Revisiting the Zero
Revisiting this old post on the "25/300 yard zero."
Why?
Because this video was found in the wild on YouTube recently.
The video states exactly the same thing this blog has stated over and over. Do not zero at 25 m. It does not equate to any other known zero. Even using the old military iron sight "z" setting, you are only getting shots on paper (man-sized paper at 300m) at best. Then you must fine tune the zero.
And absolutely and completely avoid this "zero" at all costs with any sort of scope.
Heh, I bet I can trigger another Appleseed-related rant now that this topic has floated to the top again.
ReplyDeleteI've been Appleseeding for over 10 years, but it isn't the only thing I do. Good program and I still do it, but all things considered I regard it as a springboard to get good fundamentals and a good start for further more interesting practical and tactical shooting training.
When I attended my first Known-Distance Appleseed after a couple years in the program, someone in the program had told me to use a 25m zero and just take good data on 100/200/300/400 so I did that. I shot score successfully with that zero but the success was a combination of taking the data first and it being controlled square range and known range setup, that and the D type targets are kind of forgiving of up-down errors.).
There were certainly corrections and holds, I did that with an ACOG which specifically says to zero it at 100m if you want the BDC to work. With that 25m zero, rounds were about 9" high at 100 and still a little high at 300, and had to hold a little high to hit at 400.
I did it that way mostly (as I recall) because some people in the program at that time were really vocal about 25m zero being great for whatever (mistaken) reasons. It can be made to work but ever since i did it and checked their box, I went back to doing what the scope manual says for BDC optics.
IIRC even the iron sights on an M1 and M1A really need what amounts to a 100m zero don't they? Even if you zero closer in with something offset, it amounts to set it at 100 and then make sure POA = PO Impact at 100, if you expect the rear sight to be on at any other distance you dial into the click adjuster?
Some time back, I had some Appleseed Red Hats (and one Rifleman, but he was not an instructor) take one of my classes. During zero confirmation at the beginning, the ones with 25m zeroes were not even on paper at 50 yards. Most were shooting high. Regular 8.5x11 paper. My mantra that morning was "apply 12 MOA down and let's see what happens." They all commented on that in the retrospective at the end.
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