I was just wondering could possibly be causing my shots to hit low from where I'm actually aiming. I was at an indoor range yesterday and I was getting good groupings, but they were hitting low from where I was actually intending. I'm satisfied that I can get some nice grouping, but what can I do so I can shoot spot on?
I haven't messed with the windage or elevation on the stock sights because I mainly just shoot indoors. Any input would greatly be appreciated!

Obviously, you need to adjust the sights. There's no guarantee that they are "on" out of the box.

What range (distance) were you firing at? Distance matters because of the bullet trajectory, if you are firing close, the projectile hasn't hit the peak of its trajectory yet, if you are firing too far, it has gone under its peak trajectory.

Grouping is important as hell, and if you are happy with it, yes, it's time to adjust your sights.

Which version do you have? The MOE Magpul version has a sight adjustment tool for the front sight, to adjust your elevation easily.

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Disabled Army Vet - 37F/82C

You likely still need to adjust the elevation. Doesn't matter if indoors or not.

I have the compliant model. I was shooting 15-20 yards and actually I think thats when my shots started coming closer to where I was aiming. I was shooting with a friend who is new to shooting, so he was shooting about 5-10 and his were hitting low.

Seriously? Is this thread for real? If it is then you need to adjust the sights. If your POI (point of impact) is lower than your POA (point of aim) you need to adjust your front Magpul sight by using the little tool to screw the post clockwise so it sits lower. This will bring your shots up. If you need to make right /left adjustments there's a windage knob on the rear sight. Take 3 shots, make a little adjustment, take 3 more shots, adjust a little more and so on.

Where are MagPul sights mentioned? Compliant models don't normally come with them. On stock S&W sights, both windage and elevation both are adjustable on the rear sight.

I'm sorry if my harmless question aggravates you. This is my first rifle and I'm still learning some basic things. Also, I don't have magpul sights so I really wished you would have read the thread before posting.

Don't worry about him. He still needs to learn that everyone has to start somewhere. Yes, it is quite likely that your sights are off a tad.

Pg. 23 of the user manual will assist you in sight adjustment. Good luck!

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M&P40c/15-22/SD9VE/Mossy500

Your sights could be right on, but everyone has a slightly different sight picture, one day at the range in the service shows you how severe folks differ from eachother.

Consistancy is the most important, so yeah, a bit of sight adjustment will get that grouping centered on your point of aim.

I'm new here too, but not new to firearms, but I have a question here. Does the compliant model front sight not adjust at all? I'm assuming from what was said in here the rear sight is similar to that of the A2?

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Disabled Army Vet - 37F/82C

Okay, thanks. Looks like my elevation needs to be corrected. I'll make my adjustments next friday when I go to the range again.

Don't fret. It's a good question. Read the manual where it discusses adjusting the sights.

You are probably hitting low because of the sight off set. Because your front sight is about 2.5 inches above your barrel, there is a difference between point of aim and point of impact.

if your rifle is sighted in at 50 yards, then at 25 yards your bullet will hit about 1.25 inches low. If you are closer it will be off by even more. The close you get the bigger the difference is until you get to point blank.

If your rifle is sighted in for 25 yards, at 12.5 yards you will be hitting about 1.25 inches low.

My bad, just woke up and saw " Magpul" in one of the replies so it stuck in my head . So in your case you will need to raise the rear sight (turn the elevation knob clockwise ) to bring your shots up. And no, your post didn't aggravate me. If it did I wouldn't have offered any help at all. Also, you didn't mention if you were standing or sitting while shooting, but for sighting in you rifle I recommend using a bench rest, sand bag, or something similar to steady the rifle. I actually used a car jack stand with a sock over the end to protect my rifle from damage.

Alright its all good. Thanks, I will definitely do that. And, yes I was standing.

Yes, the front sight does not adjust. The rear sight is the only one that can be adjusted.

Yes, the front sight adjusts elevation, but so does the rear sight. You can do it either way.

That is not correct. The front sight IS adjustable.

The elevation can be adjusted with the rear or front sight. But to adjust the front sight you will need a tool made for it.

Here is a guide to help you out with making adjustments and what to look for.

AR15 SIGHT ADJUSTMENT BASICS

You can also use the tip of a 5.56 round or even a (sturdy) pen if need be.

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M&P40c/15-22/SD9VE/Mossy500

Below I have linked to a Army study guide to zero a rifle, just remember when they only use front sight for elevation adjustments and rear for left and right with wind age wheel lowered on the 8/3 setting, is because Soldiers are taught to use wind age wheel for shoots past 300 meters with wind age wheel

Zero and M16A2 Rifle (ArmyStudyGuide.com)

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US Army (Ret) 83'-05'

ah my bad. I thought that was only the case for the magpul sights.

How low is low? 1/2 an inch or 5 inches? Thats pretty close and you shouldn't be very far off at that close of a distance.....

My rifle shot 3" low at 50 yards out of the box with Remmington junk ammo.

Theres no doubt the sights may need some adjustment, Make sure your shooting off a bench rest to sight it in, especially if your new to shooting.

Your sight adjustment, sight picture, and shooting mechanics will all affect your shooting.

EDIT: Don't Forget the bullet rises for a period of time and then begins to fall again as it flies throught the air. So a rifle zero'd at 20 yards might shoot -1" @ 5 yards 0 @ 20 yards +1" at 35 yards 0 @ 50 yards -2" @ 75 yards. (This is just a crude example, not nearly true to life so please don't burn me)

Aren't bullets fired always falling, due to gravity/friction? The sights just give the impression of a rise and fall in trajectory don't they?

Yeah that's what I was getting at exactly. It drives me crazy when my gun buddies think i am crazy to think a bullet doesn't gain speed or altitude after leaving the bore just because they cant wrap their heads around the physics of it all.

I found this picture which may help you understand distance & trajectory and rifle & sight alignment. You may be within the range of your first POA/POI thus hitting low...

This shows exactly what I was saying. In the top diagram it is sighted in for 50 yards. Anything inside 50 yards will hit low. The closer to 50 yards you get the less sight offset there is.

When we do our quarterly rifle qualification there is always someone who forgets their offset on a headshot when we do them at 10 and 15 yards and drops a round under the scoring area if the head. You have to aim a couple of inches high. We zero for 50 yards.