Home AR-15 Pro Tip – Quickly Zeroing an AR-15

Pro Tip – Quickly Zeroing an AR-15

By
John Lovell
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1133
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Here is a simply trick I developed that helps me quickly get an approximate zero prior to actually zeroing. This step is a very fast way to get on paper which can save time and a lot of frustration. I use this technique personally, and when I’m helping my students zero their rifles or AR pistols. I am shooting an AR pistol in the video and out of habit accidentally said ‘rifle’ at the beginning.

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The pistol shown has an Anderson lower with a Midwest rail chambered in a 5.56 and rocking a Gemtech silencer. It is outfitted with a Blue Force Gear Vickers sling, an Inforce flashlight, and an Aimpoint T1.

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48 COMMENTS

  3. Knowing the height over bore of your sights and having a thorough knowledge of the trajectory of whatever round you are using are the basis of the technique being shown.  If you want a simple BSZ (battle-sight zero), or what hunters called MPBR (maximum point-blank range), for the typical 14.5-16-inch barreled AR-type carbine or 20pinch barrel AR rifle, it can be done in as little as twenty five meters, the distance at which the original AR15 sights were designed to be zeroed. Assuming M193 55-grain ball at 3240 fps from a 20-inch barrel AR rifle, a 25-meter near-zero/250-meter far-zero has a trajectory which varies no more than six (6) inches above or below the line of sight out to 300 meters. The soldier or Marine would simply hold, center-mass, and drop the enemy soldier. If using a 14.5-inch barrel carbine, with MV of 3075 fps, your near/far zeroes are 25-meters and 225-meters, and the BSZ is plus/minus six inches out to 275 meters. For both models – rifle or carbine – the carry-handle sight is adjusted for elevation on shots out past 300 meters. BSZ is also very useful for reflex and red-dot type sights. Again using a carbine-length barrel with 55-grain M193 at 3075 fps, with a red-dot 2.5 inches over bore, a 35-meter zero varies no more than +/- 4 inches out to 200 meters. Such a zero would not only be useful to an infantryman, but a hunter seeking medium-sized or larger prey, such as deer or coyote – in states where it is legal to hunt these species with .224-caliber ammunition.

  18. I would recommend dry firing a gun you haven't handled or live fired several times to get a feel for where and how the sear is going to release so you don't throw that first shot…..

  31. When your not at the range, or on level terrain and you need to Quickly Zero in your AR!!! You don't even have a range finder! Always carry around a paper target and target stand. Oh yeah and Sharpie. PRO TIP HAHA! what a joke. Hope his other vids are less lame this one. FAIL.

  33. HA! Now I KNOW you’re Army! I was Air Force attached to the army and one of my guys messed up bad enough that he had a Sergeant Major “assign” him a rock as a sensitive item for about two weeks. He had to name it, bathe it, and clothe it. Anytime we had a sensitive items accountability he had to present it and it had to be inspected. One of the funniest dam things I’ve ever seen! 😂😂😂
    Just glad I didn’t get involved in the shenanigans.

  37. That's always how I start the zeroing process–make sure the gun's on paper close in, then back up for fine zero. It gets really frustrating to shoot a group at range, miss the paper completely and try to figure out where the rounds went.

  40. Kinda concerned that he chose high ground upon which to conduct the demo. Where did those bullets go? Off to one side of where he was standing there was a small outcrop that could have served as a backstop (it wasn't too close for what he was doing), or he could have conducted the demo in a draw between the hilltops, which would have contained the flying bullets into an area he could see. There's no telling where the bullets went from where he was shooting. He couldn't possibly have seen if the impact area was clear of people because of the trees.

    This is not the only video maker I've seen make what I think is a questionable judgment concerning his backstop. Know what is behind your target. If you can't see the area where your shots will impact, you do not know if the area is clear.

  45. You didn’t show that you cleared or checked to be sure that the “range” behind your target was clear of people. You were not on a closed range- someone could have walked onto the same power line trail that you are on. You didn’t even call out to announce your fire and ask if the area was clear.
    As an instructor you should demonstrate this safe practice – just as you teach safe handling.
    Alternatively, you could have located the target so that your rounds would have gone into the berm close to you.
    Thanks for all your great videos- great techniques, emphasis on safety and service to our country.

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