Shawn over at LooseRounds sent me this awesome chart a month or two ago:
The chart has dope on three AR15 platforms. You can see that the A2 rear sight elevation is easy to memorize, but also very course in its adjustments. The Carry handle of an M16A4 and M4 carbine is a 1/2 minute adjustment but the shorter sight radius of the M4 makes it a little harder to memorize the rear drum changes… but not too much. It also shows that an AR15 with a 20 inch barrel and a detachable carry handle has very precise adjustments. Committing some of this data to memory (or taping it to your butt-stock) will only improve your shooting so I thought I would share.
Remember that last year Shawn took a box stock A2 rifle and then he took an M4 carbine out to 1000 yards. It’s an understanding of data like this that will allow you to be the guy at the range who has the knowledge to make calculated adjustments to your weapon instead of a point of impact guessing game.
Good article. It would be my (educated) guess that the KAC rear sight (standard issue on the USMC M16A4) would have similar adjustments to that of the carry handle. It is also 1/2 minute per click.
I bring this up only because some of us use one on our M16A4’s. 🙂
the KAC rear sight does not have the same range as an A2 carry handle
[…] The New Rifleman just put up a table, sent to them by Shawn of Loose Rounds, of windage and elevation adjustments for iron sights on M16A2, M16A4, and M4. […]
Thanks for posting this, I am on the verge of acquiring a 20″ upper for iron sight practice. This will be useful.
also its important to add to that, I did not zero the rifles I used based on that chart. I manipulated the front sight for gross amounts of elevation adjustment not shown on these sight charts. getting on at 1000 yards using the info on those cards is not possible. But is sufficient to shot to 800 yards using a military zero
I would love to have a card like that for a 16 barrel with a mid length gas system. Any ideas where I could find that info?
Is there anything comparable data for an AR-10 with the proper detachable or built-in carry handle sights?