What Range To Zero Your AR15 - 50 yards? 100? 200? (Correction, Army = 300 meter zero) 

Just briefly, the advantage of the 50/200 is that at all ranges you are likely engage a man sized target, the round point of impact is within the vital zone without any holdover. That's it. And it is a powerful advantage.

I'm also former marine . the ar -15s I shoot are (16", 18" 20" inch FN barells) I use a 100 yd zero on all of these rifles(ammo is 77 grain BTHP ) all of the above length barrells are 1:7 twist. The 16" gives me the greatest drop, from 300 yds it is approx 12-13 inches, Human silouthette targets aim at(using Kentucky windage) the intersection of the clavicle, 400 yds aim at intersection of throat and head, 500 yds aim at forehead, all shot will be in kill zone.For the other length barrells(18",20") the bullet drops are "SLIGHTLY LESS" but will still achieve kill zone accuracy. When you are shooting to preserve life, scope adjustments are not practical, you must practice with the rifle and ammo that you intend to survive with. Remember practice practice practice.

What Zero to choose ? I like the guy who said "I Zero my rifles from my back porch to my back fence" lol !

I believe the people who recommend 50 actually mean 50/200. Zero at 50, then verify at 200 and make minor adjustments if needed. When you look at the 200 yard zero, that seems like the best choice IMO.

Makes good sense to me. - Now if only I could see 100 yards !

Dear god, thank you! Lol. I was told 36 yrds. I purchased my first lpvo and zeroed in at 36 yards. Lol, it was great up to 50 yards, than at a 100 yards i was was high. I then zeroed in at 100 yards and, using the moa, was hitting perfect 50 yards 200 yards 300 yards. But at first, I blew threw through over a hundred rounds of 556, just trying to hit this huge paper target a 100 yards away. I was beyond pissed. 😂

I never zeroed at 100 yards in the Army. We zeroed at 25 meters with the 25/300 target.

The army trained us to zero at 25 meters with the m4/m16. This 25 meter zero translates to a 300 meter zero as the bullet will drop back down through the line of sight at 300m. As long as you aim low for the abdomen on all silhouettes inside 300 meters you’ll be right on the money. The 300 is the only target you won’t aim low at, you aim directly where you want to shoot. Just my 2¢ but I’ve always qualified as an expert marksman...

My girl and I shoot with a 25 meter zero. Its what we were first trained with when we got our ARs. We both shoot 3-4 times a month in competitions (Practical Rifle, 2-Gun and a tactical class we both signed up for). We know that inside of 20 yards, we aim a couple inches high, 30-50 we aim pretty much dead-on, and 50 to 200 we aim a few inches low. Seems like a lot to remember, but we do it so often that its second-nature now. The key is PRACTICE! When we go to the range, we check our zeros (shoot tiny -1" groups at 25 meters) then we move on to the 200 that has a berm at 100. There we shoot paper at both 100 and 200 to know our POI compared to our POA. Without sounding like a bragger, we are both in the top 10% of the groups we shoot with. In fact, last week we were helping set up a stage on our 200 yard bay and she shot an 8" plate from the sitting position, first shot. But again, our key is practicing.

That was an excellent review. I believe the main point many leave out is that the 36 yd zero is the way to go if you’re using some type of holographic device, red dot, ACOG, EOTECH, whatever. Point of aim/point of impact at 36 yards = 100 yards which is where every sight with a bullet drop compensator should be zeroed. The 25 yd zero was the standard for decades because a body hit is a body hit.

I was in the US Army as an Infantryman and I have NEVER had a 100 yard zero. You zero at 25 and when you are done confirming your zero, you adjust your elevation for 300 yards. Thanks for the correction! ;)

Dude! This has to be the most informative, factual, and well explanation of such a controversial topic!

My AR15 are match rifles for Across the Course where we shoot at 200, 300, 600 yards with heavy match bullets. I zero my rifle at 100 yards and then apply the known correction factors to the sight (clicks). 100 yards is very practical and its just a four .5 MOA clicks for a 200 yard zero, assuming the elevation drum is 1/2 MOA as they normally are in an AR15. My windage is a bit different at 1/4 MOA and do not move the front sight that I keep at mechanical zero. For my type of shooting, messing around with the front sight is very impractical so all adjustments are done with the rear sight. This is different from hunting or target shooting with lighter and short AR carbines not designed for National Match Course and with different sights like the MABUS rear sights which have no elevation adjustment . Never the less, I agree with you that 100 yards or meters is the most versatile zero for most distances (if I am not shooting for points) that include informal target shooting, short range competition, hunting or self defense. When I was in the US ARMY basic training back in 1976, we used the 25 meter zero which allowed that 55gr bullet to hit on half silhouettes at 350 meters (max distance in the rifle qualification course).

As someone who has no experience shooting long range and no training let me say I appreciate this video so much. Short and simple! Thanks for the help I’ll definitely will be able to hit my targets at 100 years to 200 yards !

Roger, you are on point. For all of my rifles I always zero at 100 yards. I find that differences in ammo and barrel length all seem to average out nicely at 100 yards. Plus I use most of my riffles for hunting which 100 yards in the woods is about all you are going to get and when hunting a field its easy to hold off or adjust your reticle. I almost always hold off. Of course this depends on your scope graduations also but with all my scopes being 30/30 reticle style 100 yards is the best zero for just about any ammo choice. Of course this is just my experience with off the shelf ammo and readily available hunting scopes.

I guess I'll chime in. Was in the Marines and we did a 36 yard bzo and confirmed it to 300 and made adjustments at that point. It's technically a 300 meter zero but we did a bzo of 36 yards to get us on paper at 300 meters. This was the way no matter if it was a m16, m4, m27 (pretty sure back in the day m14s) and regardless if it was irons or rco. Edit: I want to clarify that with a rco the tip of the POST is 300 meters. Use the POST to aim at 36 then move back to 300 and use the POST to aim to confirm. With m16 A2 there is a zero setting using the same procedure. With m16 A1 use the long range aperture using the same procedure. Modern AR-15 irons aren't like A1 or A2 sights there is no zero setting and the aperture only vary in size (I am 98% even the ones that the aperture rocks like A1 sights) while maintaining the same point of aim point of impact but still the same procedure.

Thanks for your presentation. I've seen the title of the video you mention but have not watched it. You have mentioned sighting in at 100 or 200 yards, with a preference for 200 yards. That happens to be the NRA recommendation for typical hunting scenarios. Certainly zeroing for a particular range is dependent on primary target range of the shooter.

The lead instructor for ICE told me that for urban use the 50/200 is best especially when configured with the new eotech. With the reticles one can size up distance, targets and send fire incredibly quickly.

Not that I have one or anything, your on the right track. When all else fails your irons all you have. He who knows the basics lives longer.

Former US Army Drill Sergeant here. I do like the video. Couple of points. Acog and EOtech zero process is different. However, if you are talking about irons, all are zeroed to 300 meters. This applies to the M16A2, M16A4, M4, and M4A1. Carry on.

36/300 yard zero like the marines. Point of aim point of impact 25-300 yards

Thank you for this post, it is really informative, far the clearest explanation I've seen for what questions I had. The zero for the AR15 A2 was a little confusing, to me at least because, I was unsure with my Colt A2 with a 25/300m zero where the bullets would be headed, (not had it on a long range yet) in any of the intermediate ranges and your video explained that perfectly and made a lot more sense as to why that zero was chosen for a battle rifle. I adjusted the drum yesterday so I can go 3 clicks down from the 8/3 position and the front sight accordingly, this in theory gives me a 100m zero, 2 clicks down a 50m zero and the 25/300 zero back on the 8/3 setting. I will see how close those work out when the weather improves and I can get to an out door range. Having watched your video I have a much improved understanding, and will concentrate on getting a good 100 yd zero with the 8/3-3 setting. "Three Cheers" for whoever compiled the graphic a picture truly is worth a thousand words on that one.

In the Marine Corps, I used the M16A2 with 20 inch barrel. 36 yards/33 meters was the same at 300 meters. This was used to set up your elevation knob for longer distances 300 - 800 meters.

Great stuff, brings old memories back. Well I'm use to the 25-300 zero, I'm almost 70 and still get a good shot or two out there at around 300 yd, with pretty good placement and using iron sights, I don't think I can hit a squirrel at that distance though, maybe with the prism scope. But overall it does pretty good even at 25 yd, so is a compromise but since I'm used to it is what I have used for many decades and it works for me. I understand that now a days you have different scenarios that require a different approach, I do have a little precision 22LR (for small game) with a Vortex Prism scope cuz my eyes are older, but the rifle shoots pretty straight, if I see it I can hit it type thing. GOB BLESS! 2A for a better future!

I'm a new ar 15 owner, and I came across ur video. I like the sound of your advice, and gonna try to 0 my ar with flip up plastic sights(I have a Noveske N4, .556). I subscribe, hopefully I'll come across more helpful videos from u! Thank u! From Alabama

The fact that you don't even have 1,000 subs is dumbfounding. Your knowledgeable, you break it down great and you have a pointer. I understand that I am 5 years late, but brother keep doing what you're doing and you got a sub from me.

The 36 yard zero has been working for me from there out to 300 yards with a red dot.

Most COMBAT operators with M-4 style (14" barrel) using a RED Dot zero in at 50 yards!

The rifle range in my area is only 100 yards. That's good enough for me! I'm not a sniper either. Shooting a human at 300 yards is going to be hard to justify to a grand-jury on how it was an imminent threat to your life.

Thanks homez. That was incredibly informative. Took a bit to wrap my brain around but that chart helped a ton. U d man!

You could spoken just a little bit about the arc of travel that makes the ar hit in those groupings. But this is a very helpful video with the visual aid and your explanation! Thanks!

If you plan on running a red dot with a magnified optic, I'd recommend against a 45 degree mount specifically because of the concept explained in this video. My 16" general purpose rifle runs a Trijicon RMR mounted at 12 o clock above my LPVO with a 30mm tube mount. Running M193, and with the height over bore at roughly 4.5" on that red dot, a 66 yard zero gives you a very flat point of aim to point of impact from 25 yards to very, very near 300 yards. I liked the setup so much, I've gone to it on every AR I've built that runs a scope. Having the ability to keep my head more vertical for close quarters engagements has been one added benefit, as well as the ability to use the dot to line up my sight picture for longer shots very fast. I even run that system on my AR10 in 308 with a SeeAll Open Sight.

So funny of the million over complicated videos on zeroing, This is by far the best video at explaining the difference between the ranges and why you would zero at each one. I also agree with the hundred yard zero it makes more sense to me.

If the AR-15-A4 is fitted with as issued detachable carry handle BDC sight and shooter wants a BDC function from the sight: Properly adjusting the M4/M16-A4’s sights for a 300-meter Battle Sight Zero (BSZ) will sync the sights for a Bullet Drop Compensation function (BDC). The “Battle Sight Zero” supports engagement of unknown distance targets, allowing the shooter to aim center mass on an “E” type target and achieve a hit from muzzle to 300 meters with bullet impacting no more than 10 inches above point of aim, and hit to 350 meters with bullet impacting no more than 10 inches below point of aim. Utilizing the whole 20 inches of target below center of mass hold allows the shooter to hit a target out to 400 meters. Once zeroed for a 300-meter battle sight zero, the elevation wheel can now be hastily re-adjusted for engagement of known distance targets beyond 300 meters. This adjustment is known as Bullet Drop Compensation. The numbers on the wheel represent distances in meters. Bottoming out the wheel to 6/3 the BDC is set for 300 meters. Clicking up to 4, or 5 adjusts the trajectory of the round to engage targets at the corresponding distance (i.e. 4=400m, 5=500m). One full revolution up from 300 correlates to the number 6 on the left side of the 3. Thus set, elevation is now adjusted for 600 meters. Creds: CMP-USAMU certified MRI coaching SDM/SAFS, US Distinguished Rifleman, and NRA Long Range American High Power Rifleman.

Everyone should learn on Iron Sights, and practice them. 3 times in the last year I have seen people at the range takeout their AR15 only to find the red dot is dead, and they start packing up. "Why don't you use you backup (iron sights)?" All of them awnsered "I dont know how to use them". So I taught all of them proper sight alignment, how to adjust them, and get them sighted in (usually at 100y, unless they dont want a 100y zero). I shoot iron sights allot, not all of my AR's have iron sights, on my 1-6 ACSS it has an etched reticle so I dont see a need, all of my AR's with red dots have backup irons, but I perfer A1 or A2 style AR15's, carry handle uppers, I wish I had bought an A2 carbine back when they were redily availible, finding one now or sourcing parts is almost impossible, since all the A2 uppers dont have M4 cuts, but the barrel extensions do.

If you're in the comments and see this you need to use the 36-yard zero. It is without a doubt the best zero that gives you the best group from 1 yard to 300. You'll be within 8 inches at any range in between.

MPBR generally referred to as the 36yd zero is the best all around although it will vary depending on altitude and ammo selected. Where I'm at in Colorado it's a 41yd zero and I hold center mass out to 300 with a 6" spread

Kevin Sykes asked the question that all need to know as this chart can be thrown out the window as it only works for the specific barrel length, twist rate, grain, and overall muzzle velocity that the shooter who created that chart is using. You will not get the results on that chart. It is why when using an ACOG or bullet drop compensator the user must match the muzzle velocity that the optic is set for otherwise the numbers don't match up. Check the specs on any major brand used in service today - Eotech, ACOG etc. --- the company will state what the rifle setup was that got that specific bullet drop calculation. Go to a range that will carry the distance you will need and put a ton of rounds out to different distances using different zeros to know what YOUR rifle will do when using specific ammunition. At 'em boys Give 'er the gun!

Great video! Thank you! You listed the options nicely!

I stared out with the 50/200 and carried my patrol rifle with that zero, but then I decided to go with a 100 yard zero. Always easier to aim a little high. After watching a video on a subject shooting at officers, from a vehicle and the officers rounds falling short. And I know my hold over, at cqb. It works for me. Know your dope!!!!!!

36 yard ir 33 meters is the best zero for 25 to 300 yard engagements. 6” spread.

Its like I said, eveyone has their own preference! Ive never seem that trick before. I'll check it out. In the military we zeroed for 100 yards with a target placed at 25 yards ( making it easier). Thanks for the comment!

I personally did the 50 yard zero for my red dots and am able to ring a small steel plate dead center essentially at 200 yards on it.

In 1968 I don't recall firing at paper on the range at under 200 meters. Started with a week of dry fire. Put the firing pins in. In my case switched to a fiberglass stock for duration of qualifying for a longer length of pull. Fired from a bench at 120 inches (can't remember the number) in order to be on the paper at two hundred meters. Fired for a week at 200,300 and 500 meters. Full disclosure I qualified Marksman with the M-14 after blowing my kneeling sitting rapid fire and my last 500 shot prone...the wind stopped. Coach apologized for the wind and said it was his fault. I was not happy but a year later I qualified Expert in Okinawa with the M-16 I carried in Vietnam. I 'm still not happy about the blown string, it was a smallish group just high. All I can think of is I reverted to a POA POI hold in my hurry. We were sighted for 6-oclock sight picture. There were no do overs except for equipment failures in case you'all were wondering. At advanced infantry training we converted to Point of aim point of impact BTW. Not arguing, just an old war story.

Hi -I used a ballistics calculator assuming a Frontier 5.56 55 grain M193 FMJ with BC of 0.243 and 2.7 in sight height and it does show a slightly flatter trajectory with a 100 yard zero than a 50 yard zero in the 25-200 yard range. But then over the 25-300 yard range the trajectory with the 50 yard zero is flatter (at least for the Frontier bullet I analyzed). I would say play around with the calculator for your specific ammo to find the zero that fits your situation and then verify on the range. Thanks!

You should check-out the 36yd zero. Vigilance Elite covers it nicely*

This is the best video regarding sighting an AR. Been debating whether i wanna do 50 or 100 yards. 100 it is

I bought a DPMS 7.62/.308 Recon Gen2 a couple of years ago . Put a nice Vortex 4x16 scope on it ($500). I have given up on any thing beyond 100 yards. What an expensive tool to not be able to group beyond 100. I’ve removed the scope (put it on a bull barrel.223 in my collection) and put the Magpul pop up sights back on it. Lesson learned. Just because you have the caliber, if the platform ain’t right, she ain’t gonna perform as expected.

I’m zeroed at 50 because I’m in an urban setting. I will try my current zero at a 100 yards next time just for fun see how it does. I use a red dot that allows for using the back up iron sights.

Best video on explaining how to zero bro great job.

Thank you . You just supported why I zero at 200 yds .

My 300blk sbr i have zeroed to 50yds, short range, and the full length 5.56 at I zeroed at 100yds with a bushnell lpv, for medium to long distance. All seems to work well for me

Quick Question: How high is your scope centerline from bore centerline? Mine is 3". I'm having trouble with too much height variation between 0-100 yds. (I'm setting this up for a hunting rifle for my son and need as little variation within 100 yds as possible). Edited to say, I understand that optimally, I need to be 1.5" above bore centerline, but with the AR, my handguard is already about 1.25 inches above bore center, so my scope center is already going to have to be another 3/4" above that, meaning at best, I can maybe get my scope centerline to be about 2 or 2.25" above bore centerline. I believe this is causing the unwanted variation in height within my range. Any thoughts?

I can't find these for 7.62x51/308...its always a specific hunting ammo and most don't even go through the drop...I know I can use a calc but just wondering why I can find 1k of these on 556 but none on 308

Where did you get those pics? I had a video saved and he used those exact images. I'd like to try to find that vid again.

Good video and explanat ion. It depends on the rifle, the precision of the rifle and your needs as to what you are going to shoot, the bullet, the site, scope or iron, center bore to center of sight, and what range you are shooting. I have been shooting this cartridge nearly since it was created and competitively in the Army. I zero my AR's using point blank range. Meaning what ever the precision is needed such as I use a 3 inch circle for ground hogs and is a different zero for 40 gr bullets vs a 65 gr bullet. Usually 175 to 225 yards. Check a Ballistic chart and then shoot to verify it. Example, 40gr bullet. 3600 fps, g1 bc .2, 1.8 in bore to sight, 200 yrd zero. Dead on at 50 yards, 1 inch high at 100 and 150. Zero at 200. 2.3 inches low at 250 and at 300 about 6 inches low and about 12 low at 350 and a little more than 18 at 400. Easy to calc hold over. So for that bullet I could 50 yard zero but the same as 200 yard zero. If you are a rch off at 50 it is amplified at at further ranges. A 1/4 of an inch at 50 is an inch at 400. Factor in group size and I might have missed my groundhog. Run your calc through a Ballistic calculator and determine what is best for you. I am not in the habit of cranking my scopes either. That is what the dots and grids are for on my scope. Learn them. It remind me of a receiver I had that the selector had an option for " I don't give a shit". So it all "depends". Best zero is one achieved by pratice, practice and more practice.

Respect for only using iron sights 👍 I just got a new pair of sights coming cant wait to use them then rezero the scope its a win win

I see your point about different zero distance. I was taught 25m/300m and just recently learn about 50m/200m. But won't zero in at 100yd or 200yd limiting you from shooting 300yd. It is alright if it were use for hunting game. It is easier to understand your weapon if the spread is vertical from the neck to the belt of a human silhouette.

I use mine too shoot deer and groundhogs on the farm and I keep mine at a 200 yrd 0 IDK why my dad had every one of his at 100 and I thought about it but when I pull up my rifle now at 25 I know where to put it to shave his chin hair and blow out the back of a standing groundhogs neck so I just left it been shooting that 0 for 8 years now why change something that works for me... Deer though I fold up deer like no tomorrow they fall in place in all that time I've had 1 make it 3 yards I aim for high on the neck but I don't shoot over 400 with that small rifle I don't feel it would have enough energy any further than that. If you're hungry in the woods like you said in your scenario aim from the the upper half of the neck about 3-10 inches from the shoulder that whole big area you won't have to look hard it'll be laying right there!

the best method is first identify the size of the kill zone, then the max distance you want to hit the kill zone, then pick the flattest trajectory that hits the most kill zone targets out to your chosen distance, i myself perfer a no hold over trajectory for the simple reason that front sight can block view of where you need to hold, especially at long ranges but what really matters is what ever zero you choose its if you hit your kill zone wether you hold under or over knowing where to hold to hit your kill zone, shooting air rifles also for most of my life having a dozen different velocities, over 100 different pellets with different ogives and profiles and over 25 different grain weights, we air gunners know trajectory well because we have to, we have much more drop, lots of wind drift, we make more ballistic calculations for targets of many sizes, and other variables to deal with far more then center fire rifles wich gives us vast experience because we shoot alot being the cost is cheaper to do more tests, at the end of the day its all about hitting your kill zone out to your prefered distance despite your zero, if kill zone target gets hit every time with using more then one sight in then it doesnt matter, its all about making hits on kill zone never missing any out to your disired distance you choose, combat, plinking, competition and even extreme long range are all different from each other. in a imperfect world you can have flat shooting with out hold over nor long range shooting with out hold under, some where in a trajectory path you will have hold under and hold over depending on distance

About 3 to 3.5 high at 100. Dual in on 10" plate at 300. Depends on ammo. Never found target I couldn't hit in a match situation.

Set mine to 100 as well. I had the same epiphany as you back when I got my rifle.

most of your targets will be in the 50-100 yard (meter) range. i know i am going to zero at 100 yd , but thanks for the video very informative

Thank you for your video. Its is very informative. I came back from range today. I was there with my Mossberg MMR zeroed at 25 meters. I was practicing 100 meters shots and I found it hard to place my shots at the bulls eye. Now you cleared this form me. It seems I need another trip to zero my rifle again at 100 meters. Well - thank you again for making it simple and clear!

As long as you know where the bullet is at a given yardage and are comfortable with the rifle and target.....it doesn't matter. I I shoot bolts and ML sabots w/.45 pill,really have to judge the yardage closely on these . I zero differently for each class and use of the weapons and the target(s).

What software did you use to prepare those charts? I'd love to run some figures of my own.

Well this said a lot but didn't really give me anything to work with. I hunt in open country where the wind blows. So I'm gonna zero at 250 yards and call it good. The 5.56 is pretty much useless past 300 yards. That's when it's time to bring out the AR-10. Thanks for the vid.

You've got to have extremely good marksmanship and tons of extra ammunition to zero it at 100 yards.. that's why the military zero is done at 25 yards

Yeah depends on which optic your using too. Like eotech reticle is made for a 50 yard zero.

Im no sniper,and shoot whatever grain pill i can find at a good price, that being said the 25yd zero works good for me.

In Ranger school we zeroed our rifles at 100 m… This was also true for combat…The reason for this is multi fold… But this ensures you will never shoot over your target and you also are not Covering your target with your site compensation… If you’re going to miss ..miss low..In high stress situations at close range most people shoot over the target without training you do not want to compound this by zeroing out 300 and already being high

This is entirely dependent on velocities.

what was the barrel length and bullet grain for this scenario ?

I zero 25 yards that’s what we used in the army so that what I go with if I were to go with any other of these zeros it would probably be the 200 yard

Hey brother. That was a great video. Very insightful. Would you consider doing a video like this for 308 caliber? Or maybe direct me to a pic or image of 308 zero?

Super informative!

Zero at 200 is a little better than the 100. Due to that all your impacts will be slightly above the sight post rather than slightly below the sight post. If you look at the 100 yard zero the 100 is center and all the other yards are below the center. Where the 200 yard zero all the yard impacts are above the center and just the 25 yard is the only yard below your sight post. God Bless.

Good video. I too am a believer of 100yrd

Good stuff. It’s a superior round because of accuracy

I use a Vortex strike fire 2 and a 25 yard zero is basically a 300 yard combat zero. I also use Strelok pro to confirm all shots.

While the old adage applies, "AR Zeroing opinions are like rectums......everybody has one!" I must say I really like the logic and facts behind this presentation. Laws of ballistics and trajectories are such that certain things are gonna happen, regardless. So, just know the options and pick what is best for your style and type of shooting. Thanks.

Screen shot the image also. I did. Thank you dude!

Another reason some use a 50yrd zero is because your trajectory of the round will be about 2.5 inches above your line of sight out to 200yrds, as for a 25yrd zero your trajectory of the bullet will be at around 8 inches higher closer to 200yrds before dropping to POA at 300yrds.

16 in barrel, 1-8 twist. Shooting 69gr hpbt with 23 grains of tac. 100 yrd zero gives me 4.4in low at 200 and 18.5in low at 300. Bdc reticle is almost perfect but I wish had moa hash's instead

You make fair points, but something that always need to be answered when discussing the “best” zero is: which type of sight you are using? Some types of sights are limited to actually confirming shot groups at different distances. I zero my scopes at 100 yards and my 2 MOA red dot at 50 yards. I tried zeroing a red dot with a 3x magnifier and it was frustrating to say the least. The good news is if you zero at 50yards you will end up with a maximum point blank range of around 50-200 yards.

Hard to argue what you're commenting on, since you don't provide a link. Savannah arsenal provides a comprehensive tutorial for achieving mechanical zero using methods taught by the Army, Marine Corps and the current EBFZ / IBFZ zeroing.

very late to the game, but i don't understand the extreme spread with the 50y zero. i have mine set at 175y, which is about 45y close, and has a 1" pbr of 200y and a 3" pbr of 240y. haven't shot past 225y so i don't know about further drop. might matter if i didn't have something bigger for longer distances

I use my ar15 for fun or coyote hunting if I'm at the barn coyote hunting its235yrds to the woods I deer hunt but sometimes I hunt in the woods for coyote in the summer I would be lucky to 50 to 70 yrds my woods is small but thick what's your opinion on my zero set

I Zero on the head on the top red dot on my XPS 2-2 Eotech and with my (3X) Magnifier I can hit a squirrel every time at 100 yards.

What military uses 100 yd? Never zeroed my weapon to 100 yd in the military. There might be deferences in those charts if you use a 20in barrel vs an 11in barrel or if you use 55 grain bullets or 75 grain bullets. Even though .223 and 5.56 are pretty much interchangeable they have different chamber pressures that can change your ballistics. With NATO spec ammo from a 20in barrel isn't 25m zero the same as 300m? Is that chart for a 14.5 in barrel or 16 in barrel?

Should I keep my scope zeroed a few inches above impact due to the scope over barrel distance?

100 yards is a zero for me. Anyway from 0 yards to 200 yards the greatest drop or rise is 2 and 1/2 in.

You should mention which round you are using. There are several variables. Even if you are assuming they are shooting .223 or 55.6, there are still different bullet weights and barrel lengths. All those come into factor for the trajectory.

Depends on the ammo, veloscity, barrel length, etc. I use m183 and a LPVO with BDC and anside mounted red dot. I zero in what matches my BDC and follow suit with the red dot.

I'm no expert. Nor am I naive to believe that just because I served in the Marine Corps that I'm some kind of marksmanship "know it all". With that being said, during my time as an active duty Marine, my service rifle was zeroed at 300 yards. The term we used was BZO for "battle sight zero".

Had to like just because of the outro

With 300 BLK ammo, the 25 yard zero returns to zero at 150 yards, and is still usable to 200 yards; SuperSonics, subs are in the ground at 200 yards

What if I put that army zero paper target 25/300 at 100 yards then what will my zero be?

Different charts have different impacts. I have a chart that shows the 50 yard zero hitting equivalent to your charts 100. So ultimately don’t use someone else’s charts and find out what your personal rifle will do.

Awesome dude thanks for the info