Spotting Magpul PRO sights...

[ARMERICA]

I saw a set of Magpul mbus PRO sights on craigslist and made arrangements to go see them. I had done some research online to see if fake ones are out there on the market. I found some images of a set and asked the seller to send me some additional images out of the package, which he provided. Looked good enough so I followed through with meeting him since the price was way to good to pass up. In route I decided to contact magpul tech support and ask if they have any tips for identifying fakes.
The tech support guy I spoke with is named Mike - and he was super helpful. He directed me to their "contact" page where he stated I could send a message an their page allows you to upload up to 3 images, so send a message to his attention and send the pics I had, which I did. In addition, he stated there are 4 things to look out for...
1 - Magpul sights have hardware that say "magpul usa" in the screw heads
2 - The rear sight small aperture should be flush or a little recessed when upright for use
3 - They use a proprietary thread locker that is a yellow or tan color
4 - the roll pin in the adjustment knob on the rear sight is usually not installed properly (not fully seated, crushed in, or flared)

Mike also stated that the PRO sights are very rarely copied, so if they appear very close to real PRO sights, they likely are authentic.

In addition to this, I'm including some images of real AND FAKE sights. These images I found online...

REAL Magpul mbus PRO sights:
<a
FRONT

BACK


FAKE Magpul PRO sights:
Side of rear fake pro sight (notice hardware)

REAR fake pro sight:

FRONT fake pro sight (back side):

FRONT fake pro sight (front side):


I was fortunate, the ad & seller I was replying to turned out to be selling legitimate PRO sights, so I found a nice deal after all. However, I wouldn't have had the confidence to identify them properly without the reference images above of the fakes, and the assistance of Mike at Magpul.

 

[ARMatt]

Only issue I have with these is they don't pop right up like the polymer ones.

 

[GolfR]

I have a real set and a knock off set and they are very close to the eye, but pretty obvious in use which are the fakes. I bought a set of real ones and figured that spending $35 on ebay on a set of fake ones would be worth the risk for an upper that I rarely use. The fake ones I got actually don't have the magpul insignia on them. The front site on the fake ones doesn't snap into a vertical position with authority like the real ones do and the metal smoothing isn't quite a good. It also seems that the vertical adjustment screw on the front sight is looser on the fake ones. In the end, I'm not disappointed with what I got for saving $100 but I'm not exactly happy that I bought something that ripped off a US company's design and wouldn't use the rip offs if I was counting on the gun to save my live or fill my dinner plate.

 

[ARMERICA]

I have a real set and a knock off set and they are very close to the eye, but pretty obvious in use which are the fakes. I bought a set of real ones and figured that spending $35 on ebay on a set of fake ones would be worth the risk for an upper that I rarely use. The fake ones I got actually don't have the magpul insignia on them. The front site on the fake ones doesn't snap into a vertical position with authority like the real ones do and the metal smoothing isn't quite a good. It also seems that the vertical adjustment screw on the front sight is looser on the fake ones. In the end, I'm not disappointed with what I got for saving $100 but I'm not exactly happy that I bought something that ripped off a US company's design and wouldn't use the rip offs if I was counting on the gun to save my live or fill my dinner plate.

I believe I also saw somewhere in my checking that the fakes do not have a positive "click" into the upright position.

 

[ARMERICA]

Crap... title was supposed to read, "Spotting *fake Magpul PRO sights" :/

 

[GolfR]

I believe I also saw somewhere in my checking that the fakes do not have a positive "click" into the upright position.

Exactly, the fake one even tilts forward just a little bit when you flip the front site up. It will stay vertical but you have to pull it back manually to get it perfect. I played with them a little bit at the range and this very small angle doesn't have any real effect on point of impact, at least in my hands at the 100 yard range.

The fake back sight does seem to click in the vertical position pretty well, no real noticeable difference from the real one.