Thanks so much for the advice everyone. If I might ask one more related question.

The sight I have sits very low along the rail. I own the standard model of 15-22. That being the case, if I want to co-witness with my iron sights I'll need to install a riser to put the red dot on. Is there a standard size riser I should get?

Thanks so much for the feedback. It's great getting such diverse and at the same time equally sound explanations. Really appreciate the help.