Purchased the 9 mm carbine. Lots of fun to shoot. I was wondering if you can use a magnifier with iron sites?
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Greetings and welcome, Robert.
No, it wouldn’t work. Setting it up that way would cause either a blurry sight and clear target or a clear sight and a blurry target. Either way, you’d be unsighted, either to the target or to the sight. The magnification can’t focus the closer sight and the further target at the same time.
Also, please feel free to introduce yourself here:
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I’m not going to claim I know every make & model of carbine. But don’t magnifiers usually attach somewhere between the iron sights?
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Thank you for the input. New shooter, picked up the 9 mm Smith n Wesson truck gun. fold-able version. The gun is great. not much recoil, A bit long in the tooth, and I was looking at options, again thank you. Name is Robert BTW.
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Have you looked at using a red/green dot with a magnifier? Those work because you’re essentially looking through the red or green dot on target. This allows the magnification of the target while keeping the dot visible.
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Welcome to the Community @Robert1746
Which exact firearm did you buy?
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Unless you’re planning medium to long range shooting, a magnifier is not really needed, especially not for something that sounds like a self defense weapon. A quality red dot would be good for self defense use. Had a red dot and magnifier on a rifle I used for hunting but it was much better to put a good scope on it. As mentioned above, magnifiers work with red dots, not iron sights.
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I will echo what’s already been said, the magnifier won’t work with iron sighs.
Put it behind a red dot or holographic sight and you’ll be good to go.
No magnifier
3X magnification
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I’m guessing optics with magnifier will cost more than the firearm 
But to be honest, no magnification needed for shots up to 200 yards. Good optic (fe Eotech) will handle such distance.
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Honestly I use the holographic out to 200ish (zeroed at 150) then flip the magnifier up for ranges out to 600.
If I’m shooting past 600, I’ll switch to a larger caliber.
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Welcome:
I Can’t directly answer your question, but I can offer this: I bought the Sig Romeo & Juliet option for my
DDM4 V7. It is a rifle red dot and magnifier combination. When I purchased, it was insanely inexpensive and, more importantly, works great.
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@Robert1746 Welcome to the community!
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Hell of a lot cheaper than my Eotech rig!
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That said, I like that I have multiple aim points for various ranges, and rudimentary range finding built into the sight.
The ring is 68 MOA, so a target that is roughly five and a half foot tall would take up the whole ring at 100 yards, half the ring at 200, and so on…
I have the EXPS3-2 which gives me two dots in the sight window.
The center dot is zero at 150 yards, put that dot on your target and squeeze.
The lower dot is the aim point for longer range shots, 4-600 yards, and allows for bullet drop.
Also the bottom of the ring is roughly the POI for close quarters (inside 25 yards)
The holographic sight is true two eyes open allowing for better situational awareness and quicker target acquisition.
Slap up the magnifier and take a moment to line up a long range shot.
Paired with my IWI Tavor SAR, I feel it’s a perfect combination of close quarters speed, and long range lethality.
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I have (HAD - please refer to the infamous stripper/mudslide incident in Bora-Bora) a Keltec Sub2000, also in 9mm. I have a simple red dot on mine. The image shows the iron sights still installed, but I had them removed before the above-mentioned incident in Bora-Bora. My Sub2K has a 16.25 barrel like your S&W.
The 9mm round was initially manufactured to be lethal to 50 meters (160 ft), but with modern manufacturing techniques and materials it is still lethal at longer ranges, especially with longer barrels. Even with that in mind, 150 meters is about the effective limit of the 9mm. You shouldn’t need any sort of multiplier.
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Yes, and as you expect, “Street Price” is even lower. Almost cheaper than a red dot alone…
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Wow. Is that the 100 round mag. I’m going to refresh with the iron sights. Research it, and do it right. Learning via YouTube…making my wife nuts with exchanges. Lol love your keltech
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Before my unfortunate Sub2K loss, I had a red dot mounted as my primary with back up irons mounted on offset (cantilever) mounts. Worked great and didn’t break the bank.
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Hey @BruceE how did you like the red dot mounted that far forward? I never thought about any mount position other than on top the receiver.
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