BUIS or no BUIS

wow this is a question?

really, just get some buis, is money is tight then by magpul,f you plan to almost never use then then buy magpul.
If your smart by some troy or kac.

I have 3 styles of sight on my main gun
KAC Micro iron sights.
T1 micro
Vortec pst 1-4 on adm mounts.
The main thing is to make sure you shoot with all of them just in case you need them.
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This video is my answer.

[youtube]jz8fmqhtH2M[/youtube]

While shooting 3-Gun this summer, I had a brain fart while setting up for my stage. I forgot to open the flip caps on my optic, and worse, forgot to turn it on. When I realized the issue, I opened the caps, popped my BUIS up and kept rocking. I topped the stage. Without BUIS, I would have been screwed trying to get my red dot turned on (the power button is finicky).
 
Get a BUIS set first for the following reasons:
-So you can shoot your AR while saving up for a good optic and/or evaluate what optic type is best for your intended use.
-Better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.

By all means, learn to use your irons in case you need them, rather than out of some sense of obligation to master them before moving on to optics.
 
I'd say BUIS first like most on here. I've had my batteries die on me and it wasn't an issue with my BUIS. I would suggest keep an eye out on the exchange, there's always quality BUIS on there, KAC, DD, MI TROY etc... Personally I'd stay away from the offset sights and go with straight vertical ones that will co-witness through the optics, when you eventually get there.
 
Wantabe_ Warrior said:
Ok, so I hear MBUS suck, But what about the ARMS #71 sights for the same price (slightly cheaper actually)?
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It's only a couple hundred bucks for a set of good metal sights. And they look considerably better than plastic ones.
I strongly recommend staying away from any polymer sights if you plan on actually using them vs just putting them on the rifle for looks only.

I have a few sets of MagPul MBUS and found out too late that they are junk. Two sets of USA MBUS (not PTS) is about the same price as high quality all metal Troy, GG&G, etc. Kicking myself in the arse over that one.

Reading reviews and comments on the ARMS shows the same/similar issues as MBUS, poor plastic molding, plastic flashings and burrs along seams, plastic wearing when used a lot, flipping or falling apart under recoil, etc.
Also keep in mind that you do not want to mount plastic/polymer sights onto any area of a firearm that gets warm or they will melt.

I guess it all depends on your budget, your usage, and whether buying the cheapest quality is good enough.
 
Wow trashing the Magpul MBUS for something they are not!!!!

Let's not confuse Primary sights with Backup sights.
Primary sights can be irons or optics.
I agree that if irons sights are to be used as primary then the sights should be IRON not PLASTIC.
But Magpul are Backup Sights and are designed to be used as a quick backup when your primary fails. They are popular as BUS because of the low weight and ruggedness.

I run LMT rear sight on my iron only gun, it has the elevation and windage adjustments of the A2 carry handle without the carry handle.
If I am using my Irons as both primary and backup I use the ARMS#40, they are metal.
 
I have no confusion at all on the subject.
Troy and other sight manufacturers call their metal units Back-up sights. I think you are trying to apply your own personal opinion onto the label.
If it is metal, optionally folding, and secondary to my mounted optic, it is a back-up iron sight. It doesn't have to be a cheap piece of plastic that doesn't get used before it is classified as "back-up".

Google the web for hundreds of similar observations as mine on the plastic sights such as the MBUS.
They are cheap sights, imho MagPul's worst product, and rugged is not a word that comes to mind with the MagPul BUIS.
This is truth, not trash.

Hold a pair of MBUS in your hands, then a pair of Troy, GG&G, etc., you will see and feel the difference and it is huge.

A Back-up that is cheap and fails is not worth the hassle or the money.
It would be the equivalent of telling someone to go ahead and put a $75 red dot on their AR.

As I stated above, if you have no budget and you don't need to rely on them to work, then go ahead and get a set.
The only thing that they are fit for imho is airsoft or a plastic tactical rifle like the Mossberg .22.

And I don't feel I am being elitist by stating this.
Anyone who doesn't agree or wants to find out for themselves, take a look at a set of each for yourself and make your own conclusions.
After owning multiple sets of both MagPul and other metal sights, I would not recommend the MagPul to anyone who has a decent black rifle.
It's only about $100 more to go from plastic MagPul BUIS to good metal BUIS.
 
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furet said:
Wow trashing the Magpul MBUS for something they are not!!!!.
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Maybe not trash but not worth the money they are sold for. I will never used them again on any of my riffles. I rather spend the extra 37$ and buy the Daniel Defense.
 
Big_Red said:
Have you actually seen this happen?
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Re: melting. Not personally.
There are comments on other sites by people who mounted them only to find this out themselves.
The sights are plastic/polymer so I wouldn't doubt it at all.
Anyone in my city who has an AR-15, I'll gladly mount one onto the front rail and we can see what happens. :)
A picatinny railed gas block should do a number on them, but I would hope most people wouldn't try mounting them like that.


I ordered two sets of MBUS Gen2 last year, disregarding everything negative I read, and I ended up pulling them off within a couple of hours of mounting them.

Before I could even mount them, I had to spend some time carefully using a razor knife to remove flashing from the injection molded seams.

I had to force the front sight onto the rail because its molded base was too snug, which partially mushed up the leading edge of the sight base.

The sight tightens onto the rail using a single large bolt cross-mounted through the plastic base, I tightened it as tight as I felt I should before deforming or breaking the plastic base, the nut on the end is not a nylock so the bolt worked loose after a bit of .223 recoil. I guess some thread locking fluid is in order.

Then I found that the front sight post would not adjust, so I had to pull the sight off only to see that there was a large chunk of plastic flashing stuck in the post hole bottom so it won't adjust down. It's in a location that you can't get to with a razor knife, so I just cranked down on the sight post with the plastic sight wrench until it pushed the crud out, the post has some lateral movement now though. Enough to be noticeable POI at 100yds+.

I tested out the flip mechanism to see how well it worked. They snap pretty aggressively. I noticed after just a few flips that the latch claw was wearing to a rounded edge and the upper sight piece notch was showing wear. So I started carefully holding the two pieces during flipping to reduce the wear on the plastic -- a real pain that you wouldn't want to have to do in a hurry or emergency.

I pulled the second set out. Immediately I noticed that the hinge pin on one of the sights was sticking out on one side and pushed way in on the other side, only holding the upper sight piece by ~1/2 of the hinge's plastic thickness.
I looked in at the front sight post hole - more crud flashing stuck in the hole bottom.

I threw them all back into their packages and put them on the shelf where they have been ever since.
 
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easysauce said:
my magpuls work just fine, but im only at about 700 rounds with them
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I feel it is a matter of degrees and what a person is looking for and how much they have to spend.
The MagPul's are used by many people who have no complaints about them, and they work just fine for them.
I would never stop anyone from looking at them or buying them, on the flip side I would never recommend them to anyone who is looking for high quality BUIS that they would be using often or counting on to work, that is my personal opinion.
I wouldn't put $80 plastic sights onto a $1500-2000 black rifle. To me it is similar to a NcStar vs Aimpoint decision. You do get what you pay for. :)
 
Magpul also specifies in their manuals to NOT mount their sights on railed gas blocks because of the heat.

Also, I'd like to mention that I saw an article somewhere where people tested out a couple of different back up sights from different companies. The only plastic sights were a set of Magpuls. Surprisingly enough, the Magpul sights were the only ones that kept working fine after multiple drops... The metal ones bent out of shape or couldn't be adjusted (they were busted) afterwards.

I've had Magpul sights on my AR-15 (I just got an Aimpoint this fall) and used them exclusively for years without fail.
 
-[Crosshair]- said:
Also, I'd like to mention that I saw an article somewhere where people tested out a couple of different back up sights from different companies. The only plastic sights were a set of Magpuls. Surprisingly enough, the Magpul sights were the only ones that kept working fine after multiple drops... The metal ones bent out of shape or couldn't be adjusted (they were busted) afterwards.
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The post was on kitup.military.com. I read that back when it was originally posted.
The author did not post complete information on the test procedure and also didn't answer questions regarding this.
Other people posted in the comments that they had MBUS break from shorter falls than 5 feet.
So I took the test with a grain of salt.
FYI the Troy sights also worked after dropping. In his test the MagPul had a lower POI shift than the Troy was all.

If you are into dropping your rifle from 5 feet onto concrete no doubt there will be damage to various parts.
Of course plastic has a better chance of flexing and returning partially back to shape whereas aluminum will stay bent.
The test imho doesn't prove that MBUS are a better sight than Troy, Diamondhead, etc. It just proves that they are made from plastic instead of metal. :)

I'll stick with the Troys etc. I prefer the superior sight quality. I'm also not into dropping my rifles onto concrete.
 
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