Optics Zero

[MC_DO]

How far do you zero your optics?

[echotango]

10-12yrds

[regor]

A would suggest going between 15-20 yards so you don't have to think too much about hold over/under. Close zero minimizes need to hold over for close targets, but requires more holdover for far targets. 

 

Roughly speaking for practical pistol ranges your POI shift will be (target distance - zero distance)*bore offset/zero distance. So if your offset is 1" and you zero at 10 yards, you'll be 1" low at point blank, on at 10 yards, 1" high at 20 yards, 2" high at 30 yards, etc.. Drop starts to come into play around 50 yards, but that's rare in any pistol match. 

 

A 15 yard zero will put you +- your bore offset between point blank and 30 yards, which for an open gun is probably about +- 2". 20 yard zero gives you +- 2" between 0 and 40 yards. 

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I zero my optic pistols at 18 yards but I know where it hits at 3-50 yards. Thanks, Eric

[021411]

I zero at 12. I shot from about 3 yards out to 25 and I can pretty much keep one POA and still make hits. It doesn't deviate much.  

[Robertwil18]

17.1364 yards precisely.  

[MC_DO]

Thanks for all the valuable information.

[AverageJoeShooting]

15-20 here

[zzt]

I zero all pistols at 25 yards, because 15, 25 and 50 yards are the only places targets can be set.  I have zero problems with a 25 yard zero.  RFRO at 16-17 so it is dead on at 50.  PCC at 25, because that is the closest target stand on that range.

[rovpilot337]

All of my pistol red dots are zeroed at 25 yards. This gives me the least amount of deviation from POA from 3 to 25 yards

[sam_b]

Most of the locals I shoot are either point blank or 15yds. With some random longer shots mixed in so 15yds it is.

[sauza45]

I zero at 25 yards, with that I am about 1.25 inches low at 5 yards and dead on all the way out to 50 yards. I don't have to think about 

where to hold the dot at different distances. 

[Bwillis]

12 yards 

[BigBamBoo]

12 yards for me

[UpYoursPal]

I like 15 yards

[Ozy]

15 yards seems to be the sweet spot between close and far ranges.

[Steve RA]

25 yards.

[Service Desk]

2 hours ago, Steve RA said:

25 yards.

+1

[BoyGlock]

If I remember, our gracious host Brian does it in 17y. w/ due consideration to the size of the dot he uses. Cant remember if it was 4, 6, 8... but the idea is that from near (5y?) to farthest target (50y) the POI is always inside the area of the dot. Say a 6moa dot is about 6” at 100y,  1.5” at 25y and POI is within 0.75” above or below center of dot. At 50y size of dot is 3” and POI is within 1.5” from center of dot. So there is no hold over/under needed within 50y. POI will always be within the dot. 
Hope I got it right. Its how I zero my 6/8 moa reddot til now. I dont hold over/under at any distance I shoot and usually hit where my dot is whenever my trigger pull is good. Im using cmore serendipity and slideride by the way. 

Edited February 4, 2021 by BoyGlock

[lacivilian]

I like 18 yards, seems to be on again at 40 yards for my guns. 

[Orlandoech]

10-15 for me depending on the gun/ammo.

[MNJoel]

On 1/11/2021 at 9:04 PM, Robertwil18 said:

17.1364 yards precisely.  

LOL, me too. 

 

I zero at 25 yards... as good as I can. 

[Moto_wrench]

Another vote for 17yard zero
Provides a good max point blank range of 3-4” from powder burn distance out to 25yds. 
Always best to verify with your gun and load though. 

Edited February 11, 2021 by Moto_wrench

[FTP_Shooting_Sports]

17 yards seems to be the happy point for me. You can hit an extremely precise shot at most distances you will ever see in a match and the close up stuff is not that far off with a micro red dot.  You still need to check your POI at 50 yards though as those sometimes come up and you need to know where to aim.