How To Sight In Your Pistol Red Dot
- Thread starter Talyn
- Start date
TEXASforLIFE
SAINT
I've lined it up with the iron sights just for calling it close, but WOW it wasn't even close. I pop in a laser cartridge to get a better center then fine adjust. When Ki was adjusting before shooting, I knew he would be WAY off. Not sure how the factory sets sights before shipping, but some are not even close.
SimonRL
Hellcat
I never line up with iron sights, visually, or with one of those crappy lasers. I put three on target and adjust. It’s rare I have to adjust more than twice. One of the real keys is understanding how much you need to adjust your elevation/windage screw. Most red dots are 1 moa adjustment - 1 moa = 1 in at 100 yds. At 25 yds that 1 click adjustment is now 1/4, so to move your dot two inches at 25 yds you would require 8 clicks or at 10 yds approximately 16 clicks or over a half a turn. The adjustments in the 10-15 yd range are typically big ones - anywhere from a quarter turn to 3/4. Too often people adjust two clicks or 3 clicks and nothing happens. Or like the genius in the video you crank and crank and crank and basically put yourself in the mirror situation. Zeroing a pistol red dot is not hard, but you have to understand how your respective dot works.
TEXASforLIFE
SAINT
Keystone19250
SAINT
I have (2) handguns,
“identical except for caliber”
(10mm and 45ACP)
with red dots installed and although neither co-witness with iron sights I shot both before mounting the Holosun’s and both are exceptional shooters.
As mentioned in both the video and by @SimonRL its important to know your red dot adjustment parameters based on distance, both of mine were zeroed between 12 and 15 yards and took between 9 and 12 shots in 3 round groups to achieve center mass POI
It’s also important to note that I understand neither of these guns will be used in competition for any marksmen ship awards, they are self defense pistol’s that will be used to protect myself, my loved ones and others if need be.
I remember saying at one time,
“optics on a handgun” Why?
Well I found out quickly the red dot’s have not only given me a higher level of confidence they have improved my speed of acquiring POA on the first shot as well as faster follow up shots by allowing me to get on target quicker.
A win win.
“identical except for caliber”
(10mm and 45ACP)
with red dots installed and although neither co-witness with iron sights I shot both before mounting the Holosun’s and both are exceptional shooters.
As mentioned in both the video and by @SimonRL its important to know your red dot adjustment parameters based on distance, both of mine were zeroed between 12 and 15 yards and took between 9 and 12 shots in 3 round groups to achieve center mass POI
It’s also important to note that I understand neither of these guns will be used in competition for any marksmen ship awards, they are self defense pistol’s that will be used to protect myself, my loved ones and others if need be.
I remember saying at one time,
“optics on a handgun” Why?
Well I found out quickly the red dot’s have not only given me a higher level of confidence they have improved my speed of acquiring POA on the first shot as well as faster follow up shots by allowing me to get on target quicker.
A win win.
Jfal
Professional
One must add, if you are a crappy (or new) shooter, zeroing any sight type on a pistol is nearly impossible without shooting from at least a rest, better yet a vice. Once you are an accomplished pistol shooter, the rest is not needed...but it makes it faster. Actually, this holds true for any hand-held firearm...except for Bob with #7 pellets out of a 5" shotgun barrel
. If you read the fine print under every pistol "review" in The Armory Life, all are shot from a rest (that I have read).
I only add this because even the best shooters have flyers due to shooter error.
. If you read the fine print under every pistol "review" in The Armory Life, all are shot from a rest (that I have read).I only add this because even the best shooters have flyers due to shooter error.
Bassbob
Emissary
I always zero from a rest. If I had one of those shooting sled/ vices I’d use it. I shoot well enough but I believe that when zeroing you should eliminate human error as much as possible to rule out it being the gun when your groups suck.One must add, if you are a crappy (or new) shooter, zeroing any sight type on a pistol is nearly impossible without shooting from at least a rest, better yet a vice. Once you are an accomplished pistol shooter, the rest is not needed...but it makes it faster. Actually, this holds true for any hand-held firearm...except for Bob with #7 pellets out of a 5" shotgun barrel
I only add this because even the best shooters have flyers due to shooter error.
RickAnderson
Custom
Honestly, as much as I am convinced about MPBR zero being the best way, the ranges available to me just have 25 yards distances, so I zero at 25 yards....
I simply steady the pistol on some sort of bench rest, and shoot a 3 rnd group, adjust the sight according to the difference in the center of the group to the point of aim....
1 MOA = 1/4" at 25 yards.... (yes, roughly, not exact)
I tend to only turn the screw no more than a 1/2 turn before shooting another 3 rnd group, the idea being to big of a change just might have me starting over.... ...but to be honest, that rule only results in the change being short of required by the amount you would calculate....
Bore sight lasers? One, it requires a very accurate/precise boresight laser, that likely needs its own calibration once you get it, which at the price I'm willing to pay there is no way to get to that required precision.... ...and since the bullet follows a parabolic arc but the laser is straight, it requires calculations for when boreline and POI intersect to properly zero off a boresight laser....
If I have co-witness sights, I simply use the co-witness to get that initial zero, and it can still be off quite a bit doing this, once I get it zeroed, the dot still co-wintess's with iron sights.... ....that might be because I buy 6 MOA dot sights, the dot is broad enough, with the close distance of the iron sights and broadness of the DOT, you can be +/- 10 MOA and not be able to tell...
I simply steady the pistol on some sort of bench rest, and shoot a 3 rnd group, adjust the sight according to the difference in the center of the group to the point of aim....
1 MOA = 1/4" at 25 yards.... (yes, roughly, not exact)
I tend to only turn the screw no more than a 1/2 turn before shooting another 3 rnd group, the idea being to big of a change just might have me starting over.... ...but to be honest, that rule only results in the change being short of required by the amount you would calculate....
Bore sight lasers? One, it requires a very accurate/precise boresight laser, that likely needs its own calibration once you get it, which at the price I'm willing to pay there is no way to get to that required precision.... ...and since the bullet follows a parabolic arc but the laser is straight, it requires calculations for when boreline and POI intersect to properly zero off a boresight laser....
If I have co-witness sights, I simply use the co-witness to get that initial zero, and it can still be off quite a bit doing this, once I get it zeroed, the dot still co-wintess's with iron sights.... ....that might be because I buy 6 MOA dot sights, the dot is broad enough, with the close distance of the iron sights and broadness of the DOT, you can be +/- 10 MOA and not be able to tell...
RickAnderson
Custom
Also, if you shoot from a rest, it may interfere with the pistols reaction to recoil.... ....I only mention that, for people to keep in mind, if you have a malfunction shoot from a rest, it may be the rest causing it, so don't over react to it....
I was getting some minor malfunctions shooting from a rest to zero, with my hand made 1911's....
I figured it was the rest interfering with the recoil motion that might be behind it...
So all I did was keep it in mind and continued to shoot the pistols normally, hundreds of rounds later, the malfunctions have not resurfaced....
I was getting some minor malfunctions shooting from a rest to zero, with my hand made 1911's....
I figured it was the rest interfering with the recoil motion that might be behind it...
So all I did was keep it in mind and continued to shoot the pistols normally, hundreds of rounds later, the malfunctions have not resurfaced....
Net Engineer
Master Class
For my pistols I use a good laser bore sight, little rolling table, portable vice and a laser distance measure. Measure with the laser, move the table w/ Vice attached, bore sight and adjust dot to the bore sight laser. Quick, easy and don’t have to waste time & ammo on the range.
HansGruber
Ronin
I shoot a group, offhand, at 10 feet. Correct & confirm. Move back to 30, recheck & correct as necessary. Repeat to distance I want the zero to be.