I have a 14.5" barrel with pinned/welded YMH 5M1. The gun has an MI SS12G2 forend on it, and between the front of the forend and the start of the taper at the end is around .95" (and I’d like a gap between the forend and sight, leaving me .9" max and preferably less). The barrel diameter is .650 there.
Right now I have MBUS mounted on the forend. I pretty much only shoot irons, though, so I’d like to pick up a fixed front sight. I’d also like to mount it to the barrel, mock Dissipator style, so that a sling with some force on it won’t throw off POI.
Is there such a thing as a sight that will clamp on there? It would probably need to be 2 piece, or I could remove/replace the muzzle device (would require a mill, but I have access) but even so there’s a taper so I’d need a sleeve under it. I’d prefer aluminum, as a steel one all the way out there would probably make it handle a little slower. It’s just a toy but that doesn’t mean I can’t want it light and quick handling.
So you have a free float rail and want to barrel mount a sight… You are worried about a sling pulling on the rail enough to change POI… You need to find something else to worry about!
It doesn’t take much motion to throw off POI. Eyeballing it, my sights are ~18" (1.5’) apart. If I’m shooting at 150 yards, that’s (1.5’)(3)(100) or 300 times the distance. If I pull on it hard enough to move the sight 1/100th of an inch, the POI will change by 3 inches. I’d call that enough to matter. Then again, I have no clue how rigid it is, I just pulled a number out of my ass.
I don’t think you can put a new block on there with a permed muzzle device without destroying the device. I would just shoot it as is. Being good with what you have is way cooler that what you think is “cool” anyways. Then again, I think 14.5" bbls and 12" rails are badass so…
You might be able to get a FSP that’ll fit, but you’ll have to cut the muzzle device off and probably have holes drilled for the taper pins. Or you could stop trying to find solutions to problems that don’t exist and just shoot it.
So you want to replace perfectly good rail mounted sights with some clamp on nonsense that will most likely give you actual problems? And you want this thing .9" past the end of the rail?
If you wanted to do it right, you could end up with a Kino-ish configuration, but this sounds like clown shoes.
I want it maybe 1/8" from the end of the rail, as total available space is less than an inch.
If it gives me trouble I’ll just swap back to a rail mounted sight.
It won’t be too hard for me to make one. I’ll need to pick up an 8-36 tap.
I may even set it up to run a taper pin in the lower part so that it won’t move at all, although I’ve never drilled a barrel for one before (and mine’s nitrided, making it even more fun).
If I don’t do a taper pin, it’s easily reversible. Even if I do, I can just set up a pin to make the hole less visible if I ever remove it.
Well, If you’re able to hit your target at the distances needed to fulfill your requirements with your present set up, why mess with it? Numerous posts here why having a permed muzzle device can bring grief later on, when you decide to change things, as in your case. Having less than an inch of free space to work with, pretty much puts you behind the eight ball. A few of the clamp on front base sights are machined to .625. Your requirements of having to be sized to .650 would make it a custom installation. Is the cool factor worth it? Only you can decide. Want something light and quick to maneuver? Get a Colt 6933 from various sources.
Sadly I live in California and most NFA items aren’t allowed. Similarly, we have an assault weapons ban and I can’t even have a typical AR.
I have a lathe and access to a friend’s mill, which makes customizing things significantly easier.
The gun I’m talking about is fairly lightweight:
Mag Tactical lower and upper receivers
Ballistic Advantage 5.45x39 14.5" Hanson profile barrel, midlength gas, 24oz
Geissele G2S
Midwest Industries SS12G2 forend
MBUS
BCM Mod3 charging handle
YHM 5M1 pinned/welded
Depending on where I am (I live in California) and how I feel, I either run Magpul grip and MFT Minimalist stock or a Thordsen Customs FRS-15. In the former setup it’s around 5lb11oz empty, the latter around 6lb3oz.
Firing 7N6 the accuracy isn’t that good, I’m getting 3-4MOA on irons. However, if I can do something that I like the look of that also improves accuracy, without adding much weight, I see nothing wrong with it. I have a little bit of better ammo, but I’m still improving with practice so I’m not shooting the expensive stuff yet. Also, since I’m only shooting irons for now I’d like to replace the sights with something that looks a little nicer.
When I said it’s ugly before, here’s a picture of how it looked with a standard upper. It’s a face only a mother could love.
I don’t think that your sights are the problem with accuracy. Not to bag on you but your current setup is likely to be capable of more accurate fire than the average shooter, and with surplus ammo 3-4 MOA is not bad.
BUT if you want to have at it, its your dime and rifle. But as said above and by others, I think you may be chasing a non existent problem.
Amount of exposed barrel will require you to cut into your handguard to mount any sturdy fixed front sight. Going 2 piece and having make sure its true and square with the upper is going to be difficult. To be honest. Without match front sights, blocky thick front post on almost all AR front sights is going to limit accuracy anyways. Just shoot it as is. Or buy a reputable red dot and attach it to your upper receiver. Guys that shoot for groups at 1x shoot with a red dot to cancel out the chances of crooked / canted sights. Also gives you an empty sight picture so you can concentrate on the target rather than making sure the front post is aligned perfectly in the rear aperture. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.
