Most shooters have some kind of optic on their tactical rifles. Some have more than one, with riflescopes or LPVOs backed up by 1x red dots. But backup or not, electronics can and do fail. A non-electronic sighting option is always a good idea. Plus, God gave you all that rail space for a reason. I recently picked up a set of Meprolight FUBS (Flip Up Backup Sights) and took them for a spin.
Meprolight FUBS Features
The Meprolight FUBS sights are low profile, durable, and lightweight. Meprolight makes them from a strong, fiberglass-reinforced polymer. The rear aperture and front sight post are metal, as are the mounting screws. I don’t have a scale that’s sensitive enough to measure their weight, but they feel a bit lighter in the hand than the other backup sights I’ve used. Like other backup sights, the Mepro FUBS sights are spring tensioned so they can be brought into action quickly. They snap down flat when not in use.
The rear sight offers a large or small aperture. The shooter just flips it to whichever is needed at the time. Large, indexed detent knobs allow easy windage adjustment without using a tool. The large aperture is flanked by two small tritium inserts that glow green in low light or darkness. But they are mostly invisible in daylight. The tritium is limited to what you need without being distracting. The small aperture does not have tritium inserts.
The front sight is a simple post. The indexed knob makes adjusting elevation a breeze, again without a tool. The post has a more noticeable green tritium insert, which can be seen in daylight but does not distract the shooter. The front tritium insert is vertically oriented and easily discernable from the rear tritium dots in low light and darkness.
Finally, the folded sights have a rudimentary rear notch and front post if the sights can’t be deployed. But these are so low that I can’t line them up when I have any kind of cheek weld. I suspect they’re intended for an AR pistol fired with the arm extended, perhaps with a brace.
Running the Meprolight FUBS Sights
I like most things about the Mepro FUBS sights, and what I wish was different is a small thing. Installation was simple. Pull out the screws, slide the sights onto the Picatinny rail, reinsert the screws, and tighten them down. Reverse the process to remove.
I wasn’t sure how the polymer would hold up, mainly because I’ve always used all metal backup sights. I’ve only been running them for a couple of months, but these sights are still snug and have held their zero. I run them on my IWI Zion 15, which is my test rifle. It gets as many rounds as anything I own.
And I love the easy adjustability. I didn’t have to change the windage, but I set the elevation to co-witness with the Meprolight M22 reflex sight I normally run on that rifle. It took almost no time at all. As I said, the Zion 15 is my test rifle, but it wears the M22 when I’m not evaluating another optic. The M22’s quick detach mount makes it perfect for that role.
The best part, however, is the tritium. Honestly, I barely noticed it in daylight, other than the faint brightness on the front sight post. Just enough to put my eyes on that post. But in low light or darkness, they are easily picked up, with the contrasting insert shapes telling you whether they’re properly lined up. I think they’re more like night sights than anything. They aren’t nearly as bright as the fiber optic tritium sights I have on some other guns. But that’s alright. I can see them just fine, so they don’t need to be. I had no trouble putting them on target when shooting at dusk.
One Small Complaint
There’s one thing I wish were different. It’s not really a complaint. More of a preference, really. Unlike some other flip-up sights, the Mepro FUBS sights don’t have a button or switch by which to quickly deploy them. The shooter is required to grasp the sights and lock them into place. It’s not that big of a deal. I just like the quick deploy switch better. These sights do lock solidly in the up and down position, though. No problems there.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been negligent when it comes to equipping all my optics-equipped long guns with backup sights. Not all of them need backups. Etched reticles are a thing, after all. But glass breaks, too. Not often, but it does. I like these Meprolight FUBS sights, and I’m keeping them on my Zion 15. I’ll probably pick up a few more sets along the way because the low-light capability and rugged construction appeal to me.
If that appeals to you too, and you’ve neglected your backups like I have, or maybe just want more, GunMag Warehouse has them in stock. Check ’em out.
