Back-up sights with LPVO - Any point?

[LzChase]

I've seen many run flip up backup irons with LPVO scopes, be it real or airsoft. But is there any point to it? It only makes sense with a QD scope mount to me, but I see lots of them without QD mounts, including some of my own older builds as I tried to replicate real builds.

Without a QD mount I can't even use them because the rear sight is stuck under the LPVO? And I can't really see anyone getting out an allen key and uninstalling the mount in the middle of a firefight, again be it lead or plastic flying downrange? 

 

[MrTea]

When I was looking into LPVOs for my DMR I found a lot of people use red dots alongside LPVOs (usually on the top of the scope rings (in airsoft)) because they're faster to bring on target in close quarters (than a 1x LPVO) and can be used with both eyes open which can be an issue with magnified optics like an LPVO alongside the requirement for proper eye relief/eye box alignment.

Flip up iron sights are unlikely to work because they'd be blocked by the mount like you said. You can get some scope rings that act like an iron sight on the top but at that point you might as well use a red dot.

 

[Tactical Pith Helmet]

My lad uses a 45deg red dot rather than the irons that he fucked around with.  

TBH, at true CQB range, sights are hardly needed.  It's point and shoot purely IMHO.

 

[Impulse]

I always have flip up irons as well as a scope where possible, but that's mostly because if the heavens open up (which let's face it, we're in the UK and that isn't uncommon) I can just remove the scope and flip up the irons to aim instead, since trying to use a scope in the pouring rain is a real pain. At CQB distances I'm at a point where I typically don't need to properly aim and just point and shoot, though sometimes I'll tilt my rifle to get a better view down the barrel. At those distances, hop doesn't matter, and for anything longer I just use the LPVO.

 

[Emergencychimps]

For real steal stuff I think it's more along the lines of, if your optic (lpvo, red dot, acog etc) malfunctions/breaks/ is damaged in some way you still have a zerod method to aim with, you obviously can't just track the flight of your rounds. In this scenario you'd just remove the optic and mounts completely. 

The Magpul ones are lightweight and only take a bit of space. 

For me and airsoft, this is purely dependent upon the build, I have a more vintage 2009/2010 era 416 (the og rail, light placement, peq15, grip, optic, paint job, suppressor etc) so I do have back up irons. Same for my civ build AR-15 style rif. 

My modern 11.5 urgi doesn't have back up irons. As optics became more trustworthy, battery life longer etc more and more real operators stopped running back up irons so my more modern rif configurations follow suit. I'm not a gear stitch bitch, but I like my rifs to be accurate.

I am not an operator, I'm a fat civilian playing toy soldiers.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I have a red dot holo sight on my now Cursed Build DE 904G's LVPO (the scope is almost as long as the Pew and I can see the BB's landing LOL).  Looks stupid but works surprisingly well.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Eh, a lot of guns aren't really setup to have their irons removed, so keeping a vestigial set on a gun isn't really a loss unless you dislike the looks or find few grams extra weight a meaningful difference for handling.

They can be useful, if a cheap airsoft optic gets shot out, or if you have a fixed magnification only to find the game flow demanding a quicker unmagnified alternative.

But likewise you can run without any sights and still do well, even at range.

 

[Lozart]

I have a couple of LPVOs with red dot (Docter type) sights on. If you have the LPVO zoomed to anything other than x1 then the red dot does allow for more situational awareness if you're shooting at something up close. Mine sit on top of the optic though. I do also have an SR-25k with angled iron sights but that is purely for looks. Canting an airsoft gun is a really good way of not actually hitting what you're aiming at!

 

[TheFull9]

Without a QD mount I can't even use them because the rear sight is stuck under the LPVO? And I can't really see anyone getting out an allen key and uninstalling the mount in the middle of a firefight, again be it lead or plastic flying downrange? 

I get where you're coming from, but people will have inevitably done more in depth maint on a weapon while under fire for real, so yeah as long as they have the tool in question that could and probably has happened.  Now on a lot of civilian rifles owned by people with minimal training or experience then often the non-QD scope mount + irons is just a lack of thinking through the setup, but that's bound to happen.

Personally in airsoft I like a magnified optic for ID/instead of prescription eyewear and any sort of BUIS/red dot are either aesthetic or a nice-to-have, since every airsoft shot is a 'tracer' and if they're close enough for airsoft you can obviously mostly just shoot instinctively, as has been mentioned (especially combined with the 'tracer' aspect with normal white BBs in daylight).  Obviously if someone's build is a replication of a real build then none of the above matters anyway.

 

[The Waco Kid]

For airsoft typical ranges irons are there to look pretty. Just like me.

There are some folks who are very skilled with irons in the real world and opt to use them as the primary in some circumstances.