Zeroing irons using a red dot?

[LowAndLeft]

I have my pistols' dots zeroed well and I noticed that the rear sights on two guns don't mesh with the dot. I shot using only the irons and POI is off from POA. On my other guns, the dot and irons line up for windage, elevation if a bit diff--suppressor height sights. Am I correct in thinking that moving the rear sights to match the dot will zero the irons or is it just coincidence my other guns have everything line up? Thanks.

[WobblyPossum]

If your iron sight zero is off for windage, then moving the rear will help you zero the irons. If your dot is zeroed and the irons are off in reference to your dot, then that is an indicator that the irons aren’t zeroed.

[Noah]

I have my pistols' dots zeroed well and I noticed that the rear sights on two guns don't mesh with the dot. I shot using only the irons and POI is off from POA. On my other guns, the dot and irons line up for windage, elevation if a bit diff--suppressor height sights. Am I correct in thinking that moving the rear sights to match the dot will zero the irons or is it just coincidence my other guns have everything line up? Thanks.

Slaving the dot to the zeroed irons or irons to the zeroed dot *may* help get you close, but always confirm the sight or sights themselves on paper.

[Dennis]

All 3 of my MOS Glocks are slightly off between RDS and irons. One falls on one side of the rear sight one and one on the other. RDS and irons are sighted independently and then I use the offset to verify going forward.

https://youtu.be/tpkb0Lyr9RM?si=W0g5oU2zrdOncBeP

Dennis.



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[TOTS]

I have my pistols' dots zeroed well and I noticed that the rear sights on two guns don't mesh with the dot.
It’s my understanding this is correct; dot should be zeroed, irons should be zeroed- they shouldn’t necessarily coincide visually.

I shot using only the irons and POI is off from POA.
This makes me think the irons zero is off. I say just adjust irons to zero like the dot doesn’t exist. Like any traditional irons setup.

On my other guns, the dot and irons line up for windage, elevation if a bit diff--suppressor height sights.
Seems normal to me

Am I correct in thinking that moving the rear sights to match the dot will zero the irons or is it just coincidence my other guns have everything line up?
I don’t think it correct to ever slave the dot to irons. As to slaving irons to a well-zeroed dot…I don’t have enough experience to definitively say what is the resulting picture would be in all situations. I DO stick by my recommendation to just zero the irons separately. As to the other gus; theoretically, it makes sense for well manufactured components to line up but as you introduce plates, movable emitters, etc, things may not center up.
Thanks.

Again, just my understanding from a combination of my YouTube education, reading, and three different dot setups.

[GJM]

If I really cared about an exact zero for irons on a dot pistol (and I rarely go to this trouble), I would do the following.

Install irons sights with no dot on the pistol. Use my Wheeler laser to confirm they look close.

Shoot the irons on paper, over at least two sessions, ideally with different sun angles, using the load you want the sights zeroed for.

Install the red dot and do your normal zeroing of it.

Shoot the irons again, with the dot off, to verify the lens is not causing a change in how you see the iron sights.

What I normally do is use a combination of experience, eyeballing how the sights are in the dovetail(s), a Wheeler laser sighter, and a few rounds of live fire. What I don't do is pay much attention to the relationship between the irons and the dot.

[GearFondler]

What I don't do is pay much attention to the relationship between the irons and the dot.

I do but only in the sense that I want to file away a mental picture of where the dot sits when the irons are lined up so I can easily check for a dot shift on my EDC.

[Clusterfrack]

If I really cared about an exact zero for irons on a dot pistol (and I rarely go to this trouble)

This seems like a good opportunity for me to encourage folks to try the "low irons" non-cowitness approach to pistol BUIS.

For me, irons serve no purpose on pistols with optics other than as an in-extremis backup. With that in mind, I set up my BUIS so that the POI remains in the center of the optic when the irons are aligned at the very bottom of the window. This amounts to a 10-12" 6:00 hold at 25 yds.

[Clusterfrack]

Addendum to post above:
Stone Bridge Gunworks is now offering the "clusterfuck" irons setup:
https://stonebridgegunworks.com/Add-...cut-_p_61.html

[GJM]

This seems like a good opportunity for me to encourage folks to try the "low irons" non-cowitness approach to pistol BUIS.

For me, irons serve no purpose on pistols with optics other than as an in-extremis backup. With that in mind, I set up my BUIS so that the POI remains in the center of the optic when the irons are aligned at the very bottom of the window. This amounts to a 10-12" 6:00 hold at 25 yds.

I am all about very low BUIS, and will use even lower sights to keep the display as open as possible. This is an EPS on a CHPWS plate and normal height sights on an Sig 320 X Ten C.

I remember some early red dot pistols where the BUIS were ridiculously tall with an RMR, making the usable display tiny.