KNS Front Sight

KNS Duplex Front Sight Review

A product Review by "Stickman" of www.ar15.com

Introduction

I recently soke with Teknic (the owner of http://www.nwtactical.net ) regarding the KNS Duplex front sight. I've seen this sight around a few times, but it seems to be pretty new/ unknown, and I have not seen any decent reviews of it. Being as I was getting ready to run a patrol rifle course, I figured it would be worth it to give it a try.

First impressions of everything were good. It came wrapped up in a heavily padded envelope, and was inside a KNS parts bag. Teknic had it at my house the day after we spoke, so it really doesn't get much quicker than that.

Before it had arrived in the mail, I had a few concerns regarding the quality of the piece.

First off, would the duplex hold up to severe use?

Would it break if knocked into something?

How well protected was the shroud?

This fear was put to rest upon opening and inspecting the sight. The shroud is pretty heavy duty, and it is not a sheet metal piece like I had feared it might be. Through the testing my initial thoughts were confirmed, it took a beating without moving, bending, or altering the sight.

Fit and finish seem fine, although in this blown up view it looks to be worn, in real life it is a solid color without mars or variation in the finish.

Perhaps my greatest curiosity was regarding what it would look like when placed next to a standard front sight. This KNS front sight was going to be mounted on my training (Mule) carbine. This is a test bed for new ideas and products, whether they work or not is all decided after the testing is complete.

This picture shows the two front sights next to each other. It is quickly apparent that they are very different in both appearance and function.

Installation

Installation was about as simple as it can get. Unscrew the old front sight, and screw in the new KNS front site. I looked at the base of the front sight when I took the old one out. I wanted to get a rough idea of how far to screw in the new sight. In my case, it was a hair above even with the front sight base, so I replaced the KNS front sight in the same manner.

This picture shows it after being installed.

Initial Testing

The human eye will naturally place a circle inside a circle, and will auto-center it. I am guessing, but it seems like a natural move to use with firearm sights. The idea, in my mind, was that it would enable faster shooting, both at distance, and in close.

For those who don't know me, I make no claims of being the most accurate shooter at distance. Most of what I train for is CQB style shooting, and a faster way of sighting without an optic, can only be a good thing. Most of what I train is within 100 yards, with emphasis on within 25 yards.

Here is a picture that duplicates your typical front sight focus, but it shows the view using the KNS front site, instead of the standard post. If you look at the picture, your eye focuses on the circle. I found it interesting as I went through my series of pictures, that even using the computer, I found my eye immediately drawn to the front sight.

With the initial work (first day) I only put 350 rounds through it. I zero'd the front sight, and I was pleased to see that my eyeballing of the frontsight base worked well. I had to adjust the KNS front sight 1/2 a rotation, but then it was dead on.

Sighting in was simple, and while I wouldn't call it above the ordinary, I found myself shooting the zero groups quickly, and with almost all rounds touching. While this isn't anything special, this was the first time I had used this sight. The shots were all fired quicker than I typically would with a standard sight post, but the groups were as small, if not smaller than usual.

I rebarreled this weapon a few months back, and my sighting in group was probably close to 40% larger, if not more when I sighted in back then. Not a massive difference when looking at the paper, but certainly enough to notice. Its possible that my last time I sighted in this AR15, it was on a bad shooting day.

I took this picture to give an idea of how the eye auto-adjusts to center things. With the rear peep sight of the AR15/ M16 family, the two circles are very quick.

Test Rifle

The weapon I'm using for this is a hybrid M4 that I built , with a cut rear carry handle sight (chopped by yours truely). The sling is a Tactical Tailor single point sling. Everything else is stock. For this T&E, I wanted to use a basic weapon without any add ons.

Here it is in all its splendor....

Shooter Feedback

As of right now, this weapon and front sight have been tried out by 6 shooters (including me). Two of these people are what I would call beginner level, they are solid rifle shooters, but have not had much exposure to other weapons. They are also not familiar with much in the way of extra equipment.

For me, their opinion becomes as important as a more experienced shooter. An experienced shooter often has a slew of ideas regarding what works, and what doesn't. This often comes with a closed mind. The newer shooter has not become jaded, and is open to what works for them.

The two new shooters were handed the weapon without being told anything about it. After checking to make sure it was clear, they sighted and both immediately commented about how much they liked the front sight. They felt it was more natural to aim with the KNS front sight, they also felt it would be quicker and easier to use.

Another shooter is a highly experienced instructor. His comments were along the lines of the above two, but he immediately wanted to test it out before he committed himself to any concrete comments. I see nothing wrong with that. His initial impressions were very high, and he is looking forward to getting more trigger time with the weapon/ KNS sight.

Both military persons were shocked at the difference, with one wanting to know what the possibility was of being able to swap it out for an upcoming deployment. It was felt by them that it would enable more precise fire at distance. They looked at it as useful for precision work as an extension of the M68/ Aimpoint. I think they are used to the Aimpoint for close in work, so their perception was different than mine.

I ran a series of drills from 10 yards. I understand that is point blank range, but I was working rapid fire, multiple target engagement with targets a little smaller than playing cards. While they are not tiny, they are small enough to make you work for the shots, especially at speed.

I felt the KNS sight allowed me to shoot easier with both eyes open. I also felt it allowed me to shoot somewhat quicker. I did NOT run this on a PACT timer, but I will in the future. While my times seemed quick, I was more impressed with the placement of the hits. Even rounds which I felt I had thrown, were all in the assorted targets.

Final Thoughts

At a little over 1,000 rounds, this T&E is not complete, but I will certainly say that it is off to a good start. Good target engagement speeds, and accurate shot placement seem to bring good tidings.

For right now, I see nothing to hold back a positive review, and solid recommendation. For the price, I think you will find it gives a pretty good bang for the buck.

http://www.nwtactical.net/sess/utn;jsessio...ndex.shopscript

I'll update as time, and shooting permit.

I hope you enjoy the read.