In this era many newly firearms accessories are made specifically for the AR series of rifles, or firearms whose controls are similar to an AR. Many of those accessories are being bolted onto a traditional style rifle or shotgun. The one that seems to make me scratch my head every time is the scope mounts that are not in ailment with what a good cheek rest will allow your eye to see. The AR pattern rifle has the top of the buttstock directly in line with the barrel. To comfortable see the sights, they are raised higher than a traditional bolt action rifle where the top of the buttstock generally is an inch or two lower than the center of the bore.
By using a consistent and comfortable cheek weld most people shoot more accurately. Adding additional height to the optic mount makes it difficult to maintain a cheek weld and see through the optics. The result is people placing their chin or nothing on the stock, which is not as conducive to consistent and accurate shooting.
This issue came up in the transition from iron sighted rifles to using a scope. The scope was higher than the iron sights and stocks which were cut for iron sight usage. The solution was a lace on cheek rest or an additional piece of wood added to the rifle to bring the height in line with the optic.
I see this issue with the red dot optics on shotguns frequently as well. The worst part is the red dots will often come with an additional separate low base to mount on top of a traditional shotgun or rifle.
There is a newish trend in the AR world of shooting red dots in an extra high mount so you can see the sight through night vision goggles or gas masks. Okay that is a use case with a specialty niche, go for it. Or the crowd that wants to look like the Tier One operator, again go for it. But realize the draw backs. The mount below is going to place the line of sight approximately five inches higher than the bore. At CQB distances this will have to be compensated for.
Maybe I’m turning into a grumpy old man, but I’ve never seen anyone shoot proficiently with a poorly fitted cheek weld to sight distance. At the end of the day its your gun, do what you want.
Happy shooting.
-Joseph
NOTE: Pictures as found on the internet.
Outpost 95 