Any shots beyond 7 yards for SD engagement could make you appear to be the potential aggressor. Mine are sighted in for close encounters.

 

Interesting question. I zeroed mine (for Home Defense) at 10 yards. I've been told by other folks it should be 25 yards. With my eyes, I'm not sure I'd want to take a shot at 25 yards. I measured around my how and 10 yards was the longest single distance I found. At the range after sighting it in, I shot at shorter distances and the it didn't make that much difference. But I'm fairly new to red dots and lasers. My laser is set at the same distance and because it's a Viridian X5L, it's offset from the bore to the right, so further than 10 yards, the hit goes high and left, shorter, low and right. But not much at the distances I will shoot at. Would you go closer for CC?

 

I sight mine at 10 yards for both sport shooting and SD.
Then POI will be slightly lower at 5 yards, and slightly higher at 15 due to parallax between bore axis and C/L of optic. Just a fraction of an inch, but I believe 10 yards strikes a useful balance. JMO YMMV

 

Videos at this link, and plenty of good observations by members:

https://sigtalk.com/gun-training-tactics/372832-pistol-optic-stop-chasing-dot.html
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25 yards, same as what the manufacturers designed the gun and iron sights for.

Could you imagine being in a movie theater and some low life is 60 or 70 feet away killing people and you're not able to try and stop him because you dialed your dot to less than half that. I'd feel horrible.

I know it doesn't feel as good as taking the easy 20 foot shots but most in door ranges go out to 25 yards guys, I suggest spending some time learning how to hit targets at distance.

And don't think you shouldn't rest your arm while doing it at least some of the time.

If I'm in a theater and need to try and stop a bad guy 75 feet away, I will be resting my P365 on the seat in front of me when I do it.

 

This is the correct answer. I zero my lasers at 25 yards also. Using the same zero as your irons (most manufacturers use a 25 yard zero) for both optics and lasers is the optimal way to go. At really close in, you will hit be hitting very close to your POA anyway and good enough for defensive use and if you ever need to take that long shot, you will be dead on, assuming your fundamentals are good. You don’t want to be doing the math in your head when needing to take a 25 yard shot when you are zero’d for 10 yards; it’s hard enough as it is [emoji6]. A close in zero may help you close in but it will get ugly the further out you go.

Red dots on pistols, 25 yard zero

Red dots on an AR, 50 yards zero

Red dot on an AK, 35 yards zero


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13 yards because that’s what the range had available. I’d sight in for 20 yards if I could.

 

I zero red dot 229s and 226s for 25 yards. My MPXs and MCXs are zeroed for 50 yards including my carbines and pistols.

Who started a deadly attack is determined by a jury via all of the facts and circumstances admitted into evidence. Relative distance is one fact among many that may be admitted under the rules of evidence. It's better to survive to be able to tell the facts and circumstances to the jury in person.

Bill

 

Sig Sauer Academy likes a 15 yd zero for pistol mounted optics. Aaron at Sage likes 25 yds.
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our m&p 4.25 core has a 25 yards zero My revolver I hunt with is zeroed at 100 yards . AR9 thats really a fun gun has a 50 yards zero . With all once zeroed shoot at short and longer yardage to see if you want to adjust or not .

 

Seven yards for my EDC and 18 yards for my competition guns and MPXs.

By the way, only my EDC still have the front sight. My competition optic guns don’t have the front sight on them.

 

I zeroed mine at 15 yards.

 

For my PCC and red-dot pistols that I use for competition, zero at 15yds/45ft, as that's usually the longest distance that a target will be set up. For my defensive long guns, I use the 36-yd zero to cover all bases.

 

What is the maximum length of the largest room in your home? That is what you zero your red dot at. a 1 inch circle at that end of the room will expand as your range get's larger, but that is the Maximum distance you should really think of. 90% of all Police shootings are at 7 Yds or less.

 

I'm not a fan of close zero distances. I use 20 to 25 yards for pistol red dots. Here's some rough math. The actual dot is going to be close to an inch above the bore. If you zero at 5 yards you're POI is going to be several inches high (2 1/2 to 3) at 25 yards. POI at 10 yards will be off as much as an inch. If you zero at 25 yards your POI is going to be ~9/16" low at 5 yards, and 3/8" low at 10 yards. I'd prefer my sight off 9/16" at 5 yards compared to being zeroed at 5 yards, but off several inches at 25 yards.

 

The other benefit I’ve found to using a 25 yard zero (assuming this is what the manufacturer uses for the irons) is that it’s really easy to set up the red dot in your house. Pick a spot on the wall, and place the red dot right on top of the front sight (using the standard Glock sight picture) or directly behind the front sight if using a combat sight picture (if you change out your sights to aftermarket for example).

Get to the range and fine tune it. Almost like boresighting. With a close in zero, say 5 yards, I wouldn’t have a clue where to start setting up the red dot at home.


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At the most typical close combat distances, and inch lower than where you put the dot will still be plenty effective as it would be on the exact spot on center mass, so I would say zero them at the same sort of distance you would your irons.

 

Anyone telling you to zero a red dot at 7 yards should be shunned.

 

I doubt most iron sights are zeroed at 7 yards.

 

From muzzle crown to 25 yards w/ any platform-

Who needs a battery powered instrument that is likely to fail at any given time.
(then what do you do....play switchies by inserting each thumb into 2 separate orifices at once,then switching)

IF,your platform manipulation will not allow you to POINT & CLICK,you'd better seek instruction from a professional.

 

IF,your platform manipulation will not allow you to POINT & CLICK,you'd better seek instruction from a professional.

Point shooting is one thing I learned the hard way in competition. I used to forget turning on the red dot before starting the course of fire. I was pleasantly surprised that I was still hitting the target (USPSA size) just by pointing at it and shooting.

Since then, I made sure it’s one of the live fire exercises I do when I go to the range. Dry firing really helped in developing my point and shoot capabilities by allowing me to have my index at the same place all the time.

 

I thought this was a great article/case for zeroing at 25 yards.

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Best Distance to Zero a Pistol-Mounted Red Dot

With the explosion in popularity of pistol-mounted red-dot sights, deciding what distance at which to zero has become a pressing issue.

www.shootingillustrated.com

 

This is a good topic. I will keep the 25 in mind. Is this for all handguns w/optics that 25 yards is usually the manufacture recommendation?
Also doesn’t the XL with Romeo come zero from the box?
same with the hellcat RDP it comes zero ready to shoot correct?

 

This is a good topic. I will keep the 25 in mind. Is this for all handguns w/optics that 25 yards is usually the manufacture recommendation?
Also doesn’t the XL with Romeo come zero from the box?
same with the hellcat RDP it comes zero ready to shoot correct?

Not sure. - I'm no expert. I just went off what was in the article. It seems to be sound advice, given this guy "showed his math." / The results he got with this method.

I do believe, most optics come from the factory, with few adjustments needed to zero.

You should only need about two to three groups, of three to five shots each, to get a zero. As long as you are getting them on paper, able to see a pattern and doing your math correctly. There is always "the human factor." - That seems to be the biggest variable.

 

So 25 yards is the MFG recommendation?

 

No.

 

A lot of reasonable answers.

In LE training, normally 15 yards is the first actual use of sights. Prior to that, shorter ranges normally encouraged "point shooting" as quicker alternatives. But again this is all due to training! Normally, 25 yards is considered a maximum range for use of unsupported engagements. Anyone with experience will tell you, point of impact can change somewhat, using a supported position.

Normally with most handgun cartridges, a 25 yard zero, will give you an acceptable trajectory, for point of impact, close enough for effectiveness, from the muzzle, out to the 25 yard range. Remember this is for defensive accuracy, not target shooting scores!