Open Sights on Weaver Rail?
I've got several rifles that have no sights because the manufacturer expected the shooter (me) to put a scope on the weaver rail. And that is fine except that sometimes I would like to shoot the rifle without using the scope and then I need open sights.
Are there any open sights I can buy that will attach to the Weaver rail so I can shoot with open sights and still avoid having a gunsmith put permanent open sights on all my rifles?
Are there any open sights I can buy that will attach to the Weaver rail so I can shoot with open sights and still avoid having a gunsmith put permanent open sights on all my rifles?
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You could probably use sights made for AR 15s. You will have a very short sight picture. 0 -
NEGC - New England Gun Company -- makes a rear aperture sight that attaches to the weaver rail. I think they have front sights too. 0 -
Yes, there are a few ways to do this.
There are MANY brands of AR-15 "back up iron" sights designed for the flat-top guns that will mount on a standard Weaver rail. EG:
One potential problem is that these are usually raised up pretty high, so eye alignment may be an issue with your particular gun. (It may not be. . .you'd have to try it and see).
As mentioned there is a low-mount aftermarket Weaver mount peep sight from NECG that may be more suitable for an ordinary hunting rifle:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=111883
The problem with EITHER of these two routes is that you still have to work out some way of attaching a FRONT sight to your gun.
If you were to put both a front and rear sight on your weaver rail you'd have a ridiculously short sight radius, and it would be difficult to place shots precisely.
So you'd probably also have to attach a Weaver rail to the front of your barrel too, then put the front sight on top of THAT. This is also doable, though it complicates things a bit:0 -
Thanks everybody. I don't mind the very short sight picture and actually would like to find out just how badly/good such a short sight picture would preform. With careful alignment when shooting, I believe that even a very short sight picture could provide adequate performance.
In addition, I am just trying to take the cheapskate route to being able to shoot my rifle with iron sights for when I don't want to use the scope. It looks like finding and installing aftermarket sights ( with the front sight installed on the front of the weaver rail) would cost at least $84.00 dollars or more per sight (total about $168.00) plus maybe even some gunsmithing charges. For that price I might as well have a gunsmith put on a convention front and rear sight. Or, just use the scope and move onto something else to worry about[:D]0 -
Forgive my ignorance, but what is a short sight picture? And why is that bad?
GH1[:)]0 -
quote:gregoryhart1 Posted - 02/25/2010 : 6:46:29 PM Forgive my ignorance, but what is a short sight picture? And why is that bad?
It would make the space between the front and rear sights about 4-5 inches a part. On a rifle that's not good ( short sight picture ) the same on many hand guns. A longer sight picture places the sights farther say 16-20 inches apart making mistakes less apparent. That is also the main reasons why rifles are more accurate then hand guns.
That's is why AK's and SKS's are generally not as accurate as AR15's because the sights are farther apart on the AR15 although that is not the only reason.0 -
Here is a reasonable price, good sight, http://store.magpul.com/prod_detail_list/45
Here is a sight rail, http://www.jprifles.com/buy.php?item=JPSRTS0 -
quote:Originally posted by Nwcid
Here is a reasonable price, good sight, http://store.magpul.com/prod_detail_list/45
Here is a sight rail, http://www.jprifles.com/buy.php?item=JPSRTS
Nwcid, you dug up some GREAT stuff there. If a "Picatinny" rail is the same as a Weaver base, I'm going to buy that front and rear sight from Magpul. They look great.
Thanks again.0 -
Thanks for the heads up, armalite. I guess I knew all along what a short sight picture was , I just never knew the proper name for it.
Thanks again.
GH1[:)]0 -
quote:Originally posted by tr fox
Thanks everybody. I don't mind the very short sight picture and actually would like to find out just how badly/good such a short sight picture would preform. With careful alignment when shooting, I believe that even a very short sight picture could provide adequate performance.
Depends what you are trying to accomplish. If you just want to place shots grossly (eg for plinking at 30-40 yards), then this should work fine. As a sort of a "backup" sight to a scope, this isn't a bad way to go (and that's why they are "backup" sights for AR-15s).
But a pistol-like short sight radius on a rifle is really not a good way to accurately place shots at distance. (EG ever shoot a snubnose revolver)? Personally I wouldn't want to have sights like this as the ONLY sighting system on my rifle, because it kind of seems like a waste of the rifle.
How about this suggestion. I assume you don't want a scope because you intend to shoot at a relatively close distance, right?
Have you considered a reflex (dot) sight? Open reflex sight is really a lot of fun to shoot, not bulky, faster and easier than iron sights, offers no magnification, and will even let you keep both eyes open. You can probably find a fairly good one in the $150 price range. Personally, I'd take this as the only sighting system on a rifle over short-radius iron sights.
Edit This holographic ultradot Pan AV is considered one of the best of this type at $175. You can probably get away with less.
On picatinny vs weaver rail, they're not exactly the same, but for your purposes they're probably close enough that any difference won't matter. More here (scroll down):
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4266140 -
Well, it is only a .357 magnum single shot rifle so I guess I will just put on a scope. I don't really want to have to always shoot the rifle through the scope, but it seems like anyother way is just too much trouble or too expensive.
Thanks all.0 -
quote:Originally posted by beantownshootah
Edit This holographic ultradot Pan AV is considered one of the best of this type at $175. You can probably get away with less.
On picatinny vs weaver rail, they're not exactly the same, but for your purposes they're probably close enough that any difference won't matter. More here (scroll down):
Unless these are actually made by different companies vs made by one company and just packaged for each company this is a better deal at $36, http://www.natchezss.com/product.cfm?contentID=productDetail&prodID=OSPMRS&src=tpCtgOp
I have 4 of the BSA's and have been very happy with them.0
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