Folding sights for the M&P15 150R

[tjrocks]

Hi there, I have an M&P 150R on the way to me. It's the model with a flat rail and a smaller rail out front. I am looking for some folding sights (leaning to Troy) and want to know if the rear and front rails on this particular model are in the same plane so I'll have no issues with the folding iron sights.

I eventually would like to add a red/green dot sight to this; any suggestions on a good setup?

Thanks

Here is a picture of the specific model I am getting:

 

[kcode]

Yes, the receiver rail and gas block rail are on the same plane

 

[zip777]

Troy. Do it.

Mine has the fixed front A2 but for yours you might want to consider the "round" HK fronts if you go with the traditional round rear aperture style. I hear it presents a great sight picture "circle in circle".....

 

[tjrocks]

Thanks both of you! I'm new to the AR platform and am not used to all the flexibility it provides!

Is my understanding correct in that (if I mount a red dot sight) I would typically keep the rear iron sight folded down, but keep the front folding sight up? So during normal operation, the front sight is up and shows in the red dot sight? And if the red dot fails, I can remove it and flip up the rear iron sight as a backup?

Thanks

PS- I see what you mean with the circle in circle picture, good idea!

 

[cyphertext]

No need to remove the red dot if it fails. You just use the sights while looking through the red dot.

 

[63GMC]

I put a set of Midwest Industries flip ups on my OR. Haven't had a chance to test them yet but they are really nice and rugged feeling. I got the rail height HK style front and I like the how the circular sights line up. I was looking for Troys but couldn't find anyplace that had the set I was looking for in stock that wasn't way overpriced.

 

[harrison_creek]

I have Yankee Hill Machines flip ups on my OR and they are great.

 

[wass]

Yes, same plane.

 

[Dikinalaska]

As I seem to chime in and mention on every one of these gas block sight threads, if you didn't know the gas block does heat up and will melt poly sights. Doesn't seem like you're going that direction, just good knowledge to have.

 

[tjrocks]

Wow thank you to everyone for your help and advice.

Yeah the Troy Industries are somewhat costly and supply is low right now, but hey, at least I have time to figure out exactly what I want!

Thanks

 

[zotzer]

Rather than go with flip ups, I went with offsets. Mine are XS XTI and are very low profile. Placing them optimally was a little bit of a challenge, but ultimately the best set up seems to be front sight over the gas block, and the rear sight tucked right under the rear/viewing end of my optic.

Instead of having to flip the sights up and deal with co-witnessing, you just flip the rifle a smidge. It's pretty slick.

 

[zip777]

I looked at those XS XTI's. they are slick!

 

[lightsluvr]

There's a reason the S&W put Magpul flip down sights on the 15-22MOE. Combined with a red dot sight on a QD, the comination is hard to beat.

The Magpuls are very well made.

LL

 

[Dikinalaska]

There's a reason the S&W put Magpul flip down sights on the 15-22MOE. Combined with a red dot sight on a QD, the comination is hard to beat.

The Magpuls are very well made.

LL

While I love my Magpuls, I haven't had any experience with anything else. But I thought it was just because they were about the cheapest flip-ups

 

[zip777]

There's a reason the S&W put Magpul flip down sights on the 15-22MOE. Combined with a red dot sight on a QD, the comination is hard to beat.

The Magpuls are very well made.

LL

Nothing wrong with the magpul stock fold downs at all and if you are rarely going to use irons stick with them. If you like shooting irons upgrading to Troy, LMT etc is a great upgrade. Much cleaner sight picture in my experience not to mention the more durable construction. I love my troys.

 

[zotzer]

Do NOT use the Magpuls on the OR. They are plastic and the gas block will melt the front sight. The magpuls are great, but not for this application.

 

[zip777]

True. Having a sport I only had the rear magpul flip ups. Wasn't thinking about the front. Good point.

 

[Robotech]

I've put a MagPul sight on the rear, and a UTG #751L low profile flip-up sight on the front of my M&P15 OR.

I like the way the MagPul stays out of the way, with "soft" edges when I'm reaching for the charging handle.

The UTG sight is the required "metal" sight for mounting on the gas block rail. It works, but I did have a problem with it loosening up a couple times when last at the range. I've added Loc-Tite to the mounting screw knob now, and we'll see if that fixes it.

I wrote to MagPul to see if they could tell me the type or temperature rating on their material used. I'm thinking it might be possible to add a heat-sink to the gas-block to keep the temperature at a safe level for the sight for a given firing rate. No response so far. There are also a number of high-temperature polymers that might be used, if only for the gas-block mounted sights, that may be compatible with their molding machines/process.

I'm also using a Sight Mark Ultra Shot QD reflex sight. (SM14000) It's not an Eotech but for under $90 at Dunham's, I thought it worth trying. So far, so good! It works fine, and is co-axial with the "iron" sights. In fact you don't need to fold the sights down at all if you don't want to.

The only problem with the Sight Mark is that battery polarity IS NOT marked on the unit itself, and the manual instructions would have you putting them in backward! They've included a correction sheet for the manual, but it is still easy to make a mistake. The other potential issue is that the various choices of reticle patterns are not necessarily at exactly the same point, but if you only use one favorite style, it won't be a problem.

 

[VMaxSplat]

I wrote to MagPul to see if they could tell me the type or temperature rating on their material used.

Please let us know what they have to say. My guess is that the plastic front sight isn't up to the heat of the ORs gas block.

 

[63GMC]

I've put a MagPul sight on the rear, and a UTG #751L low profile flip-up sight on the front of my M&P15 OR.

I like the way the MagPul stays out of the way, with "soft" edges when I'm reaching for the charging handle.

The UTG sight is the required "metal" sight for mounting on the gas block rail. It works, but I did have a problem with it loosening up a couple times when last at the range. I've added Loc-Tite to the mounting screw knob now, and we'll see if that fixes it.

I wrote to MagPul to see if they could tell me the type or temperature rating on their material used. I'm thinking it might be possible to add a heat-sink to the gas-block to keep the temperature at a safe level for the sight for a given firing rate. No response so far. There are also a number of high-temperature polymers that might be used, if only for the gas-block mounted sights, that may be compatible with their molding machines/process.

I'm also using a Sight Mark Ultra Shot QD reflex sight. (SM14000) It's not an Eotech but for under $90 at Dunham's, I thought it worth trying. So far, so good! It works fine, and is co-axial with the "iron" sights. In fact you don't need to fold the sights down at all if you don't want to.

The only problem with the Sight Mark is that battery polarity IS NOT marked on the unit itself, and the manual instructions would have you putting them in backward! They've included a correction sheet for the manual, but it is still easy to make a mistake. The other potential issue is that the various choices of reticle patterns are not necessarily at exactly the same point, but if you only use one favorite style, it won't be a problem.

I have the same Sight Mark on my OR. Haven't had a chance to test it yet though. I knew about the battery situation when I bought mine though.