Need help zeroing an AR

C

Colvin

New member
Just got: Colt LE6940, EOTech sight with 3x magnifier (MPOII, or something like that). New to optics and ARs. What's the easiest way to sight in with the optic? I'll have a sandbag or wood block. As much ammo as it takes.

I want a zero that goes about 25-200 yrds. What are the zero ranges for this gun? Thanks a bunch.
 
First, start with your eotech @ 50 yards and get it zeroed. Determine at what distance you want your zero to be... 50, 100..I have had an Eotech XPS2-0 with Eotech Gen2 Mag on my Daniel Defense. I really did not find it effective past 150 yards, past that a rifle scope is a better option IMO. I took my Mag off and can shoot 5" groups @ 100 yds with the XPS standing.
 
Ah the optics sickness sticks again. Get the optics off the rifle and run iron sights until you learn what the rifle and you can do with iron sights. 'it gives you a better understanding of the gun and how it performs.
Iron on your rifle is a tool you need to know before you go to optics and if you optics fail you are still battle ready..

A good effective combat range should be 500-700 yards with iron.

Start at the 25 yard position. Put up a large paper target. I usually use an orange 1 inch square grid rifle sight in target, which has a large orange diamond in the center. Get really comfortable on the shooting bench, so that none of your muscles are cramped or in tension. Bring a pillow or a folded-up blanket to sit on (as required) to get your head and shoulders at a comfortable height at the bench rest.

When you are seated and comfortable, position one or more sandbags on the table so that you can comfortably rest the forearm of your rifle (or the hand holding the forearm of your rifle) on them. If you don't have real sandbags, an 8-10 pound bag (or two) of kitty litter works well. duct tape the ends of bags of kitty litter and they last for many trips to the range. I cover the bag(s) with an old blanket for comfort, and to protect them. Never rest any part of a rifle, and particularly the barrel, on a hard surface. On recoil the rifle will jump away from a hard surface, giving you a false point of impact.
For AR's use a short 5 or 10 round mag to avoid resting on the magazine and giving false POI
Try to hold the rifle as firmly as you would in the field. Changing the way you hold a rifle will change its point of impact, so I try to hold my rifle at the range as much as possible as I will be holding it in the field.
 
"A good effective combat range should be 500-700 yards with iron."

Give me a freaking break! Have you ever walked off 500-700 yards? A human sized target at that distance looks like a pin point.

The way I intially zero in a AR is to cut a "V" in a cardboard box where the "upper" with the bolt removed is mounted on the box and aimed at something 25 yards away where I can look through the barrel and see the object. Then I carefully look into the optics and adjust to the target. When you can sight an object through the barrel and the optics match also you are getting pretty close to being sighted in. Then I re-assemble and target adjust at 25 yards, 50 yards, ect. The last AR I rough sighted in by the cardboard box method was only 1 inch off when I went to target at 25 yards.
 
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Or, you can use the target that the Army uses. This one is in .pdf form and is printable from your computer.

LINKY to M4 Target

For the complete manual on Basic Rifle Marksmanship, which will include instructions on how to use the target, you can go online and read the whole manual. LINKY here to FM3-22.9

Once you have the rifle zero'd with the iron sights, you should have an effective battlefield zero out to 300 meters. The manual will explain all the ifs, whys, and wherefores.
 
Everyone has their opinions on what range to zero at. I'm a big fan of the 200m zero. For real life distances (not 700m...) there is very little high or low hold needed (I don't use any from 25-300m). Obviously the barrel length and ammo matter but we're talking in generalities here. If you just do a quick google search of the 200m AR zero, you'll see what I'm talking about.
 
My only input is that if you zero the AR for a very short range like 25 yards, you will end up with very high strikes at 100 yards due to the considerable difference in bore and sight line. Better to have it slightly low at 25 and on at 100-150. I've used the AimPoint out to 150 but my vision is the limiting factor beyond that range with either 0 magnification or open sights. Realistically, that is the useable range for the dot type sights which is why most of my AR's are equipped with low power variable scopes.
 
I initially set zeroes at 25 yards with my ARs. Iron sights and Eotechs.

I reset up at 100 yards and set the zero as close to 1.5 high as I could hold.

I shoot out to 300 now and do not adjust my sights at all. At 300 yards with both irons and the optics, I shoot the steel popper ( 10 inch wide ) and hold on the center.

I have both .223 and .308 and have them sighted in the same way. There would be no problem with a man size target at any point up to 300 yards.

To shoot farther, I would either have to know the come up or be pretty good at estimating hold over.

Force of habit I guess, but I do not like to tweak my sights once I know the limits I want to shoot.

Geetarman:D
 
I've experimented with dots, lasers, and scopes on my Colt.
They can be fun to goof around with.
The 500 to 700 yards is way out of line in my book.
For primary use, with the gun loaded and at the ready, I've settled on the original iron sights set to be 3 inches high at 100.
I don't cover my target with the sights, I use a 6 o'clock hold.
At 200 yards my error is only an inch, and at 300 I am right on.
POA/POI the same.
If you expect your Colt could be used against human type threats, I think this method would be quite effective.
Now if you shoot coyotes or other critters, then my method isn't the best.
If I hunted for coyotes, I do have, and I would put on the scope.
For fun plinking like shooting golf balls all over our private range, I do have and would put on the red dot.
But in that case it would have a much shorter distance zero setting.
 
Read the literature for the MPO. There's a lot of useful information in those pages. It should say to zero the Eotech with the magnifier in place.

If you zero at 50 yards, it should put you within 2.5" between 0' and 200 yards, with a zero at 50 yards and about 175 yards.

I find this to be a very useful zero range for most shooting, and, keeping in mind bullet drop beyond that, targets past 200 yards are not a big deal.
 
Start out at 25 yds and adjust the reticle to the point of impact, once you have it matched up move out to 50yds…then 75…and 100…Most folks Zero their rifle at 100yds with a red dot.
 
"Give me a freaking break! Have you ever walked off 500-700 yards? A human sized target at that distance looks like a pin point."

Highpower shooters shoot 200 300 and 600 with iron sights on AR rifles. Long range shooters do it at 1,000.

We do this every weekend almost during the season.

You have a lot to learn about shooting.
 
"To shoot farther, I would either have to know the come up or be pretty good at estimating hold over".


Another advantage of iron sights. We know the exact number of clicks to come up at longer distances.
 
EOTech and Aimpoint type sights aren't intended for great accuracy at longer ranges. They can be useful, but they're more for quick target acquisition at shorter ranges. If you're within a few inches vertically, that's good enough, since 3" above or below center of mass is still a disabling hit.

If you want to knock the center out of the target at any range, you have the wrong optics... best to get back to irons or to a magnified scope. If you're going for combat accuracy, zero according to the Army's recommendations and you're close enough at the vast majority of ranges the rifle is capable of hitting.
 
Sorry, I just don't subscribe to all the Mall Ninja hype and telling someone that's sighting in a AR for the first time that iron sights are regularly used at 500-700 yards. I am not saying it can't be done but for many shooters it's not a responsible option just because "we do it all the time", whom ever the royal we might be. He didn't ask about iron sights or what someone has scored on their X-Box 360. When someone asks advise about guns responsible answers are in order.
 
Iron sights are used all the way out to 1,000 yards on a regular basis by thousands of high power shooters. PALMA shooters do it past 1,000.

Just because you lack the ability to do so does not mean it don't happen.

The thing is YOU could do it also if you tried but I am sure you would much rather remain ignorant that try to learn something.
 
Also even today the USMC takes kids who never fired a rifle before in their lives and has them qualifying at 500 meters with IRON SIGHTS.

In my fathers and grandfathers days ALL the US military qualified PAST 500 yards with iron sighted rifles.

In WW-I the Germans learned very quickly not to expose themselves to a US Marine with an 03 Springfield at 800 yards.

Even the US civil war the iron sighted rifle musket was capable of hitting a man at 500 yards.

The NRA 600 yard target has a 12 inch 10 ring. Good shooters can eat that ten ring up and even keep most of their 20 round string in the 6 inch X ring.

The shooters that do that have ONE thing going for them you don't. They don't believe the crap they read on the net written by people who know nothing about real shooting.

The thing is if YOU have average shooting ability and average eyesight YOU could be doing this also.

I could coach you for less than a month and YOU could do it yourself.
 
Iron on your rifle is a tool you need to know before you go to optics and if you optics fail you are still battle ready..
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Battle ready, guess what most of us who own and enjoy shooting the AR do not plan on going into battle. Honestly this is what turns people off from buying an AR in many cases, please guys, 99.5% of the AR's sold well never see a fight or at least I hope so. Well maybe Zombies,they now sell ammo for those I understand.:rolleyes:

I set my "scope" on my AR(non battle ready)1.0 inch high at 100 yards,Eotech same it simply works for me.
 
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