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Thread: is there a "proper" distance for zeroing a red dot.

  1. #1
    Wood burnin' Curmudgeon CSW's Avatar
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    is there a "proper" distance for zeroing a red dot.

    I'm slowly being sucked into the dot life due to my aging eyes. My first entry with a dot is a Burris FF3 mounted atop a Beretta 92x RDO.

    The dot mount/setup is absolutely too high, does not allow for co-witness of sights, and is so tall that it will not allow for suppressor height sight.
    This setup worked at the range, but I would not consider it for any other use, and therefor removed it, and went back to the Wilson sights on the pistol.

    I had zero'd the dot at 20 yards, and it produced good groups from a rest to almost 50, while messing with it at the range. The the far distance, it would do about 2-3" from a rest.
    Closer than 20 yards, it'll produce extremely tight groups, in to 5 yards.

    I'm intrigued by the idea of a dot on a pistol, and particularly the Trijicon RMR, the RM04, dual illumination. The reason being no batteries.

    So my long winded question to all of you users of the dots:

    What is the best/practical/general distance for dot zero?
    Is far better than near?
    Does dot size dictate distance?

    Thanks in advance for your experiences.

    Chris~
    "... And miles to go before I sleep".

  2. #2
    I zero my red dot pistols at 25 yards. That requires a slight offset shooting targets like a one inch square at 7 yards and in. I hold on the top of the one inch square and do that subconsciously because of my reps with a dot.

    If 25 yards isn't available or feasible for you, a friend zeroes at 13 yards and says that is very close to a 25 yard zero. At 25, I see fine windage errors that might not be obvious closer.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  3. #3
    Scott Jedlinski advocates a tight 1 inch square zero at 10 yards with a confirmation at 25. It’s got to be offhand to line up your vision through the lens and the target. He says bench resting can skew the results since you can’t perfectly line it all up on the same plane.

    He’s the top RDO instructor in the US. I’ve deferred to his instruction on this and I’ve had great results. He also talks about it on my podcast episode 47.

    Welcome to the red dot game. It changed my life (vision issues).
    Aaron D.
    EvoSec
    Evolution Security Podcast

  4. #4
    Wood burnin' Curmudgeon CSW's Avatar
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    Thanks for replies so far.

    Does bullet weight and speed effect zero?
    For instance, 115 9mm VS 124 vs 147?

    The reason for all of this is that I'm planning on sending a 1911 9mm off for milling in the future.
    It shoots very well and consistently with my carry 147 Gold dot G2.
    Obviously, I would zero it with that ammo.
    "... And miles to go before I sleep".

  5. #5
    My experience has been to use a B8 bull with a circular white paster starting @5yds just to see if there’s any wide deviation (3 rounds). I’ll hold at the top of the paster and accept rounds an inch or two low(offset). If there’s adjustment, move to 10 and check. Move to 15, check(3 rounds calling each)-dimming the dot can help here.
    Confirm at 25 on a 5 inch bull(acceptable for me). I also confirm on a “C zone” IPSC steel silhouette at 50 yards, standing for all. I just want the hits at 50.
    I’ve pinged the steel at 50 with a Holosun 6 moa dot, a Holosun circle and the 3.5 moa dot on an ACRO. For me, the dot size is not a big deal.
    Bullet weight does make a difference in impact, but in a “practical” defensive context, not sure.
    The above zeros with 147 and 135+P jhp.
    Last edited by 1Rangemaster; 04-19-2022 at 10:33 AM.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by rawkguitarist View Post
    Scott Jedlinski advocates a tight 1 inch square zero at 10 yards with a confirmation at 25. It’s got to be offhand to line up your vision through the lens and the target. He says bench resting can skew the results since you can’t perfectly line it all up on the same plane.

    He’s the top RDO instructor in the US. I’ve deferred to his instruction on this and I’ve had great results. He also talks about it on my podcast episode 47.

    Welcome to the red dot game. It changed my life (vision issues).
    Are you familiar with Max Michel, JJ Racaza, and Ben Stoeger?
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    Are you familiar with Max Michel, JJ Racaza, and Ben Stoeger?
    Of course I am. I swear by Ben Stoeger’s dry fire book. I am simply conveying what has worked for me and where I learned it. Let’s have a conversation about it without condescension.
    Aaron D.
    EvoSec
    Evolution Security Podcast

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by rawkguitarist View Post
    Of course I am. I swear by Ben Stoeger’s dry fire book. I am simply conveying what has worked for me and where I learned it. Let’s have a conversation about it without condescension.
    Red dot shooting is no longer a specific niche -- it has become mainstream. With all the red dot activity, I would be hard pressed to call anyone "the top red dot instructor in the US," but with that said, you have people like Max Michel, Hwansik Kim, Steoger and JJ putting out red dot content weekly or even daily.
    Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    Red dot shooting is no longer a specific niche -- it has become mainstream. With all the red dot activity, I would be hard pressed to call anyone "the top red dot instructor in the US," but with that said, you have people like Max Michel, Hwansik Kim, Steoger and JJ putting out red dot content weekly or even daily.
    Buddy, excellent point. That’s some hyperbole and absolute on my part. I try to avoid making statements like that. Really I should have stated he’s one of the most sought instructors these days.
    Aaron D.
    EvoSec
    Evolution Security Podcast

  10. #10
    Member Gadfly's Avatar
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    The Trijicon RMR sight in targets I found on line show 10 yards... I don't know if that is a standard. Target stating the clicks are1 MOA adjustment.

    This is how we are sighting in agents on the new issued RMR. We start at 10y, then confirm farther back doing a "walk back drill" (25, 50,75,100) on steel out to 100y and scoring hits.
    “A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” - Shane

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