How low can you go? That’s the question Brownells Gun Techs Caleb Savant and Steve Ostrem answer today – in the context of mounting a rifle scope on your AR-15. The old rule of thumb is that you should get the scope as close to the centerline of the bore as you can. So mount that scope really LOW on your AR, right? The guys say “Nope!” The top of a flattop AR-15 receiver is pretty close to being in line with the top of the stock. If you mount a scope that low, you won’t be able to get your head low enough on the stock to actually see through the it – at least not comfortably. On a traditional rifle like the Remington 700, Winchester Model 70, or Howa 1500, the stock drops down in back, so there’s room to mount the scope low and still get your head down to see through it. If you look at a carry-handle AR-15, you’ll see that the “iron” sights sit pretty high off the receiver and barrel, and that’s about where you want your optic to sit when you mount one. Most readily available one-piece AR-15 scope mounts provide the right amount of elevation, so the average adult won’t develop a crick in his/her neck trying to see through the scope!
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The real trick is finding rail-mount iron sights that aren't AR height. Very few options out there.
I learned it the hard way, too. On my bolt action rifles, the scopes are as low as possible, of course. And I did that with my AR-10. And was trying to laser sight it and ran out of elevation. So, a wise guy told me I need the ar scope mount that has height and offset. And it worked. Because the eye needs to be aligned with the axis of the scope and without the scope being higher, I was looking at an angle through the scope.
If you are right hand and right eye dominant do you look through the scope with your left eye? Im worried that the rings i bought will be too high.
I was planning on mounting a scope on my AR15. Looks like I would have mounted it too low. Thanks for the information.
I discovered this recently. Luckily I apparently have childlike facial bones so it isn't too bad looking into the scope 😛 However, getting a red dot sight very soon.
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I have broad, low Hibernian cheekbones, and discovered that AR height optics are too low for the IWI Tavor.
Recently mounted a 34mm Leupold 3 – 18 on an LWRC IC-SPR using the Scalarworks 1.57 mount. Although the height fits my medium size head well with earplugs my preferred low profile muffs contact the stock which is annoying but still doable. In hindsight the 1.67 offered by ADM may have been a better height for me. I didn't want to go all the way to 1.93 which I feel is more suitable for action style shooting with a red dot type site.
Disagree. Mount your scope where it works for you. A 56mm objective scope can be mounted with the objective end 1-2 mm from the rail with NO image acquisition or access issues (at least for me). Scope height and level are absolutely critical for long distance shooting.
Thank you for posting this, I need to readjust my optics!
The guys at Kel Tec need to watch this video and adjust the sights on their Sub 2000 accordingly.
American Defense Manufacturing are ma favorite mount.
Solid QD, sturdy, lot of options, American made.
I can do 1.5, but it's a struggle. 1.74 and above are always better. 1.93 is actually most ideal. I also have a Geissele 2.04, but that was because I couldn't find another 1.93.
What the hell did y'all do to that poor cursed bolt gun?
I don't disagree, however I did mount a scope on my AR 15 with not much rise on the rail, maybe 1/2 inch above the rail itself, not the most ideal set up, but it still works well.
Always informative and helpful. Thank you
I learned this the hard way, then found the same problem with the Magpul Hunter stock.
What numbnut puts a full blown scope on a AR is the ?
Like all these Brownells videos of nice little info. I recently built a SPR and mounted the scope too low. It was really awkward and uncomfortable to aim at the range. It'd hurt my neck if I tried to shoot for a couple of hours. Later I switched to a higher mount which is much more comfortable now.
Well “all AR optic mounts cowitness” is incorrect. They clearly don’t. Depends on the mount, the optic, and the setup of the AR. “And you know this, man!”