Guidance for zeroing - convergence?

[GyroF-16]

Going to take the new braced AR pistol to the range tomorrow for function check and zeroing. It’s an 11.5” barrel and I’ve got BUIS and an MRO on it.
I got it primarily for home defense and as a car gun for longer trips / dealing with unexpected threats.

My question- what distance does it make sense to zero it at? I have a hard time imagining a “threat” beyond 25, maybe 50 yds, so a 100 yd zero doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense - unless some close range (10 yds?) happens to converge with another, longer range, like 100 yds or 150 yds.

I realize that some of this will be bullet weight and barrel length dependent. I plan to zero for 62 gr, and see what 77 gr does as well.

But can anyone recommend somewhere to start? Any good “rules of thumb”?

Thanks!

[johnson]

I like the 100 yard zero as it has a fairly flat trajectory and is easy to remember. At 25 yards you'll be about 1.5" low, dead on at 100, and 1.5" low at around 225. But you should always verify with your gun/ammo.

[blues]

I like the 100 yard zero as it has a fairly flat trajectory and is easy to remember. At 25 yards you'll be about 1.5" low, dead on at 100, and 1.5" low at around 225. But you should always verify with your gun/ammo.

FWIW, I sent a PM to @GyroF-16 earlier with a link to an article from Shooting Illustrated, and a video from Aimpoint which I used a few years back to set up my AR.

I also opted for the 100 yard zero. As you said, it's fairly flat...only requiring a hold over of 0" to 2.5" anywhere out to 200 yards. No hold under required.

[Nephrology]

Samesies

Actually, I think technically my zero is 100 meters...

[GyroF-16]

Thanks, @johnson and @blues.

That’s exactly the stuff I was looking for.

Looking forward to some range time with my youngest son tomorrow for AR FAM and zeroing.

[GJM]

50/220, which will probably be 50/200 with the shorter barrel.

[shane45]

50/220 is what I use as well. I believe it allows me to just aim for poa / poi for com hits within that range.

[rob_s]

100 here as well. I don't want to think about whether I should be holding over or under, and for any distance I'd be shooting an AR (and well over any distance I can conceive of a justifiable defensive shot) I'm within ~2.5" of total potential deviation. 50/220 gets you a potential total deviation of 5" (2.5" low, 2.5" high) which is more than I want. with a 100 yard zero I put the dot on the target and press the trigger and know that I'll be within 2" (assuming I can actually shoot) out to any distance I consider reasonable/realistic, and for anything at indoors range I know some basic holdovers but even then putting 28 rounds into a spot 2.5" low is probably going to achieve my desired result.

Incidentally, if you decide to go 50/200 or 50/220 or whatever, if all you do is confirm POA=POI at 50, then all you really have is an initial zero confirmation at 50. IMO 90% of the reason that "zero" gained popularity is that people that can't shoot are looking for the shortest distance they can get POA=POI and feel like they can claim some sort of tactical righteousness. If you ever actually go shoot at 200 you may get yourself a surprise. But if that's the way you decide to go, you should get an initial intersection at 50, then a true zero at 200, and then test your holds at 7, 25, 50 & 100 (at a minimum).

I kinda think of the "get a 50 yard initial intersection and quit" as the "barfcom zero".

[shane45]

Thats the point of 50/220. You dont really need to think about over/under. Your basically splitting the difference of the arc. Additionally, As you point out, what is the likely distance I may need to deploy an ar as a civilian? Probably closer to 50 I think. Now think about how much target your 2 or 4 moa dot is covering. Does it make sense to try and live within that space? Does to me. Which brings me to a point that this zero method is specifically for dots for me.

[rob_s]

Thats the point of 50/220. You dont really need to think about over/under. Your basically splitting the difference of the arc. Additionally, As you point out, what is the likely distance I may need to deploy an ar as a civilian? Probably closer to 50 I think. Now think about how much target your 2 or 4 moa dot is covering. Does it make sense to try and live within that space? Does to me. Which brings me to a point that this zero method is specifically for dots for me.

if you're fine with your "no thought" hits being within a 5" theoretical circle (not accounting for shooter skill or lack thereof, or for mechanical limitations of barrel or ammo) then that thinking is correct.

I prefer the 2.5" theoretical circle, given the distance limitation.

But I don't care enough about these things anymore to try and convince anyone one way or the other.