shoredog Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I am new to competition shooting. My handgun (1911 in .45) will be used for USPSA and IDPA. What is the optimal yardage to zero the sights (adjustable target type rear and fiber optic front) for competition in USPSA and IDPA? I assume the same zero yardage will be apprpriate for both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I like 15 yards for 40. With my 180 loads it is about an inch and a half high at 25 and dead on again at 50. With a 45 I like a smidge high at 15, about 2 1/2" high at 25 and back dead on at 50. I haven't shot much IDPA, but I think the appropriate zero is the same for both sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusher Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 If I were using the same handgun in both sports I would set up the gun zero distance for the sport with the longest target distances most encountered. In your case this is USPSA as often times you will see 15-25 yd targets in USPSA (some even further) while IDPA tends to maintain target distances at 15 yds and closer. If you don't have the confidence in KNOWING what the gun is capable of this can leave doubt on those looooooooooong shots (I hate doubt). The A/-0 scoring zone is a sizable target area for both sports, nothing that a 25 yd zero would not be acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted February 12, 2006 Share Posted February 12, 2006 I do not think that the distance is nearly as important as knowing what it will do at all distances inc. 50 yds. Zero it at 15 then see what it does at 5, 25, 40 & 50. Make sure you do it off a rest /sand bags. You will be amazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caspian38 Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 +1 on everything werpspeed said ... 12 yards works well ... then shoot it at diffrent distances to figure out how you and your gun shoot. if you can do 25 yard head shots your on the right track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Blind Squirrel Posted February 13, 2006 Share Posted February 13, 2006 I agree with warpspeed on the 15 yd zero and the shooting off of a bag. But after doing the bag shooting, make sure you do it offhand because the point of impact can and sometime does change when standing, especially with an open gun with a comp. Be sure to check your zero at 3 yds out to at least 50 and even try a 60 or 70. You never know what might be thrown at you. Old Blind Squirrel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Di Vita Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I think you are the only person in existence to shoot with a 12 yard zero. I zero at 15....if I know there are going to be longer shots in a match I will zero at 25. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandankenpo Posted February 22, 2006 Share Posted February 22, 2006 I zero at 15, my point of impact doesn't change very much out to 25 maybe a 1/4 inch, that could be me, most of your shots are not going to be that far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 15 is good, especially for Open-- easy to see and shoot at that distance, and the trajectory will be good out to 50 yards. Verify at 25 & 50 occasionally and you're good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genghis Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I zero at 50 yards. The reason is that the bullet will be rising up to the line of sight up to the zero range. That means up to 50 yards it will always impact somewhere between the height of the sights above the bore (less than an inch) and the actual line of sight. Using the ballistics calculator at http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx, out to 50 yards the bullet is always within an inch of the line of sight. At 60 yards the bullet strikes around an inch low, so up to 60 yards I can simply hold on the center of the target. Zeroing at a closer range such as 25 yards has the bullet an inch low at 45 yards, so you have to start thinking about holding high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shred Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I zero at 50 yards. The reason is that the bullet will be rising up to the line of sight up to the zero range. That means up to 50 yards it will always impact somewhere between the height of the sights above the bore (less than an inch) and the actual line of sight. Using the ballistics calculator at http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx, out to 50 yards the bullet is always within an inch of the line of sight. At 60 yards the bullet strikes around an inch low, so up to 60 yards I can simply hold on the center of the target. Zeroing at a closer range such as 25 yards has the bullet an inch low at 45 yards, so you have to start thinking about holding high. Typically an Open gun's 15-yard zero's 2nd zero is right around 50... best of both worlds, and I'm pretty sure I can't hold an inch at 45 anyway... especially with a dot that's 3" across at that range. Matt Burkett's book has a good illustration of 'keeping the bullet in the dot' at long range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I am with Genghis on this. A shooter should factor in their ballistics and their sight height (over the bore). The thread starter was asking about shooting a single stack Limited gun, I believe at Major power factor. Hard tell without knowing the particulars. I am thinking a 40y zero would be best for most Limited shooters. But, then you gotta be able to shoot a group at 40y to know. Or, figure it back to a distance that you can shoot a group at. I think most keep it simple (right or wrong) and just zero at 15y or so. Then, some might take the extra effort to shoot groups at various distances to know where they are hitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammo_burner21 Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I think you are the only person in existence to shoot with a 12 yard zero. I zero in at 7 yards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 See...there is a guy that can only shoot a group at 7y...so that is where he zeros. (Hi Brad. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ammo_burner21 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 hey kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caspian38 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 (edited) I think you are the only person in existence to shoot with a 12 yard zero. I zero at 15....if I know there are going to be longer shots in a match I will zero at 25. most pistols sighted in at 12 yards shoot .10 low at 25 2" low at 50 5"at 75 and 10"at 100 which is pretty close to a 15 yard zero... the main reason i do it is because most dots come in MOA and 12.5 yards is 1/8 moa so With my BIG 16 moa I cover 2 inches at 12.5 yards and I use 2 inch round targets to sight in ... which gives me DEAD CENTER OF the dot. and most people shoot a tighter group at 12 yards so I feel (mental thing) I get closer to the TRUE CENTER. those # are all average ... so don't take my word on it .. they work for my pistols... fine the real reason is I have no idea what my dot covers at 15 yards and don't want to try doing the math to find out . Edited February 24, 2006 by caspian38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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