AR15 build questions

[jp7mag]

best place to get magpul sights?

Botach tactical is has a coupon code for 20% off all magpul gear. Code is "Magpul"

I heard some people have had service issues with the site but I ordered a whole batch of magpul gear with that code and had my stuff in less than a week with no problems.

 

[glockman24]

so will the magpul bus cowitness with primary arms m3 clone with canted mount??

 

[glockman24]

or is there a cheaper set i can use?

 

[ez bake]

so will the magpul bus cowitness with primary arms m3 clone with canted mount??

The canted and high mounts are at the same height - they will both do lower 1/3 co-witness. This means that the irons will appear in the lower 1/3 of the optic - since its a red-dot optic, this won't matter because no matter where you move your head behind the optic, as long as you can see the dot, it will be on-target (once sighted in).

What it does is allow you to look over the irons and use the optic only (when the irons are up).

Its really not necessary when using flip-ups since you can just put the BUIS down - but its a matter of preference.

In all honesty, on my guns with flip-ups, I prefer the low mounts (or Absolute Co-witness which puts the irons right in the middle of the optic) because they allow me to get a better cheek-wield (because my face doesn't have to be as high up to look through the optic) and if I don't want to use the irons, I flip them down.

On my Sabre Defence (which has fixed Irons), I prefer to use the high-mount that allows me to look over the irons should I want to (since I can't flip them down). The high (or lower 1/3 co-witness) mounts are more popular among the ARFcom and M4Carbine.net crowds.

The cantilever mount only moves the optic forward (from where the high-mount naturally puts the optic) over the rail-space of the quad-rail without mounting anything to the quad rail - this is done to have a solid mounting point (the flat-top rail) and to move the optic forward should you want to add a magnifier behind it and still maintain a nose-to-charging-handle position on the gun (typically with the stock collapsed all the way down).

I honestly love Primary Arms' products, but I don't fancy any of the cheaper cantilever mounts made by anyone because they're not as solid as say a LaRue or ADM mount (or even Primary Arms' High non-cant mount).

You won't find better flip-up BUIS than Magpul for the money - I wouldn't try because I doubt you'll find any that are even worth the money for less than Magpul's. If you're serious about using Irons, I would look at getting Daniel Defense or LMT fixed BUIS or upgrade the Irons to something a little better.

My biggest complaints with the Magpuls are that they won't use a standard tool to adjust them (the front adjustment notches are not wide enough for the same tool that works on standard AR-15 A2/A3 sights) and the blades on either side of the front sight post are not nearly high enough.

They are solid and well built, but don't really do well with super-high heat (if you're planning on bump-firing or putting a lot of rounds through the weapon at a single time (like 5 or more 30rd mags at once), you'll notice that they put off smoke as you get the barrel/handguards heated up).

What upper did you end up getting and what quad-rail did you get? This is a Carbine right? With a carbine-length rail or a longer rail?

Did you get a different front sight block than standard A2?

 

[glockman24]

i went with a utg free float quad rail... 16 inch barrel (carbine right?) no a2 style front sight just a gas block with picitanny or whatever on the top

 

[glockman24]

so would it be better to get the m3 primary arms clone with low mount and low profile sights? i was looking at http://www.amazon.com/UTG-Model-Complete-Match-grade-Sight/dp/B001BR4VQ0 and considering it because its inexpensive and fairly good reviews and i would imagine might co witness with the primary arms but just not sure? and then a matching front sight http://www.amazon.com/UTG-Profile-Detachable-Front-Sight/dp/B002PNHJGI/ref=pd_sim_sg_2 would this cowitness directly or 1/3

 

[glockman24]

o r should i just save for magpul? and should the front sight be mounted on handguard or gasblock

 

[ez bake]

You know... you can edit your posts and add stuff to it later

I wouldn't personally buy anything from UTG, but that's just me.

16" doesn't mean Carbine, that's just barrel length. Your gas tube (and distance from the upper receiver to the gas block) determine what gas system you're using (either Carbine, Mid-length, or rifle-length - there's Pistol-length and a few other odd-balls, but I'm guessing you've got a carbine or middy).

If you've got a Carbine-length gas system and a low-profile gas-block, you can run a quad-rail (provided it will clear your gas-block - if your gas block has a rail, then it probably won't) over the gas-block and the quad-rail can be as long as you want. If you do this and the gas-block is inside of the quad-rail, you would mount the front iron to the rail. Otherwise, you would go with either an A2 FSB or gas-block with either a built-in front Iron or a gas-block with a rail and then you would need a gas-block height front sight.

Here's my Noveske with a mid-length gas-system on a 16" barrel and an 10" or 11" (I think, crap I can't even remember now - whatever Noveske's SWS factory length rail is for that upper) rail that goes over the gas-block - Irons mounted on the rail:

[Broken External Image]
The Optic is a Vortex Strike-Fire mounted in a low (Absolute co-witness) mount - I like this one because it allows me to get a solid cheek wield with the optic nice and low.



Here's my son's Spikes Tactical that I built for him a while back and a similar setup (mid-length gas, 14.5" barrel with a DD Lite 10 - again, I think... its been a while since I put this one together):

[Broken External Image]
The optic is a Primary Arms Micro in their extended (high) throw-lever mount - I could have gone with a lower mount on this one.




Here's my Sabre Defence 16" carbine with a carbine-length DD Omega Quad-rail:

[Broken External Image]
The optic is a Primary Arms M3 mounted in a high-mount - which is needed on this setup in my opinion due to the fixed BUIS.


If you use a carbine-length rail on a carbine rifle, you would probably want to put a gas-block-height front iron on it to give you the longest sight-radius. This is my least favorite setup to be honest as I prefer either the A2 FSB or a rail-mounted front iron.

 

[glockman24]

ok so i need to buy an a2 front sight? how does it install i take of that gas block that has the rail on it? i guess im confused? i need some schooling on this... http://www.jsesurplus.com/custom16hbarmidlength1x9flattopuppercompletestandard-2-1.aspx that is what i ordered but with the full float quad rail by utg... tell me what i need to repalce or do for sights? or should i buy a2 front and a rear high profile sight?

 

[ez bake]

ok so i need to buy an a2 front sight? how does it install i take of that gas block that has the rail on it? i guess im confused? i need some schooling on this... http://www.jsesurplus.com/custom16hbarmidlength1x9flattopuppercompletestandard-2-1.aspx that is what i ordered but with the full float quad rail by utg... tell me what i need to repalce or do for sights? or should i buy a2 front and a rear high profile sight?

Well, I didn't exactly say that. You either need:

1. a gas-block-mounted front sight (either flip-up or fixed),

or

2. an A2 front sight (which is probably going to be more work, because most A2 sights are installed via tapered pin which requires a jig and notching the bottom of the barrel). You can find an A2 set-screw or clamp-style FSB, but they're not as secure,

or

3. a mid-length Quad rail, and a low-profile gas-block (this is my favorite option) and any standard-height rail-mounted BUIS.

Either of these options will work with whatever rear Iron you choose (or you could forgo Irons altogether and just get an optic with etched glass).

That's the beauty of AR-15s, there is no correct answer because you can mix/match in any number of ways.