Lasers, scopes or iron sights... what do you prefer/recommend?

**tgace** · Posted On: 3/16/2010 10:46am

Originally Posted by Phrost

Be an expert with irons, use technology for convenience.

+1

I would even suggest upgrading your iron sights before buying some fancy optics. At least on a battle rifle. Bolt guns are another story.

**Cougar Spirit** · Posted On: 3/16/2010 10:53am

Not much to add to some excellent advice already thrown in by Phrost and tgace. It really comes down to what you intend to use the weapon for. If you are a hobbiest, play within your budget. If you are serious and have home defense in mind, after you are proficient with your weapon/tool of choice, you can upgrade sights with optics as long as you intend to put in the additioanl practice to become acquainted with the new look/feel/effect of the piece. Close quarters with a close/mid range weapon I have developed a fondness for holographics.

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 3/16/2010 3:07pm

Thanks everyone for your responses. Since I am not a hunter and I only shoot at the range I think I will go man style and master my iron sights and hold off on the optical stuff until I am more serious about tactical needs and willing to invest a bit more$$. I'll keep note of the brands to stay away from and ones to look for.

**IMightBeWrong** · Posted On: 3/16/2010 11:43pm

It depends on your budget. If you can afford a good optic on your budget then by all means you should, and if you're buying an aftermarket optic you should find a TELESCOPING sight that works for you. It provides a very distinct advantage having a telescoping sight over a simple red dot at just about all ranges.

**DepGW** · Posted On: 3/17/2010 8:47pm

Hey HJ - I'm going to give you some bad advice, so take it with a grain of salt.

First, I just want everyone to know that I run an EOTECH on my M4. With that said, I recently bought a S&W AR15-22. Now, I wanted to keep with a red dot sight, so I got a Tasco Red Dot at Wal-Mart. It was only $30 bucks, and I must say, that I kinda like it. It holds a zero, and seems to be fairly tough. I have had it out running and gunning, and it does what I want.

Now, I'm not saying that a Tasco Red Dot is THE way to go, it's just A way to go. Would I bet my life on it? No. Would I bet my life on the EOTECH. No. Would I bet my life on iron sights? Maybe.

Hope that helps.

***Cassius*** · Posted On: 3/18/2010 3:10pm

I'm going to play contrarian here: I strongly prefer optics. We rarely shoot with iron sights, and for good reason: it's pretty much a waste of time if you have optics available. Shitty fundamentals are shitty fundamentals, regardless of what you're aiming with.

**tgace** · Posted On: 3/18/2010 3:15pm

Originally Posted by DepGW

Hey HJ - I'm going to give you some bad advice, so take it with a grain of salt.

First, I just want everyone to know that I run an EOTECH on my M4. With that said, I recently bought a S&W AR15-22. Now, I wanted to keep with a red dot sight, so I got a Tasco Red Dot at Wal-Mart. It was only $30 bucks, and I must say, that I kinda like it. It holds a zero, and seems to be fairly tough. I have had it out running and gunning, and it does what I want.

Now, I'm not saying that a Tasco Red Dot is THE way to go, it's just A way to go. Would I bet my life on it? No. Would I bet my life on the EOTECH. No. Would I bet my life on iron sights? Maybe.

Hope that helps.

Ya know..I tend to agree. I have a $70 Tasco red dot on my Bushmaster and for what I use it for it works just fine. Ideal for military or "hard use"? Of course not, but it's good enough for home and target use..and I am not putting the cash equivalent of another rifle on top of my rifle. If I have a windfall of cash for blowing on what I want I will get a Comp M4 and some $800 rail forends, but for now I'll spend what I can afford on ammo and good magazines.

**Hooded Justice** · Posted On: 3/18/2010 6:19pm

See I figured an optical set up was the kind of thing that you didn't want to cheap out on but since I am just a hobby shooter cheap is kind of my domain. I've asked at a couple gun store guys and they have recommended various scopes and setups that would top out at around 100-ish. Some even less and of course the cheaper it gets the more suspicious I get about the overall quality of the thing. But WR was right, when I think about dropping even $100 on a sight I think of the ammo I could buy and the days at the range it would finance instead. For my home defense I have my 1911's so this really is just for fun and the eventual zombie. Gotta be prepared for zombies.

**Phrost** · Posted On: 3/18/2010 7:01pm

Originally Posted by Cassius

I'm going to play contrarian here: I strongly prefer optics. We rarely shoot with iron sights, and for good reason: it's pretty much a waste of time if you have optics available. Shitty fundamentals are shitty fundamentals, regardless of what you're aiming with.

True, but sometimes you forget the fucking batteries.

And I'm the type of guy who'd rather proactively compensate for any possible future ****-ups.

Besides, didn't you play through that mission in Modern Warfare 2 where the EMP knocked out all the optics? What kind of high-speed soldier are you? Gawrsh.

**Zatt** · Posted On: 3/18/2010 8:09pm

Originally Posted by Wounded Ronin

I say iron sights. There's lots of fancy optics available nowadays but they're very expensive, but at the same time lack of fancy optics didn't seem to stop people from having extraordinary skill and ability with firearms historically before said optics existed. Iron sights are all you need...save the money for more ammo!

I second this whole heartedly. There is no substitute for spending the time to learn how to shoot well. Well said, Wounded Ronin.