What’s the Best Distance to Zero Your Rifle

[Annihilator]

Good article on what is the best distance to zero your rifle, I usually do mine at 1” high at 100 yards.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | What's the Best Distance to Zero Your Rifle?

There’s a lot to unpack when talking about zeroing a rifle, including at what distance it should be zeroed. Steve Adelmann walks you through important considerations.

www.shootingillustrated.com

 

[Bassbob]

Good article. My high caliber hunting rifles are zeroe's at different distances. If memory serves one is 300 yards and the others are 100 yards. My AR-15 (Carbine) is 50/200.

 

[Talyn]

Short-range toys = 50-100 yds, with everything else starting at 200.

 

[benstt]

I battle sighted my ar15 at 25, knowing it'll hit center mass from 0 to 300 yards. I zero my 30.06 hunting rifle at 100. My target rifle is zeroed at 200 with a MOA reticle so I can just do holdovers. My .45-70 guide gun is locked in at 50 with irons and handloads. It's all about what the rifle is used for.

 

[gglass]

For an 14.5" to 16" barrel AR, I am a firm believer in the 36-yard zero. This gives the tightest cluster of hits for all shots from 25 to 350 yards.

 

[Pitdogg2]

For an 14.5" to 16" barrel AR, I am a firm believer in the 36-yard zero. This gives the tightest cluster of hits for all shots from 25 to 350 yards.

36yd zero, First time I've ever heard this range. My iron sighted H-bar I zeroed at 100yds. My scoped rifles are zeroed at differently. Remington heavy barrel varmit synthetic .223 is zeroed at 150yds as I'm pretty sure I'm not taking ground hog shots further than that. My Savage 110 .308 tactical I zeroed at 300 yds. I don't have much more room than that to practice on the farm without making a neighbor mad

 

[ScottJ]

36yd zero, First time I've ever heard this range. My iron sighted H-bar I zeroed at 100yds. My scoped rifles are zeroed at differently. Remington heavy barrel varmit synthetic .223 is zeroed at 150yds as I'm pretty sure I'm not taking ground hog shots further than that. My Savage 110 .308 tactical I zeroed at 300 yds. I don't have much more room than that to practice on the farm without making a neighbor mad

The 36yd zero intrigued me when I read about. Have had this pg bookmarked for quite awhile now. There are even zeroing targets to download and printout in the link.

The 36 Yard Zero

The 36 Yard Zero Target In the recent carbine courses we have discussed various yard lines to zero your rifles along with the pros and cons of each yard line. For those that have attended the courses now know that when it comes to your go-to 5.56 caliber carbine rifle that you would pick...

www.vigilanceelite.com

 

[Pitdogg2]

Bookmarked thanks

 

[gglass]

36yd zero, First time I've ever heard this range. My iron sighted H-bar I zeroed at 100yds. My scoped rifles are zeroed at differently. Remington heavy barrel varmit synthetic .223 is zeroed at 150yds as I'm pretty sure I'm not taking ground hog shots further than that. My Savage 110 .308 tactical I zeroed at 300 yds. I don't have much more room than that to practice on the farm without making a neighbor mad

The 36-yard zero is very common in military circles... Ask any Marine.

If shooting an M4 or Civilian AR out to 300 yards, no other zero will give you a tighter cluster of hits at every range in between.

Here is a nice test video of the 36-yard zero:

Another good review:

Great write-up from this very site:

Is Your Carbine’s Zero Wrong? - The Armory Life

What distance should you zero your carbine at? 25 yards, 50 yards, 100 yards, or some other distance? Determining the correct zero for you will require some thought as well as some range time.

www.thearmorylife.com

 

[papa]

I used the 50 yard zero back when I had one of the MSRs. If I had one today I would still use it.

AR 15, Why the 50 yd. Zero is our favorite.

Zeroing first your backup sights and then your optic for a 50 yd. zero has many benefits for the typical AR 15, 5.56/.223, 16 to 20 inch barreled fighting rifle. Assuming an average engagement rang…

norsedefense.wordpress.com

I feel everyone should use the setup that best meets their needs.

 

[KillerFord1977]

300 yards.. .270 Mag
AR’s in close
6.5 grendell.. 200 yrds

low yield nuke .. 1.3 miles

 

[Marklite]

Nothing fancy, just 1"-1 1/2" high at 100 yards.

 

[BangBang]

Couple different zeros for comparison.

 

[BangBang]

Couple more

 

[BangBang]

Last one..

 

[BangBang]

So with these you can see where you hits “should” be with different zeros.

 

[KillerFord1977]

Last one..

Thanks. Very good info and comparison!!

 

[10mmLife]

So with these you can see where you hits “should” be with different zeros.

So this tells me that the closer you zero the further you need to be to hit them in the bean bag long range aiming center mass....

 

[BangBang]

So this tells me that the closer you zero the further you need to be to hit them in the bean bag long range aiming center mass....

Amazing what 16 yards will do

 

[bigx5murf]

I do 25 yards for AR pistols, and 100 yards for anything with a 16" or longer barrel.