Hey guys i have been lurking for awhile on this sight and have got some great info over time. I have been plinking for awhile with my entry level Ar 15 and thought it was time to move up to a better ar . I have bought a new colt le6920 and with the iron sights i can shoot good groups out to about 40 yards and then my age kicks in (49)and i can’t see the targets very well. I am near sighted and can see the iron sights fine but the targets get tuff to see past 50 yards. Would a eotech or aimpoint help with targets past 50 yards?? Maybe some magnification with a eotech or aimpoint might help?? And i do wear glasses to drive with to see far off but they don’t work well for shooting. My eyes are not real bad i can still read part of the 20/20 line at the docs office. Thanks for any info.
I’m 58, I know what you mean. I have an Eotech on my LMT and it’s great for me out to 100-150 yards.
My latest build sports a Nikon P-223. It’s a 3x fixed magnification. It’s good out to 300 for me. It’s also great at 25-50 yards. Target acquisition is pretty quick. It’s a great little scope if that’s the route you want to take. I’m not worth a crap with iron sights past 50 yards myself.
You may want to look at an Aimpoint PRO also but if you’re looking for magnification it’s going to be an expensive add on with either the Eotech or the Aimpoint.
Especially at age 49, your ability to focus on the front site of your AR while being able to focus on the target beyond 40 yards is impaired due to presbyopia. A red dot sight such as Eotech or Aimpoint will help a lot since the dot is projected onto the same plane as the target. If your lens correction allows you to see a 100 yard target well, your shooting at that distance will improve.
I’m 59 and have the same problems. Been wearing bifocals for a while. Get some single lens (non-bifocal) glasses that can replace you protective eye wear. I also use a red dot sight (Lucid HD7) and it allows me to keep both eyes open and I just move the dot to what I’m looking at down range.
A 3x ACOG is your friend.
While not as fast as a one-trick RDS, my 1-4x Leupold VX-R Firedot is pretty nice. Some guys say its almost as fast as an EOTech or T1 for them. I wouldn’t go quite that far, personally, but its nice. Just wish scopes/mounts were lighter.
In going with a magnified or non-magnified optic, consider what you’re going to use the rifle for. If you’re shooting is mostly 50 yards and in, an Eotech or Aimpoint RDS would be an excellent choice for you, and you’d still be able to use your iron sights if you ever need/want to. If your shooting is mostly further out, a magnified optic might work better…OR…you could add a 3x flip-to-side magnifier to your non-magnified optic. Those magnifiers will flip out of the way so you can use just the RDS or iron sights, and they’re quick-detach so you pop it off the rifle if you don’t need it and don’t want the size and weight.
Same here, honestly I have an EOTECH and it helps a little but for my long shots I use a Leupold Mark AR 3x9. It allows me to see out to 300 yards. I had outstanding vision when I was in the service and had no problem shooting out to 200 meters with the iron sights. Today 50 yards is about my max. If you are doing tactical courses or something like that you can use an EOTECH with a 3x magnifier which depending on your eyes should get you out to 200 yards or even 300 for some people. You can also mount a scope like the Leupold Mark AR and install forty five degree iron sights and flip between the two. There are lots of good options for us old dudes. Pick the one that will work best for you and your budget.
http://www.eotech-inc.com/products/magnifiers
http://www.leupold.com/tactical/scopes/mark-ar-riflescopes/
Another optic I like a lot that is more cost effective than the options above:
http://www.burrisoptics.com/ar332.html
Busting 40 sucks. I can still shoot irons fairly well, but not quite as good as when I was thirty. I have an Aimpoint on one AR and 1x4 Leupold on another and they both work well.
My eyesight has been crap since age eight (moderately severe myopia). Had LASIK around forty with good results, but by age fifty the presbyopia was getting bad enough to require readers. Then I needed cataract surgery a couple of years later.
Won’t be long and I’ll be posting a thread about which RDS would work for my new BCM blunderbuss. :laugh:
LMAO!
Get a 1-4 scope, TR24,Swfa1-4, Meopta Zd
Thanks guys for all the great info keep it coming. Most of my shooting will be 50 to 200 yards out. There is so much to choose from its a little confusing to a novice shooter. I will study all the info you guys gave me and will check back in with more questions. I THINK i know what i want i just don’t know what package does what at this time. Thanks again for the info.
This. I’m sure getting some glass on top of that rifle will help you out quite a bit. I’m pretty young but I am near sighted. If I go shooting without contacts or glasses I have a pretty hard time seeing targets. Throw a decent piece of glass on top and you’ll be good to go.
I’m a big believer in RDS, but most of my shooting is 50 yards and in. At 50-200 yards, I think I’d be inclined toward a 1-4x scope too.
Are you bench shooting or doing some training? It will make a difference in the best optic for your application.
I really, really, really should shoot southpaw rifle as my left eye is the better of the two. Quite a bit better. But I’ve been shooting rifles right-hand for almost 25 years now and it’s like walking on one foot backwards shooting support hand. I try to do it because its good training, but I absolutely hate it. I would be a 10x better shooter if I would just discipline myself and shoot left handed. Lately, I don’t go shooting enough. If I had better/quicker range access I could work on this with some serious intentionality. Lately, I’m just glad to have the time to get to the range when I do. Hope that changes soon. And yeah, I can hear 40 knockin’ louder and louder.
I’m mid-sixties and still shooting irons pretty well, and hate to see anybody giving up on them.
Just what exactly are you shooting at past 40 yards? Personally, I like to whack at clay birds on a berm at that distance, and can generally hit them, but don’t expect to be shooting great groups offhand.
If you are shooting at clangers and other reactive targets at 100 yards, hits shouldn’t be too difficult, especially if the clangers are painted a contrasting color.
How about silhouettes at greater distances?
While you say you are seeing the sights themselves, I’ve found that using a white-stripe XS front is a big help in picking out the front sight in a broken background, tho’ I don’t have the heart to put one in the M-16A1 clone.
Someone else asked if you can see the targets themselves when just looking at them, no rifle involved. Your prescription may need changing.
Also, not meaning to tell you something you already know, but you shouldn’t actually be ‘seeing’ the rear sight, but rather letting your eye be centered on the ‘brightest spot’; then all you have to worry about is putting the front sight on target.
Moon
rstang99 that is a good question. Today i was bench shooting trying to get my new colt sighted in with the iron sights and they work very well now when i can see the target. I use my ar15 for general entertainment and hog hunting and home defense if need be. In the near future i think i would enjoy doing some ar15 shooting events they look like a blast and a good way to learn more. Some call them competitions i call the fun.
Know the feeling at 50 an with stigmatism some days are just not good shooting days without glasses. When I was younger irons out to as far as most calibers could shoot was no problem now 200 yards is a chore!:mad: Now a days most of my shooting irons sport scopes !:rolleyes: