Like the AR-15, iron sights have been the gold standard for marksmanship.
However, precision shooting has come a long way. The days of front and rear sights seem to be over.
Despite red dot sights, holographics, and scopes drastically reducing iron sight usage, backup iron sights still have their uses and advantages over battery-operated sights.
Let’s go through the basics of using AR-15 iron sights, getting the proper sight picture and alignment, and landing your shots with the one sight that has stood the test of time.
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Things You’ll Need Before Target Shooting With Iron Sights
Before you head down to the range and start shooting your rifle, you’ll need a few essential pieces of kit to make your practice shooting go smoothly.
After all, it’s BETTER TO BE SAFE when you shoot, especially if you want to enjoy shooting for longer.
You’ll need more than your rear sight, front sight, and focus to hit your target.
#1 Ear Protection
No soldier leaves the service unscathed, but most of them leave with tinnitus or hearing loss because of all the times they’ve fired weapons without hearing protection.
As a civilian, you can learn from their mistakes. This means packing a good quality pair of earplugs or earmuffs to protect your ears when you go to the range.
Plenty of ear protectors nowadays are even noise-canceling, allowing you to amplify speech and drown out other sounds.
#2 Eye Protection
Shooting rifles or any other gun or firearm means dealing with smoke, gunpowder, and flying bullet casings, especially when firing left-handed using an ejection port for right-handers.
In cases like these, you will need a good pair of shatter-proof glasses to protect your eyes and face.
They should be fog-proof to allow you to see in the chaos while keeping you safe from debris.
A good pair of eye-protecting glasses will help you see clearly through the smoke, dirt, and debris and will help you take the best shot every time you point your barrel downrange.
#3 Adjusting Tools
You may need a screwdriver, Allen wrench, or another tool to turn the windage and elevation knobs and choose the right peep sight when you adjust your rifle front and rear sight.
However, AR-15 iron sights are tough as nails, and part of them being easy to adjust is that you can use a 5.56 bullet to adjust your sights as you zero.
You can adjust them with almost any improvised tool.
#4 Target Paper, Cardboard, or Plate
You will never improve your rifle skills if you don’t have a target. You will need to mount them all at the same height and make sure they’re stable and won’t fly off.
Your targets need to be observable when shooting — having a human silhouette or a specific aiming point will give you something to aim at.
You need to see where your targets land and tape off the holes to reuse your target sheets or boards again. If you’re using steel plates, you’ll need to lift them back up every time you reset.
#5 Your AR-15 Rifle With Iron Sights
Last but certainly not least, you will need your AR-15 rifle with front and rear sights. You can use peep sights or a U-shape, notch sight rear aperture in your rear sights.
When combined with a front sight post, they will give you your sight picture, sight alignment, and line of fire to the target.
You can even practice adjusting your left-right direction and switching between open sights or a small aperture when adjusting the zero on your rear peep sight.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Your shot placement and even hitting your target will depend on your understanding of iron sight marksmanship. You will need to practice, reset and practice again until you can develop your shooting ability.
AR-15s are bulwarks of armed self-defense. The only problem will be what gun laws you may have in your area and your ability to land your shot and hit your target at any given distance.
How to Use AR-15 Iron Sights in 5 Easy Steps
Your life may not be on the line when you cannot hit your target at the range, but having the proper alignment of your rear sight and front sight will make you a better shooter.
Fortunately, understanding how to properly utilize your rear sight and front sight is easy (once you understand this basic concept).
Let’s go through the most important things to remember to hit your target.
Step 1: Prepare Your Target and Find Your Range
Before you align your rear sight and front sight down a centerline to take out your target, you will need to set up your aforementioned target.
Practice makes perfect, and it starts with setting up!
You will first need to choose whether to fire at a paper, cardboard, or steel target. At a 25m distance from the prone position, you will best be able to focus using a paper target.
After taking a few practice shots to zero your rear sight and front sight, you can then switch to a cardboard target, which will allow you to fire from prone, kneeling, and even standing.
It will even allow you to fire your gun from multiple directions and even while moving.
TAKE NOTE: A steel target is best saved for distances of 200 yards, elevated positions, or from 15m away (if using small targets).
What’s important is that you staple your targets to a steady wooden base or frame and make sure it doesn’t fall. Make sure that it won’t topple over by adding some weight under it.
Step 2: Position Yourself and Prepare Your Weapon
Whether aiming with iron sights, a scope, or holographic and reflex sights, the way you position yourself, hold your weapon, and even breathe can all affect where your shot will go.
With your target now in place, it’s time for you to set up your firing position.
If you’re firing from prone (on your belly), it’s best to mount your rifle on a sandbag for the most stability.
- Lay down a thick foam mat that you can spend some time on. Lay down flat and angle your dominant leg with a 90-degree bend to give your stomach some room.
- Lay your heels flat on the floor with toes pointed out to get the most stability. Plant the soft areas around your elbows as contact points on the ground.
- Once you find the most comfortable position, you can pick up your weapon.
- Hold the grip properly and place the stock on the soft part of your shoulder. Rest your cheek on the buttstock.
- Make sure that you have some eye relief between your eye and the front sight. Place your non-firing hand between the magazine well and the sandbag.
- Open your bolt, load your magazine, and