I just bought an AR Pistol and it has a side-charger handle. I also bought a red dot for my primary sight but figured I should buy a back-up front and rear iron sight. The manufacturer indicated that folding front sights won’t work with the side-charger. Can anybody recommend a front sight that will fold down or other suggestions? Thanks!
What brand ar? & what ammo?
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It’s a Foxtrot Mike AR Pistol (see link). In that link picture 7 shows the charging handle. It’s chambered for 9mm.
It has a rail so they only problem I see is space. So depending on red dot I don’t see any other problem. Many types of back up irons out there
I’m also sure others are more familiar with this type of set up
It looks like a lot of real-estate there to me. If you mount your flip-up rear sight first, then mount the red-dot just ahead of that, there should still be plenty of space for a flip-up front sight. I don’t see the conflict with the side charger?
Now, if your red-dot has a magnifier, either built in, or placed behind the red-dot, then you will have eye-relief to consider. Another consideration is “Absolute” vs. " 1/3 co-witness"
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Thanks for the link. So you don’t think it’ll matter if the front sight is just behind where the pull ends?
The manufacturer knows the product better than I, I just don’t personally see the conflict. I will admit I am the type of person that would try it myself with an economy set of sights. If there is a conflict, I would try modifying or moving the economy sights around. If that didn’t work out, then I would remove the economy sights and know I gave it a try. I appreciate not everyone is like me 
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This is from one of the reviews on the website you linked:
“I installed MBUS sights. Had an issue with the side charging handle hitting the mounted sight preventing the gun from being charged. I had to remove material from the bottom of the MBUS sight to provide enough clearance to be able to charge.”
Another option might be to mount the front sight further back behind the charging handle’s maximum rear pull position. You might have to mount the flip-up going forward rather than the traditional rearward. The disadvantage would be a shorter sight radius, but you’d still have backup iron sights if the red dot battery lets you down.
Just brainstorming …
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Hey Gary, thanks for sharing that info. I was wondering about just setting it behind where the charging handle would stop. If it’s zeroed correctly it shouldn’t matter.
I found something on Reddit, of all places, that MBUS Pro work but I may need to shave that down a tad too. I may try that in the near future. I haven’t even received the firearm yet, just planning ahead.
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I had to go to a gunsmith to swap a front sight that I couldn’t get off and I talked with him about this situation with the AR Pisol. He just said to bring it in and we’ll figure something out. I feel a lot better about it right now. I guess when in doubt, ask a gunsmith.
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Not a gunsmith but I build and modify guns on occasion 
. What may work well for you is the 45* Picatinney mounts that will go on your top rail and provide a mounting flat 45* offset in which to bolt on your irons. It should be well clear of your charging handle and a whole lot more comfortable to operate than a 90* mount. If you have trouble finding them look in the 3 gun world lots of folks use them to mount red dots if the optic is too much.
Cheers,
Craig6
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