Do I Need a Riser for My Red Dot?

Adding a red dot riser to your custom gun can make using your optic more comfortable, efficient, and practical. Risers lift your optic away from the bore axis of the gun to provide an alignment that better fits your shooting needs. This makes them a popular upgrade for AR-15 red dot sights, PCC red dots, and other long guns where a low optic deck height can turn out to be a literal or figurative pain in the neck. We’ll walk you through finding the right riser for your practical optic.

What is a Riser?

The easiest way to think of a red dot riser is as a specialized adapter plate. Instead of adapting one red dot optic footprint to another, however, it adapts the red dot’s height. Risers are available in a range of heights to offer different degrees of elevation for your sight. Depending on the reason you’re looking into a riser and your firearm, a minimal lift may be the most beneficial, or you could need a riser that gives you an extra inch or more in height.

Top Reasons Shooters Choose a Red Dot Riser

Whether or not you need a red dot riser will largely depend on your shooting needs and preferences. There’s not a single “Thou shalt not riser…” argument that can be made for any firearm. Rather, there are several common reasons a shooter may choose to install a red dot riser on their gun.

1. Co-Witnessing

Co-witnessing is one of the most common reasons for using a red dot riser on a long gun, especially with AR-15 red dot sights. Co-witnessing occurs when your iron sights are visible through the lens of your optic and still functional for aiming. There are two types of co-witnessing to choose from. 

• Absolute – Absolute co-witness positions the reticle of the red dot in line with the aiming point of your iron sights–usually that means it sits on the front sight post and is visible in the peephole or the notch in the middle of your rear sight. 
• Lower ⅓ –  Lower ⅓ co-witnessing brings your iron sights into the lower ⅓ area of your red dot lens. Aiming through the lower third allows you to use the iron sights independently of your red dot reticle, which is left with an otherwise clear sight picture.

Co-witnessing gives you the tactical flexibility to use either your red dot optic or your iron sights for aiming, depending on which gives you the best advantage. It also eliminates being sidelined by a dead battery when it matters most. Many shooters find some level of reassurance in having a “backup” aiming option in case their red dot fails.

2. Establishing a Better Cheek Weld

A good cheek weld is important to finding consistent accuracy and precision with your long gun, and a red dot riser can help you achieve a more stable and better-positioned cheek weld. On weapons with a relatively flat plane between the stock and center of your optic lens, you may have to contort your neck or move the gun higher on your cheek that you’re comfortable with to aim properly. Neither will give you an efficient weld.

Using a riser on your AR-15 red dot lets you lower the stock on your cheek and relax your neck while offering a clearer sight picture. The result is a better weld that will stay more stable through recoil and reset. When all your shooting is lacking is a little lift, the increase in consistent accuracy makes the negligible cost of a red dot riser one of the best investments you can make in your gun’s customization.

3. Positional Comfort and Performance

Even if you can establish a good cheek weld, installing a riser may make shooting your gun more comfortable. It can also lead to increased speed with some weapons, such as when using a PCC red dot on a tactical range. Transitions from point-blank to shooting at range are more seamless, particularly with the less powerful cartridges and collapsible stocks common on a PCC.

4. Creating Space for Gear

Some shooters love big, bulky PPE, while others keep their kit small and minimal. Other gun owners may need extra spaces for tactical gear like goggles, helmets, or gas masks. Red dot risers can help create the extra room you need to properly aim your weapon, even when fully geared for extreme conditions.

5. Working With Cover

Environmental structures can change how we aim our weapons. This includes walls, half-walls, and benches the gun may need to rest on or against while firing. Just as with bulky gear, a red dot riser gives you more room to work with when finding a sight picture under these sometimes adverse shooting conditions.

Choosing the Right Red Dot Riser for Your Shooting

To find a better height for your red dot optic, grab your ruler, tape measure, or calipers that are gauged for millimeters. Before you start taking measurements for your AR-15’s red dot riser, make sure your weapon is unloaded with the chamber clear to avoid accidents. 

• For Co-Witnessing – Measure the height of your iron sights. Next, measure the height from your optic’s base to the center or lower ⅓ point of its lens. Subtract the second number from the first, and that’s the amount of lift a riser needs to give you for proper absolute or lower ⅓ co-witnessing, respectively.
• For Comfort or Clearance – A battle buddy can be helpful when measuring for this one, as it lets you keep a firm cheek weld for accuracy. Aim through your installed sight as best you can currently, and have your battle buddy measure the distance from the base of the optic to a point that lines up with the center of your eye. Then, establish a more comfortable cheek weld, even if you can no longer aim through the optic. Have your battle buddy measure again from the base of the optic to a point lining up with the center of your eye. Math it out just like above, and you’ll know how much lift you need from a red dot riser for the same comfortable weld.

Order Your Red Dot Risers Online 

When your sight picture needs to rise above the uncomfortable, we have you covered with the riser options you need. Shoot better without breaking the bank. Order your red dot riser and other optics accessories from Gideon Optics today.