Sight in distance

[Jarhead-usmc]

Hello everyone ,just curious as to what distance everyone is sighting in Their red dot,laser,and scope at,I currently have an nc star mkIII red/green mildot scope with red dot on top,and a green laser under my barrel, in case that makes a difference ?

 

[thacheese]

Its a preference thing. When I first got mine I sighted in @ 20yds as that was the max of the indoor range. Now that I've been using the outdoor I sight for 50 yds.

 

[matmat417]

Its a preference thing. When I first got mine I sighted in @ 20yds as that was the max of the indoor range. Now that I've been using the outdoor I sight for 50 yds.

i second that.. with .22 rifles i always sight in at 50yrds. you can compensate for other distances.

 

[Shooting Padre]

I use a reflex red dot on my 15-22 rifle and have it set for 50 yds. Seems the best all around zero for me.

 

[06x]

Depends on how far you want to shoot, obviously. If I'm only shooting out to 100 yards, I'll zero at 20 yards. That will keep the bullet drop within approximately 2" out to 100 yrds.

 

[Jammer]

I'm using an NcStar 3-9x42 tactical and it is sighted in at 50 yards. Right now I can cover 5 shots with a quarter! LOVE my Wicked Witch!

 

[contactcr]

I had this same question so I did some research using Winchester's ballistics calculator (Winchester Ammunition) - they have a cool iPhone app that is free also

The point of impact (not factoring in wind) is the same at 25 yards and 50 yards so in most situations it doesn't make much difference sighting in at 25 vs 50 yards. The difference in drop at 100 yards is only .1" as well.

 

[SquirrelSlayer]

The difference is at 25 yards it's on the way up, and at 50 yards it's on the way down, beginning it's 1 inch per 10 yards dropping like a rock, dropping 5 inches from 50 to 100 yards.
[but my 5mm rem mag doesn't drop like that ]

 

[PHXSHOOTER]

Jarhead, your original post inquires about distance. Then you listed different types of sighting systems. I would like to know more about distances for each one because I have them too and I know some guys here zero at multiple distances? My rant below is more about sighting in technique. Please forgive me if that is a highjack, I mean it to be a broader scope of your question.

I know some of you will be tired of this kind of thread but please keep it going. I too, am a new 15-22 owner. I have only had it out once and was in a hurry. I did not have time to properly dial it in. Hopefully that will happen soon. With that said I have been searching the web and this board for good sighting in tips. I have found a lot of bad information and some good stuff. Somewhere on this board are instructions on how to set AR type rear sights that I found very informative and will search for again until I find it. When I go out I am going to dial it in the way I have done it all my life. I will shoot and adjust until I have it where I want them to hit. I am not going to try and do the job with just three rounds. I am not going to try and find the target by looking through the barrel first and then try to hold that position while I reassemble it. I am not going to fire one round and adjust my reticules to that point etc. There is also an "internet guru" who claims that all 22 rim fire ammunition will be "all over the place" until you fire at least 75 rounds to let the wax lubricant on the bullets "properly build up in the barrel". And yes, he says therefore, you should always put it away dirty or plan on zeroing every time you clean it. I have read ballistics charts that all seem to disagree with each other. I looked at the Winchester calculator which is cool, but only 1" inch at 100 yards? I could not get it to read that, nor should it.

I don't mean to go on a negative rant. I really would like to read another thread with a common sense approach to sighting in these cool guns and to know what the trajectory really is at different distances.

I know sighting in is a matter of personal preference for distance and technique. I would like to have more good information and this forum has tons of knowledgeable users. If I have gone to far off topic from the original post please remove it.

 

[E6type]

There is also an "internet guru" who claims that all 22 rim fire ammunition will be "all over the place" until you fire at least 75 rounds to let the wax lubricant on the bullets "properly build up in the barrel". And yes, he says therefore, you should always put it away dirty or plan on zeroing every time you clean it.

That's pure BS.

 

[APS]

If you are a hard core rimfire target shooter, then that is true about seasoning a barrel in 'most' cases depending upon the rifle.
For plinking, who cares. I typically shoot my M&P15-22 at those little steel swinging targets so it's sighted in for 20yds or so. I raise it 10 clicks to bring on target at 50.

 

[chuck s]

If you want a battlesight zero the same 50 yard zero many use with the 5.56mm version works well with .22LR and makes for consistent shooting at plinking ranges. You won't get the 200 meter downrange zero Improved Battlesight Zero provides, but you're unlikely to be shooting much beyond 50 yards anyway. At longer ranges you'll need a telescopic sight -- heck, I do!

The concept of battlesight zero is you use the same center of mass hold for all targets. No mental calculations of hold over/under, just place the tip of the front sight (or Red Dot of Death(tm)) in the center of the target's chest and send a round (or two).

Bullseye shooting (precision riflery) will require knowing your zero at precise ranges and counting clicks on the rear sight.

Once you're used to IBSZ you should be able to chase shotgun hulls around the range all day long yards with no mental calculations.

-- Chuck

 

[mn_doggie]

If you want a battlesight zero the same 50 yard zero many use with the 5.56mm version works well with .22LR and makes for consistent shooting at plinking ranges. You won't get the 200 meter downrange zero Improved Battlesight Zero provides, but you're unlikely to be shooting much beyond 50 yards anyway. At longer ranges you'll need a telescopic sight -- heck, I do!

The concept of battlesight zero is you use the same center of mass hold for all targets. No mental calculations of hold over/under, just place the tip of the front sight (or Red Dot of Death(tm)) in the center of the target's chest and send a round (or two).

Bullseye shooting (precision riflery) will require knowing your zero at precise ranges and counting clicks on the rear sight.

Once you're used to IBSZ you should be able to chase shotgun hulls around the range all day long yards with no mental calculations.

-- Chuck

Are you the Chuck S. who wrote this article?

Improved Battlesight Zero

Good article.

 

[berzerker]

I have my meopta (1-4x) sighted in at 50 meters.
poi at 25 meters (another of my typical shooting distances) is a the bottom of the dot.
I also have a sts dot on it - for those fast shot on nearby targets- sighted in at 10 meters. the poi stays within the 7 moa dot from 7 tot 25 meters

 

[Severe]

If you want to play around with the impact of ballistic trajectory on different zero ranges, I recommend using PointBlank Ballistics or PointBlank Ballistics Online

HuntingNut » Top 30

Another good page for information on plotting ballistics of .22lr is
22 LR Ballistics @ Gunsmoke Engineering

For what it's worth, I usually use a coefficient of between .100 and .350. I found somewhere that the BC for a 5.56mm 62grn HP was .307 so that is my reference point. Some software will let you deterime the BC based on ranges at various distances. Play with this as you see fit. If some one has a nice chrono, perhaps they can post up some stats.

The ammo you shoot should provide enough basic information to workout a chart for various ranges. A2 sights have a height over bore of approx. 2.6 inches.

If need be, print these out charts and test them for fun. This should allow you to estimate POI at longer ranges for more of a challenge.

Enjoy.

 

[jbinbi]

If you want to play around with the impact of ballistic trajectory on different zero ranges, I recommend using PointBlank Ballistics or PointBlank Ballistics Online

HuntingNut » Top 30

Another good page for information on plotting ballistics of .22lr is
22 LR Ballistics @ Gunsmoke Engineering


Enjoy.

great sites.

also, to the post of saying dropping 1" per 10 yds, no!

Gravity makes objects fall by a square law, it is 32 ft/sec Sq. So it drops more in the second second than the first, the 3d second more than the 2nd etc.

Assuming no air resistance, in half a second an object drops 5'. so if you stood shooting from your shoulder with the rifle parallel to the ground, using 1200 fps amo, the bullet would hit the ground at 600' 200 yds!

 

[mn_doggie]

great sites.

also, to the post of saying dropping 1" per 10 yds, no!

Gravity makes objects fall by a square law, it is 32 ft/sec Sq. So it drops more in the second second than the first, the 3d second more than the 2nd etc.

Assuming no air resistance, in half a second an object drops 5'. so if you stood shooting from your shoulder with the rifle parallel to the ground, using 1200 fps amo, the bullet would hit the ground at 600' 200 yds!

If what you are saying is true, then all bullets regardless of caliber, should hit the ground at "600' 200yds" when travelling at 1200 fps OR ballisics is really driven by bullet speed.

That would mean the calculators really only need to ask muzzle velocity and dispense with all the other questions like air temp, etc..... That "air resistance" you mention can also cause "lift" which seems to defy gravity in the case of aircraft.

 

[CrazyFingers]

That "air resistance" you mention can also cause "lift" which seems to defy gravity in the case of aircraft.

Are you proposing that a bullet in flight defies gravity and rises relative to its initial trajectory?

 

[jbinbi]

If what you are saying is true, then all bullets regardless of caliber, should hit the ground at "600' 200yds" when travelling at 1200 fps OR ballisics is really driven by bullet speed.

That would mean the calculators really only need to ask muzzle velocity and dispense with all the other questions like air temp, etc..... That "air resistance" you mention can also cause "lift" which seems to defy gravity in the case of aircraft.

Absolutely true. Without air resistance, all objects fall at the same speed. Galileo showed that 500 years ago.

However, in reality, the air does change this dynamic quite a bit. Bullet shape as well.

Of course the reason you can shoot further than 200 yds is that you actually are not pointing the rifle horizontal to the ground, it is actually pointing up a bit. That also makes the time in flight longer and decreases bullet speed. All due to the air. Shooting in high humidity, low humidity and altitude, etc. all change the dynamics of bullet trajectory.

Lift is a whole different subject, on an airplane that is because the wing is not symmetrical in shape, and to stay aloft energy must continously be put in (the engine). To those who get nervous flying, as long as the engine is running and the wings stay on, the plane will stay in the air. but I am getting WAY off topic...

 

[mn_doggie]

Are you proposing that a bullet in flight defies gravity and rises relative to its initial trajectory?

No... did you see the word "IF"?

Gravity isn't the whole story with regards to trajectory.