Red Dot Sights: Open or Tube Style?

hvymax said:
Get a nice rear aperature sight and barrel band front from Brownells. If it was bigger than a poodle shooter I would say express flip rear with a barrel band sling mount and front sight.
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hvymax, is this something that I can do relatively easily? I was thinking about doing this even before buying the gun, as I knew that no .223 bolt actions came with sights. It would have to be something that isn't permanent. I'm not familiar with a barrel band and don't even know what that is. What I envisioned was a front sight that basically came in two pieces and went around the barrel, while tightening it together would be what held it in place. Then, for a rear sight, something that would mount on a rail so that I wouldn't have to have any holes drilled or anything that really altered the gun itself. Are there things out there like this, and something that I could install myself and be able to properly align myself?

Nothing real expensive either. I would be perfectly happy with very basic sights like I have on my Marlin 25N bolt action .22LR. A blade front sight and a ramp type rear sight. The hard part would be making sure they were installed in correct alignment. Thanks for the help.
 
I have done it with basic hand tools. Go the Brownells site and check your options. You can braze or setscrew the band's with a little care it is not too difficult and the adjustable rear sight can deal with any slight errors in front sight alignment. I am a believer in making your guns your own. There should be aperature options that will work with the existing holes but drilling and tapping are not rocket surgery. You could get a clamp on rail for the barrel and get a set of back up irons to clamp on simply enough. You obviously didn't look too far or wide for a 223 with sights. The Mossberg MVP has iron sights and uses AR mags. It sounds like it would be your dream gun. To your original post the open ones seem like they would be hard to clear if a bunch of crap, rain or snow would get into them. A tube type can be wiped with a shirt sleeve.
 
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hvymax, the gun that you listed is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I scoured so many sites looking for a bolt action gun with iron sights and never saw this. Yes, this is definitely my dream gun and I wish a few more manufacturers made similar guns.

As for the sight problem, I looked on Brownells and I am completely lost. I'm going to have to consult a gunsmith. I don't even know how any of these things mount. I imagine some of the rear ones can mount on my existing scope rail, as I now have a Weaver style (I know Picatinny is the better choice) rail that is approx 7" long with notches all the way down it. I needed that for the red dot sight as the rail that it came with was one of those two piece jobs with only one notch on each. Although it may have worked with the way the red dot attaches, but it would have hung off of the end of the rail.

As for the front, again, I am completely lost. Nothing looks like what I had in mind, and I don't understand why they don't make something of that nature. A sight that is either in two halves and locks around the barrel, or one that slides up the barrel and tightens on to it. I don't see anything like that.

The sad thing is, by the time I am done with this, I will have spent as much, if not more, than what the Mossberg MVP Patrol costs. And at least with the Mossberg I could use the 5.56 ammo as well.

Such is life. Again, I don't think the sight thing is something I can do myself.
 
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