Mk IV Co-witness sights

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greg_hains

Bearcat
Joined
Oct 18, 2024
Messages
6
Location
Australia
Good morning.

I have a Mk IV Target and I am thinking about mounting a red dot on it. I currently have a picatinny rail on it, but will be removing that as I find it a tad bulky.
Whilst I have not purchased it yet, I am thinking of buying an OLight OSight for it - a slightly cheaper, RMR-footprint optic - but would like to also co-witness with the iron sights if possible. I know this can be done if we put a riser on the mount, so we look underneath the riser through the optic, however, I find they often look too high... and yes, aesthetics count. :) What I'd prefer to do is have it so I can see the irons sights through the optic - which means the optic has to be mounted low - I have this working well on my CZ so I know it's possible.

Whilst I know there are a squillion different red dot optics out there to choose from, all with pros and cons, I am looking to get an opinion from you as to what a good combination of red dot optic, the mount (dovetail or three holes on the barrel, and the iron sights themselves. I'm not overly happy with the factory ones - they are just not visible enough to me - as my eyesight isn't amazing. Any suggestions for aftermarket iron sights please?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,
Greg
 
Co Witness will be tough, but I've seen some folks do it....you will need to find a lower plate adapter for the red dot. They are out there, brand escapes me right now....you will need a taller front sight and seriously elevate the rear.

Dawson sells the taller front:

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Thanks @XUSNORDIE

I'll check this brand and see if they make an elevated rear sight as well.
With further Googling, it seems that are not many co-witness options, especially without a really low profile mount plate for the optic. The ShadowMount is one, and EGW make one too, but still not low profile enough (for me).
 
Hi @XUSNORDIE

Thankyou for following that up for me. :)
That looks like the factory mounts there - that's convenient.

I have sent an email to Lobos Industries about availability of this same mount, but wasn't sure about the co-witness - but that was always optional anyway. I emailed them yesterday so I don't expect an answer until next week.

Many thanks.
Greg
 
My buddy uses the factory rear, just elevated it I believe. He has suppressor front sights.

I've never fired it, just seen it so have no idea what the sight picture looks like.

Good luck on your project.
 
Thanks again @XUSNORDIE .

I'll still need to elevate the sights, whatever is best with this optic. Suppressors are illegal here (Australia) so the sights suitable for that will still work.
Other thing is looking for the Lobos sights here in Australia. Getting international firearms parts into the country is a really big hassle - so much paperwork and associated delays - even though it is just a piece of metal. Ah well -wish me luck.

Thanks again - much appreciated.

Greg
 
OK, we need to define 'co-witness'.
As I understand this term, it means both iron sights AND optic dot are within view. Not necessarily seen at the same point through the optic(ie: lower third vs center) but both ARE visible.
I'm not in that crowd. My thoughts are: you either use the dot or you use the sights. If you don't trust the dot 100%, get a better one. :unsure:
 
Correct.

There are several views of Co-Witness depending on what your purpose or preference is. I know a SRT DM from MCPD and they use G17Ls with Co-Witness. This is very common for LE and MIL. If I were active I'd prefer this over the side mounted optic, less steps to execute in drills and better reaction/recovery time (in my opinion). However this didn't exist too much 30 plus years ago.

It isn't a question of using a better optic. LE/MIL use some pretty good stuff.....but stuff happens.



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Interesting thread.

One thing that I have noticed over 25+ years of experience with dots is that the higher you mount them the better the chance of actually shooting something that is close to the gun and not the actual target.
Example, shooting through a small port or window. Your gun is behind the port. Your dot is on the target and when you fire, the gun, which is sitting lower, is actually pointing at the port or window.
In USPSA competition I have seen plenty of bullet holes in walls and ports (including some on my range right now,) where the shooter sees the target and the dot. Yet the dot is mounted high enough to where the bore is in alignment with the port.
Lower profile is better, and while it's best to use the dot, being able to co-witness the normal sight isn't a bad idea. Dots fail, batteries die, etc.
 
Great point Contender. Things have come a long way now that slides come "optic ready" with a slew of footprints and plates. With the slides being cut low the plates allow much lower mounting of optics. The optics are becoming smaller as well such as micro size reflex sights. The (new) trend for concealable guns with optics have manufacturers putting out some smaller stuff with new technology (IE: Motion activated dot).

That said, I only have one pistol set up for co-witness. Didn't even intend for it though. I built up a couple stripped PSA Dagger frames. The slide I ordered had suppressor sights. The optic I ordered had the correct footprint so no adapter plate was needed and it sat low enough in the cut out that the sights are visible. This pistol was build solely for steel plates, not defense/protection. So the co-witness is a mute point really.

BTW, hope you are doing well. Thought of you often in the last couple weeks. My friend "Mitch" from Boone has not been heard from. Worries me.
 
Good morning everybody.

Whilst I understand the rationale of using the red dot or the iron sights, I only wanted the iron sights as a backup - because, as mentioned above, sometimes batteries fail. In response to the various types of co-witness, I'd select "lower 1/3". So long as both pointed tho the target is all I would want. I have no desire to have a dot and iron sights used together otherwise. This is why it was optional.
Personally I'd make sure the battery was always good and my optic always worked and stick to the dot.

Thanks everybody for your advice. :)
 

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