards, Wish I could find ammo to practice that. I wanted to say as well, many of these comments are hilarious. You have a new sub thank you.
If you cant use the irons, do you really deserve the glass?
Personally i love irons, not for everything but i love using them. Just came in to give you a view and a thumbs up🇺🇸
I am in agreement with you. Magnified optics and such are there to help you see the target better, but I think new shooters should practice first with iron sights.
Army Audie Murphy Board 2017 we used irons on the M4 iteration…loved it
Would anybody else appreciate a camera on the target to see the impact of the shots?
sleepless247, Of course, I was thinking the same thing. BUT then I recalled MAC's heads-up. THAT would distract from what MAC advised and forewarned us about at the get-go. This drill is ONLY about learning, re-learning the basics of a sight picture focusing and centering that all-important sharp, clear front site.
"Thank you, Federal" for supplying MAC's demonstration ammo in our frustrating, costly resources-limited times.
@@scvandy3129 I understand where you're coming from. I wasn't meaning just this video but future videos.
I was thinking about that. Actually, I was expecting that...but it never happened! I think it's always important to show the results of what you are presenting. The explanations were excellent!
I wondered about his success. Great vid though
Without even specifically saying it,you just explained to me why my buddy who learned A2 sights in the Army always tells me the small aperture is superior to the large one without much of an explanation. Besides being a finer point of aim it cancels out those ears. Good on you sir!
The large one is for dark
I started teaching my partner how to shoot and was having a hard time articulating how to use the irons. I was trying to draw garbage pictures. 😂 The visuals in this video should help a lot. Thanks!
When I joined the Marine Corps in 2001, we only used iron sights. By 2005 when I was deployed to Iraq most Marines used ACOGs. I couldn’t get used to the ACOG at the time so I used iron sights on my A4. Now that I’ve been out the military for years my eyesight has worsened so I prefer my red dot.
Idk if you mentioned it in the video (still watching), but looking through the rear peep aperture does two good things: 1) it suppresses paralax with sight alignment, and 2) it also increases your depth-of-field to see the target clearly.
Focus on front sight not the target, please, thank you.
@@4tango123 no. He’s correct. The video is wrong as to aperture sights. All you need to do is put the center-top of the front sight on the target. That’s it.
You don’t need the front sight centered inside the aperture’s circle because the aperture has already aligned your eye with the front sight. That’s what an aperture does. It’s a phenomenon called parallax suppression. www.biathlon.net/Aperture_Sight.pdf
are you supposed to zero the AR with the rear sight on the tiny peep setting, or the large ghost ring setting?
and when are you supposed to flick the rear sight from one setting to another?
Good question. Zero with the small aperture. The large ring aperture is for CQB and low light shooting.
Very helpful. Hi from England! Theres still a few gun owners left here. Love your channel!
Just bought a .303 Lee Enfield and this video has taught me how to set up and use the irons
Glad to hear it!! Cheers!
@@Glimpsedshow wonderful rifle..enjoy it
started using iron sites at 9 years old with my bb gun (thank you dad) and never look backed and now im 65 years old and yes i have glass on my guns but not All, good video MAC
Another great video! I've been guilty of using BUIS after the purchase of a prism scope because the gun in question didnt come with iron sights. Nothing more satisfying than getting both scope and iron sights to co witness while knowing if my scope breaks I'm not up shit creek without a paddle. It is fun shooting with irons or BUIS's.
Although I already had an idea of irons this video was still in formative as I recently got my first ar and it came with flip up irons as every other rifle I own is a type of hunting rifles that all have scopes
I remember back when my Department went to lasers on our service weapons. I wasn't against the laser at all, but firmly believed that everyone be able to qualify with open sights before they could obtain the laser. Excellent video Tim, Thumbs-up ~John
This is a great topic I have always been a big fan of irons I grew up with them and feel this is an important part of learning the basics of marksmanship.
I remember how perplexed my Drill Sergeant was when he discovered I was left-eye dominant but right handed. Red dots made this problem go away
I'm the same way. Left eye dominate and right handed. I can shoot with iron on my right side if I close my left eye, but I can have both open when shooting with my left side. It's weird.
I'm luck to be right handed and right eye dominant, I don't need to close my eyes when aiming.
I learned to close my eye if needed but I have no need to.
I, for one, do use the ear blades on the sides of the front post as part of my sight picture. I place my cheek on the stock to where when I look through the aperture the blades are touching the sides of the peep hole. Then I line up the front post on the target.
For me this allows me to shoot tighter groups since the front post will always be in the exact same place of the sight picture every single time. Placing the front sight in what I think in the center of the aperture with out doing this will allow for small variances from shot to shot that will only get bigger as your distance to target increases.
As big as the US is on guns and military, I am surprised that you guys don’t have mandatory military training. In my country we get 1 whole week of military training including handling the Ak47 in high school and another whole month of military training in college with more advanced stuff.
Basically anyone older than 18 know how to use iron sight.
Where ? I like that philosophy. When the Germans invaded Russia, they were met with armed, trained civilian marksman. I don’t know why we don’t teach it here.
Simple: the costs would outweigh the benefits. USA is in no danger of being invaded and it wouldn't be well received by public to have drafted teens sent home from far away oil-rich countries.
@@zz3690 i think you misunderstood me somewhere. What I referred to is basic military training that carries out like lecture/classes at their high school and 1 month of military training camp like one of those summer camps. It’s just teaching military knowledge not drafting teens to the military and them sent overseas.
What country are you from?
@@YulHolic24 yes, I mistook mandatory military training with mandatory military service. Anyway, school lectures can't really be relevant in modern combat (if they ever were). IMO you either go through the drill or you don't.
Great idea for a video and good info. Thank you. I finally bought a gun on which I plan to add no scope, no red dot, no laser, no flashlight, nor any attachments whatsoever (Socom16); this will be my SHTF mid-range, hard-hitting, storming-zombie spray machine. This was very timely and useful.
Diamondhead sights are leaps and bounds ahead of traditional round-peep-hole irons. Square matches in the square, shoot where your front post is pointed. Their steel sights are honestly outrageously expensive but their polymer sights can be had for about $30 more than a pair of MBUS (sights).
Just got my first firearm a couple months ago, Ruger PC9 carbine and it has good iron sights. I put a tiny dot of yellow nail polish on the very top of the front post to help it stand out against dark backgrounds. It makes a big difference. Good review of the fundamentals.
"Because you enjoy rowing your car" 😁 I laughed way too hard at that
I have the square front post that can be adjusted up or down. My rear peep hole sight has a windage adjustment which I have at the center position. I will be putting on a red dot, but I’ve always used iron sights on my shotgun when deer hunting, by Gods grace I Always put ‘em down on the first shot.
Thanks
Matt
Man I’m 24, and have used iron sights since my grandpa taught me when I was around 6/7 on his .22 with old cans lol!
I’ve used one scope on my dads rifle and that makes things a bit too easy
Started shooting with a BB gun, then a .22 with iron sights. I did not own a optic for a rifle until I finished my four year enlistment in the Navy of the at age 22. I bought a AR-15 and thought I needed an optic. Now day's at 61 years old I still have quit a few iron sighted weapons that I can still shoot very well. I have several AR type rifles and if I do the iron sight / red-green dot sight combo I sight in with the red-green dot then adjust the irons to the optic. Seems to work pretty good.
I've found when I shoot with my left eye closed I feel more tense which throws my shot off. I'm much more relaxed with both eyes open.
RK62. Finnish made Ak variant in 7.62. Diopter/peep sight on that is good. Longer distance between front and back that others and then flip up notched sight with wide notch for to flip the front side all so. We used the aperture for 100-300m shooting and notch for 25-75m with zero that you hit centre mass if you just aim in the midle. Either a bit above or below.
Learn irons FIRST and have them as a backup on any rifle you plan on fighting with. I’m in electronics design and you wouldn’t believe how delicate sights are inside and how many parts can fail.
@ Grand Theft Avocado Yeah, I am not against technology where it is useful, and magnified optics and so forth can be very useful, but I can't believe some soldiers and Marines do not actually familiarize themselves with irons out on the actual range (not just in a classroom). Things can break (or fall off unexpectedly!) and then what does someone do if he doesn't know how to use iron sights?
@@dexm2010 Yeah, I just assume my optic will quit on me, so I have flip up irons ready to go and am used to them even though my eyes suck.
Learned as a kid on a tube fed 22lr thanks dad .... later the army had more to say on the subject with a M-16 a1 .... uhhh the drill sergeant didn't like to be thanked .... said the army thanked him twice a month with a check .... NOW I am learning red dots and scopes .... but a review can do me nothing but good. but I do thank you.
btw ... I am one of those .... right handed that is left eye dominant, so a left handed shooter . That m16 a1 required a stripper clip rigged in the dust cover hinge to keep the hot brass out of my right armpit. I can use either hand with a hand gun, but a rifle is left handed only.
today I found out that the protecting ears are not part of the sight picture! Thank you for the video
Just like what Alan Smith said. The sound of ringing steel is so therapeutic.. It's ASMR for gun lovers. That and the sound of loading a round or the racking the slide/working the action.
My new co-worker was a rifle instructor at Paris Island and he shook his head when he was telling me that they don't use irons anymore.
Just sighting in some old Magpul pro sights today and realized that for me to get the best accurate centered shots that cutting my POA with my post at least at 25y does fine
Using manual transmission (stick shift) as an example of something redundant or out-of-date doesn't ring a bell with large majority of Europeans.
It’s not in America really either.
It’s just a specialized system that doesn’t need to be applied to most vehicles. A lot of people have them just to have them as opposed to needing the extra control.
A manual transmission is a great anti-theft device we use against millennial car thieves.
@@dougfa3515 Har Har, fucking lame ass joke.
@@Industrialitis Didn't mean to upset you. Have a good day.
This is great advice. I had to install iron sights on every one (including my builds) of my ARs. Whereas every milsurp I own (except the 91/30s….lol) has very good iron sights.
I’m terrified there’s going to be a huge gun purge on UA-cam soon and every gun UA-camr will be gone 😞
I was just searching and searching for a video (hoped for a good video. This certainly is good.) on sighting with iron sights. Both as a refresher for me and to share with my wife, and possibly my children. Now we shoot pistols and shotguns with iron sights which have similar but distinctively different characteristics. I have recently returned to small caliber rifles for plinking and wanted to grow my open sights skills back to at least 50-100 yards while I still have the eyes for it. I would like to have some family fun before the kids all leave for university or work.
So thank you, sir, for a more easily understandable presentation of the information then I ever could.
it's really weird hearing the click of the mouse when the screen shows an iPhone when you're suggesting us to like and subscribe lol
Outstanding tutorial. I'm 55 years old and have been shooting since I was 10, but I always figure that I can learn something new. I was first taught to shoot by my Father, a WWII Marine who made 3 beachheads in the Pacific Theater and one thing I never had a chance to learn from him before he passed (He'd have been 100 years old this last Feb 12) was how to use a sling. Thanks for the information and am looking forward to getting off the bench and giving this method a workout with my AR10.
Oh there are alot of new gun owners...millions of new gun owners
That’s a big part of why there’s no ammo out there.
I’ll deal with an ammo shortage if those new gun owners join the opposition against government oppression.
Some of those new gun owners are lefties too...they have no idea how to load or operate one and that's not good....the riots last summer have them spooked...but, they will vote for the Dems next time who want to take them away from the American public...it's stiinkin thinkin...
I learned to shoot with what are arguably the finest iron sights ever made, the iron sights found on the standard length M14 / M1A rifle... this allowed me to transition to the irons on other rifles with ease.
"I'm not an artist". Then stop eating crayons! Thanks for an actually useful video that should be a staple on your channel.
Inherited an old rifle from my grandfather that has irons and is too old to have attachments without some intrusive modding being done (and I don't wanna mod it cuz it was my Grandpa's, y'know?) so this was very helpful! Thank you so much!
GRAU with Archangel barrel has cleanest iron sight I've ever see in my live.
lmao, and the purple tracer variant has neat irons as well lol
Are you talking about a video game?
@@Funhaus_Ryan are those jokes aren't allowed here?
I joined the US Army back in 1990 that was the only authorized method in the range was the use of iron sights this was true up to the year 2006 we still went to qualify with our M-16A2 on iron sights.
Iron sights don't just align the rifle with the target. They align the shooter with the rifle. Some see that as a good thing and others see that as a bad thing.
Exactly. They align the eye. This guy is incorrect as to aperture sights. All you need to do is put the center-top of the front sight on the target. That’s it. You don’t need the front sight centered inside the aperture’s circle because the aperture has already aligned your eye with the front sight. That’s what an aperture does. It’s a phenomenon called parallax suppression. www.biathlon.net/Aperture_Sight.pdf
Thanks alot with the ironsight insight i used to get confused focusing on the front protective ears too. now i am going to improve on my marksmanship
Iron sights won’t have fogged glass or dead batteries.
Army infantry OSUT 2018. We used iron sight on our M4s first, even at the range multiple times before finally being issued CCOs and eventually had to qualify with that. We didn’t have to qualify with irons but we def did get practice with them. No Acogs. Fun fact, 19D (cav scout) get issued M16s instead of M4s in basic for some reason. At least that’s how it was when I went to sand hill.
My dad taught me how to drive a stick shift first before a automatic.......
I use these front sight ears to center the post in the peep. Move your eye relief, or head back or forward to aquire the edges if ears to edge of peeps. This gives you a perfect fast acquisition reference. Whether this was designed this way or not it works perfectly.
started using scopes to hunt with after old man eyes took over. *sighs* now that i can afford all types of guns and ammo...my body can't use it to the fullest. lol
I’m 76 and had cataract surgery 2 years ago. 15/15 vision,can’t miss.
@@keinokfarang851 Wow! Congratulations; that's some testimony. Lucky you to hang in there using iron sites; make that -- use iron sites with some degree of success!
So all my friends and even my children… I start them with irons. I had an older man tell me 20 years ago… “you got no business running a nail gun till you can put one in by hand.” It’s stuck with me my whole life. Run a tree service now. All new guys start with a hand saw then a misery whip… then a power saw… it builds respect for humanity and it’s history and an acknowledgment of the viability of older ways.
If HR 127 becomes Law, buying ammunition is going to be as difficult as buying a silencer.
Then following the law will stop and buying silencers will be far more common
Scopes are a tool in shooting, not the be all, end all of shooting. Thank you for showing how to use iron sights. I learned to shoot with iron sights when I was eight years old. Did not learn to use a scope until I was 30 years old. I prefer iron sights.
I might be wrong but I have not bought a red dot yet until I become 100% completely proficient with iron sights.
Exactly.
Yes and no. I bought/built my AR for home defense so red dot it is. I do run a front post because it's an FSP, and I've started to run backup sights, but in the distances that the rifle is intended for, using irons isn't all that important to me.
I agree. I took the scope off the 22 because I want my kids to be proficient with iron sights before moving to red dot or scope.
you'll not be 100% "completely proficient" with anything. mistakes will happen, always
it's about training w both to get to a satisfactory average while being comfortable while shooting
Great way to learn but the dot takes a little learning to...But use the skills you learn from irons to transition to red dots...Rrd dots tend to sometimes make you a lazy shooter...Keep the good habits from irons when you go to red dots...Ignore speed until you are very confident in hitting targets with both...Then work your speed without sacrificing your accuracy
Great video, always important to know how to fully use your weapon. Batteries in red dots fail, optics break. Good idea to have a backup ability.
If Brandon Herrera has taught me anything, it's that volume of fire has made iron sight aiming obsolete. Get with the times old man!
Thanks for not condescending as you teach the basics. Went through 3 videos to find yours that teaches well without pretense.
My gosh yes, there are no other videos explaining use of iron sights other than zero.. Thank you kind sir. Me is Marine who used RCO.
One of the issues I've found shooting irons is that the front sight post, if too reflective, will pick up the sunlight more on the side facing the sun. This gives the illusion of shifting the post in the opposite direction of the reflecting side, shifting your point of aim. Square posts are a little less affected than round posts but can still have the issue. Also one of the advantages of a completely hooded front sight like on some of the older HK rifles.