Offset vs Piggyback Mounted Red Dot Sights
Hey all, we here at True Shot Academy are going to compare offset and piggyback mounted red dot sights. These two methods of red dot mounting are popular among a wide range of shooters in both the private sector and in professional use cases. We are going to go over the pros and cons of both type of optic while delving into traits, features, and more. Without further ado, let’s compare offset and piggyback mounted red dot sights.
Why Have a Secondary Sight?
Secondary sights are often employed by users of magnified optics. These types of sights allow an end user to utilize a dedicated, secondary sighting system to engage closer targets. This is especially useful if a primary optic features high magnification which makes shooting up close challenging. A secondary sight can allow a shooter to quickly transition to a sighting system optimal for close range shooting.
Additionally, secondary sighting systems can act as backup sighting system should one have issues with or break their primary means of sighting. Typically, secondary sights come in the form of iron sights or red dot sights, with the latter becoming more and more popular these days. These types of sights typically accompany prism sights or traditional style scopes.
Offset Red Dot Sights
Like the name suggests, offset red dot sights are essentially canted red dot sights which hang off of either side of a firearm. These types of sights are typically employed on rifles and carbines. The mount itself can either attach to the main picatinny mount of a rifle or interface with an existing scope mount. Picatinny rail mounts are available in forms which allow for quick release levers, facilitating expedient donning and doffing capabilities. These mounts typically offset the red dot at either a 35 or 45 degree angle, making them viable on a range of firearms.
Piggyback Mounted Red Dot Sights
Also aptly named, piggyback mounted red dot sights sit atop an existing optic. These types of mounting solutions will typically utilize an existing scope mount by replacing an existing top ring or bolt directly on to the scope tube itself. Top ring replacement offerings span from specific mounting footprints for red dot sights or picatinny rails which can accept a wide range of optics. Other, more specialized offerings mount directly to other optics themselves, such as Trijicon ACOG offerings and Elcan Specter optics. In addition to being called piggyback red dot sights, these sights are also described as “12 o’clock” mounted.
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Pros & Cons: Offset Red Dot Sights
Pros:
- There are more mounting solutions available that facilitate offset red dot mounting than those which allow for piggyback mounting.
- Better for more types of positional shooting than piggyback red dots are. It is easier to cant a rifle to use and offset red dot than it is to do the same with a taller piggyback red dot. Negotiating barricades and shooting from unconventional positions is simply easier with an offset red dot sight.
- While one must always be aware of their holds and keep height over bore in mind, this is less of a concern with offset mounted red dot sights than piggyback red dot sights. Offset sights sit lower to the firearm and have a less significant height over bore value to consider.
- With offset red dot sights, one can simply roll the rifle slightly to the side to access their secondary sight. This allows an end user to maintain their established cheekweld and retain a somewhat natural sighting position.
Cons:
- While some offset red dot sights can be utilized with night vision, there are more things to consider with these types of optics. One must take care to ensure that when canting their rifle, they do not impact their tubes with their primary optic. Additionally, one must ensure that features of their rifle such as charging handles, forward assists, and other components also do not clash with tubes when in use.
- Due to their canted nature, offset red dot sights are going to be a bit harder to zero than optics in traditional orientations. This is to say that these types of sights are no longer on their standard axis due to their offset nature. One must keep this in mind when making adjustments as what is “up” in a traditional orientation is going to be slightly different in a canted orientation.
- Due to their mounting nature, offset red dot sights have a bias to either the left or right side of the rifle. This makes it harder for a shooter to access the sight if they were to switch shoulders while shooting. One will always need to account for the side that the optic is physically mounted on.
- As mentioned before, offset mounted red dot sights have a bias to either the left or right side of the firearm. The left or right side of one’s firearm will now have a larger profile as the optic is now hanging off either side. This means that the offset red dot sight will present a snag hazard, especially on gear or door frames.
Pros & Cons: Piggyback Red Dot Sights
Pros:
- Due to their height and placement, piggyback mounted red dot sights are well-suited to night vision use. These types of red dot sights sit at a proper height and distance away from the shooter which will not clash with night vision goggles. Of course, one will want to ensure that their tubes also clear the body of their primary optic and do not clash.
- Due to their orientation, piggyback mounted red dot sights are easier to zero. This is because their windage and elevation adjustments are not altered or off their axis. Simply put, “up,” “down,” “left,” and “right” are still true directions when zeroing a piggyback red dot sight.
- Due to their centralized location, piggyback mounted red dot sights can be easily accessed from either the left or right shoulder. These types of mounts do not have a directional bias and will not hinder shooters in any way if they were to switch shoulders while shooting.
- Due to their centralized mounting style, piggyback mounted red dot sights present less of a snag hazard than their offset counterparts. While offset sights hang off to either side of a firearm, piggyback sights stay centered and build up from the established profile of the rifle. While one does need to account for the new overall height of their optic setup, one does not need to worry about a larger side to side profile.
Cons:
- Due to their nature, there are simply fewer available options for piggyback red dot sights than there are offset red dot sights. Offerings are limited to specific scope mounts, optics, and scope tube sizes.
- Utilizing a piggyback mounted red dot sight is more challenging in unconventional shooting positions than it is to use an offset red dot sight. The height and placement of the optic makes it harder to access in certain positions, specifically in regards to low angle shots.
- One will need to be more mindful of their height over bore with a piggyback red dot sight than they would with an offset red dot sight. This is simply a matter of piggyback mounted sights sitting much higher than offset mounted red dot sights.
- When compared to offset red dot sights, it is significantly more difficult to develop or maintain a cheekweld. This is to say that one may have limited contact with the stock or none at all depending upon the height of their optic when using a piggyback mounting solution.
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Which One Do I Go With?
At the end of the day, the individual end user themselves must decide which of these two methods works best for their use cases. Some shooters may find that an offset red dot sight best fits their needs while others feel a piggyback red dot sight is the way to go. Additionally, some shooters may find that some of the traits and features of a given mounting style are not important or applicable to them. For example, if a shooter does not utilize night vision, the night vision friendly nature of piggyback mounted red dots is not as much of a benefit for them. Of course, other shooters may find that they simply do not have a practical or realistic need for an optic of either type, which is also valid. All in all, whether or not one or neither of these optics is for you is ultimately up to the end user.
Conclusion
All in all, both red dot mounting styles are viable and employed by shooters of all types. Competition shooters, hunters, recreational shooters, and even professional end users employ sights of both types. Like everything, either setup has their pros and cons, making it up to the individual to determine which solution best fits their needs and preferences. Regardless of the sight setup one goes with, they will inevitably need
ammunition to train with. We here at True Shot Ammo have a wide range of
ammo for sale which encompasses popular calibers such as
9mm,
.22 Long Rifle,
12 gauge, and
5.56 ammo. These offerings encompass both individual and
bulk ammo offerings and can be had in a variety of loadings for specialized use cases. As always, happy shooting.
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