Sight settings for AR15

[Borock]

​I know how to set the hard sights on my AR15 to zero at a chosen distance but I'd like your advice about at what yardage would you zero in? I would zero in my Remington 700 with a scope at 100 yds and use the BDC for adjustments of greater distances but I wouldn't think I'd be using my AR15 for those distances. I would probably be using it closer than 100 yds so should I zero in at 25, 50?

I do have a scope for my AR15 but want to ask where would you zero in your hard sights which are not as easy to adjust on the fly? Thanks!

 

[SEMI-AK]

36/300 zero for me on a 16" carbine.

 

[halfmileharry]

What's your normal range/distance?

 

[SSGSAD]

This is JUST ME .....I have BOTH Iron, and Scope, sighted for 200 YARDS .....

In the Military, we were taught that 25 yards, or m, was same point of impact, as 300 yards, m .....

I don't know if that EXACTLY transferes to civilian, or not .....


The longest range I shoot, is 200 yards, at Crosley, so that is why I sighted for that distance .....

I also sight for point of aim, is point of impact .....

Again, this is just me .....

 

[Jackson]

I like a 40/250 or 50/200 zero on a 16" rifle with m193 ammo. They are close enough to point-of-aim=point-of-impact at any distance I'll be likely to use it with irons, and with the flattest trajectory. Looks like a 40/240yd is within 3" out to nearly 300. A 50/250yd is within 2.5 out to 250ish.



Some Thoughts On Zeroing The AR

 

[LPMan59]

50/200 is what I use for my mbus and aimpoint. The acog is 100.

my newest is using my old carry handle, so I tweaked it so I could click it back to zero at 50/200 but still use the 25/300, 400, etc

 

[Doublehelix]

Sight my ARs at 100. I read an article about that distance being a great compromise, although it is interesting to read the link that Jackson posted...

 

[natdscott]

If I wanted zeroes for 100, 200, 300....whatever, I reckon I'd shoot it at those distances, as short range zeroes are quite approximate.

 

[Jackson]

If I wanted zeroes for 100, 200, 300....whatever, I reckon I'd shoot it at those distances, as short range zeroes are quite approximate.

I think most would agree a zero should be confirmed and fine tuned at the far end.

 

[Jackson]

Sight my ARs at 100. I read an article about that distance being a great compromise, although it is interesting to read the link that Jackson posted...

There are merits to a 100yd/m zero, especially when shooting inside 150yds. I am pretty sure it drops off sharply outside of 200, necessitating good range estimation and knowledge of holdovers. Realistically, any of these options will do at the distances a person is likely to use an AR for personal defense.

 

[sloughfoot]

I thought this was pertinent to your question....

http://weaponsman.com/?p=36965

A realistic video of all the different zero ranges.

As for me, for my grab-n-go rifles, a 300 yard zero. My match rifles have a zero for each yard line so I can maximize X-ring hits on the square range.

 

[cbhausen]

It's all about the first and second zero and how high POI is between them. The difference in height between the bore axis and the optical axis matters here too.

For my Tavor, there's a whopping 3.75" difference there making my zeros at about 80 and 200 yards with about 3" high POI in between if I recall correctly. There are lots of cool smartphone apps for ballistics calculation. I like Strelok Pro.

 

[Rookie]

I have Strelok pro and it's not accurate...

 

[Rookie]

After posting, I got to searching around trying to figure out why Strelok isn't accurate for me, and I figured out what I was doing wrong. The scope height was wrong on the app. I don't think it's wrong as much as it's not the height I have, but it made the difference.

 

[cbhausen]

Glad you got it worked out. These ballistics programs are (not so) simple math. Garbage in, garbage out as they say. It's really just a matter of finding the app with the best features and user interface and setting it up properly.

 

[halfmileharry]

Damn, I was born way too early for all the high tech applications to make me better.
I had to use standard windage, elevation, and know my ballistics.

 

[Bfish]

I go a touch high at 50 to give solid hits at 200. I do this with all of my red dots and 1x4s on 5.56

 

[natdscott]

Damn, I was born way too early for all the high tech applications to make me better.
I had to use standard windage, elevation, and know my ballistics.

Careful Harry, you'll sound crotchety.

Some whippersnappers know those things AND use "high tech" to their advantage.

There are good reasons for both.

 

[cbhausen]

Damn, I was born way too early for all the high tech applications to make me better.
I had to use standard windage, elevation, and know my ballistics.

I don't do precision shooting; I'm more of a combat accuraccy guy. Physics was my favorite subject in high school and college so the science behind shooting is fascinating to me. Of course having a fancy app won't make anyone a better shooter. There's Revere's Riders and other proper instruction for that.

 

[Tactically Fat]

...the science behind shooting is fascinating to me...

This right here is why I think I could be a total long-range junky if I were independently wealthy.

As for me and my one AR - a ~50/200 zero is what I've got going on with XM855. And when I run out of that - I'll step down to 55gr stuff. I hope to build another "predator hunting" AR that I have no idea what ammo I'll work with. I currently have 100rds of 2 different 50gr loads to play with - but that's not much.