Zeroing Service Pistols

[JohnO]

Regarding the installation and initial regulation of pistol sights. I have found that if the sights are installed as precisely centered as possible very little adjustment is subsequently required.

On a pistol like a Glock I use a machinist's ruler to verify there is no skew in the sight blade relative to the long axis of the slide. (9 times out of 10 when I see someone's Glock where the rear sight is not centered for proper zero the front sight is skewed.) I lay the straight edge against the side of the front sight and I look for the other edge of the ruler to be parallel with the slide. If the front sight is centered, parallel to the slide and the rear sight is centered rarely if ever have I found a pistol that needed windage adjustments.

[Doc_Glock]

Personally when I'm changing sights and then zeroing, I'll use a laser boresighter first. I'll laser boresight to 25yds and adjust sights until they're as precise as I can eyeball it. I then run a Press Six drill at 15-21ft. Once that looks good, I'll confirm at 25yds. I find that if I monkey with precisely boresighting the sights initially, I have to make far fewer adjustments, if any, later for fine tuning.

Regarding the installation and initial regulation of pistol sights. I have found that if the sights are installed as precisely centered as possible very little adjustment is subsequently required.

On a pistol like a Glock I use a machinist's ruler to verify there is no skew in the sight blade relative to the long axis of the slide. (9 times out of 10 when I see someone's Glock where the rear sight is not centered for proper zero the front sight is skewed.) I lay the straight edge against the side of the front sight and I look for the other edge of the ruler to be parallel with the slide. If the front sight is centered, parallel to the slide and the rear sight is centered rarely if ever have I found a pistol that needed windage adjustments.

Great tips.

[Nephrology]

A quick mnemonic is "FORS". Front Opposite, Rear the Same. If your shots are grouping left, move the rear sight left. Impact's high, lower the front sight.

Don't you mean if shots are left, move the rear to the right?

Regarding the installation and initial regulation of pistol sights. I have found that if the sights are installed as precisely centered as possible very little adjustment is subsequently required.

On a pistol like a Glock I use a machinist's ruler to verify there is no skew in the sight blade relative to the long axis of the slide. (9 times out of 10 when I see someone's Glock where the rear sight is not centered for proper zero the front sight is skewed.) I lay the straight edge against the side of the front sight and I look for the other edge of the ruler to be parallel with the slide. If the front sight is centered, parallel to the slide and the rear sight is centered rarely if ever have I found a pistol that needed windage adjustments.

What do you use to mark the lateral edges of the slide on Glocks? I usually use where the 'rounds' begin but it's sort of hard for me to eyeball, especially in a room with uneven lighting.

[JohnO]

What do you use to mark the lateral edges of the slide on Glocks? I usually use where the 'rounds' begin but it's sort of hard for me to eyeball, especially in a room with uneven lighting.

No witness marks required with a caliper. I use the depth gauge to measure in from each side of the slide to the sight. Keep tweaking until the measurements are equal.

I have seen Kyle Defoor use a sharpie, a hammer and punch doing meatball surgery on the tailgate of his truck. He will tweak students guns in his class if required. He marks the slide in the sight dovetail and moves the sight away from the mark. Kyle just eyeballs the amount of movement he feels is required for the correction.

[JCS]

Speaking of Kyle Defoor.... this is hard for me to understand how far off from center it can be and be zeroed.

[spinmove_]

Speaking of Kyle Defoor.... this is hard for me to understand how far off from center it can be and be zeroed.

That basically comes down to barrel-to-slide fit. Not all of them are perfectly straight 100% of the time. This is part of why you should zero the sights to the pistol and part of the reason why I start with a laser boresighter.

[Jason Burton]

I zero all my pistols (both personal and customer's guns) at 25 yards. I have zeroed guns in the past at 20 yards due to range/lighting limitations of some indoor ranges and note no real POI difference.

When I zero a pistol I ignore any inserts in the sights and shoot the sight picture. I typically shoot 5 rounds groups and want the rounds fired to impact directly on top of the front sight.

I've zeroed allot of guns over the years and I have never noticed any difference in POA/POI from one position to the next. For me the gun shoots the same whether I'm shooting off-hand or from a rest.

[Gio]

Regarding the installation and initial regulation of pistol sights. I have found that if the sights are installed as precisely centered as possible very little adjustment is subsequently required.

On a pistol like a Glock I use a machinist's ruler to verify there is no skew in the sight blade relative to the long axis of the slide. (9 times out of 10 when I see someone's Glock where the rear sight is not centered for proper zero the front sight is skewed.) I lay the straight edge against the side of the front sight and I look for the other edge of the ruler to be parallel with the slide. If the front sight is centered, parallel to the slide and the rear sight is centered rarely if ever have I found a pistol that needed windage adjustments.

This.

The direction you need to torque the hex screw on Glock front sights to tighten it is the same direction that will make the sight blade "twist" and require a slight off center (to the right) rear sight. I find that this is the case the majority of the time when people need to drift the rear sight off center on a Glock to zero it.

[jetfire]

I'all zero game guns at 50 is available and defensive guns at 25 yards. If I have no other choice I can do a decent zero at 50 feet, but I prefer 25 or 50. If I'm zeroing at 50 I'll use a sandbag or go prone, 25 is freestyle.

[GRV]

This.

The direction you need to torque the hex screw on Glock front sights to tighten it is the same direction that will make the sight blade "twist" and require a slight off center (to the right) rear sight. I find that this is the case the majority of the time when people need to drift the rear sight off center on a Glock to zero it.

This is so annoying.





An easy 3D print job or a couple minutes on a mill for way less frustration and a ton of peace of mind. Great way to verify things are alright after a bad bump too.