I have  a dedicated 9mm AR, RRA upper with 16" barrel and detachable carry handle.

Any tips on sight in distance?  Didn't find much with searching.  Saw most recommended sighting at 25 yds, I was hoping to sight at 50, but tried and got horribly wide groups (was using cheap ammo, plan to try again with better ammo).

What accuracy can I expect?
Any data on sight in distances (like the charts easily found for 5.56 about drop/rise at various distances based on your sight in distance).
Should I sight at 50 or 25? If I sight at 25, I assume the bullet will still be going up, and be high at 50 (?)  I'd be willing to do something the Revised Improved Battle sight Zero and raise the drum up above the 6/3 if I new where to set it (ie: zerod at 50 yds on the 6/3, then lower drum X clicks for 25, raise drum x clicks for 100 etc)  ETA, I guess it would be 6/3 for 25 yds, then lower the drum for 50 yds, and raise it again past 6/3 for 100yds????

I'd really like to "dial in" the carry handle elevation so I could set it for 25/50/100 yds (unlikely to ever shoot it past 100) but can't find any data.  Example: I sighted my .22 AR dead on at 25 yds on the 6/3, at 50 yds I am one click shy of the next number (thought is was a 2, but I suppose it is the 4....) and I just have to figure out where it would be for 100 yds.  I want to do the same for the 9mm.

My 16 inch 9mm ar is sighted in at 25 yards. I am good out to about 150 before it starts falling off drastically. I have a 10x10 plate at 100 yards and another at 150. I have no problems ringing them. Not sure how far you plan on shooting. John

Unlikely more than 100 yds.

By "good to go" you mean a flat trajectory from 25 to 150??? Like a 5.56 50/200 where you are within a few inches of point of aim??

Use 5.56 table with different ranges plugged in to establish trajectories.
Do the same for 9mm
Compare the MOA changes the drum makes to the tables to get your 9mm ranges for the drum markings.

Don't forget to account for if your table is yards and not meters which is what the drum is marked for.

to establish how many MOA the drum is moving it at different markings then transfer that knowledge into a table with 9mm markings.


Point Blank RCBS had the free download when I got it from them.
I plugged in some estimated numbers for you and got:
Name: Def9mm 124
Ballistic Coeff: 0.136
Bullet Weight: 124
Velocity: 1200
Target Distance: 80
Scope Height: 2.650
Temperature: 70
Altitude: 500

Ballistic Data
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 Range  Elevation  Velocity   Energy     ETA         Drop      Max Y  10mph Wind Deflect
 0 yds   -2.65 in  1200 fps   396 fpe  0.000 sec    0.00 in  -2.65 in    0.00 in
25 yds    0.12 in  1133 fps   353 fpe  0.064 sec    0.79 in  -0.86 in    0.33 in
50 yds    1.19 in  1077 fps   319 fpe  0.132 sec    3.26 in  -0.21 in    1.29 in
75 yds    0.40 in  1032 fps   293 fpe  0.203 sec    7.60 in   0.95 in    2.81 in
100 yds   -2.42 in   994 fps   272 fpe  0.278 sec   13.98 in   2.68 in    4.85 in
125 yds   -7.42 in   961 fps   254 fpe  0.354 sec   22.52 in   5.04 in    7.34 in
150 yds  -14.78 in   932 fps   239 fpe  0.434 sec   33.43 in   8.08 in   10.33 in
175 yds  -24.55 in   905 fps   225 fpe  0.515 sec   46.75 in  11.84 in   13.69 in
200 yds  -36.91 in   880 fps   213 fpe  0.599 sec   62.66 in  16.39 in   17.45 in
225 yds  -52.05 in   858 fps   202 fpe  0.686 sec   81.35 in  21.78 in   21.66 in
250 yds  -70.12 in   836 fps   192 fpe  0.774 sec  102.97 in  28.08 in   26.28 in
275 yds  -91.15 in   816 fps   183 fpe  0.865 sec  127.56 in  35.32 in   31.27 in
300 yds -115.28 in   796 fps   175 fpe  0.958 sec  155.23 in  43.54 in   36.60 in
325 yds -142.70 in   778 fps   167 fpe  1.053 sec  186.20 in  52.83 in   42.32 in
350 yds -173.76 in   760 fps   159 fpe  1.151 sec  220.82 in  63.30 in   48.53 in
375 yds -208.54 in   743 fps   152 fpe  1.251 sec  259.14 in  74.99 in   55.16 in
400 yds -247.09 in   726 fps   145 fpe  1.353 sec  301.25 in  87.95 in   62.18 in
425 yds -289.47 in   710 fps   139 fpe  1.458 sec  347.18 in 102.21 in   69.56 in

I would zero at 50 yards.    Then check where you hit at other distances.  

I dont think there is a dedicated 9mm rear sight wheel for A2 sights.   You will have to check for your POI.

Unless you are shooting at the same distance every time, 25 yards is the correct range to zero in 9mm.  Look at the ballistic table above.  

Accuracy wise, I have no problem hitting a 12" plate at 100 yards with either of my 9mms.  At 15 yards, an eyeglass size hole is what I get with a 20 round magazine.

I could regularly get one shot knock downs on silhouettes at 200 yards with my Swedish K, using the 200m sight leaf.  9mm will get there...eventually.

Your zero will be good only for a single load.  Change of manufacturer, bullet type, weight, etc, will cause your zero to shift.

Thanks everyone.

Based n Casper's data, looks like a 25yd zero would be pretty much on at 25 and 75 yds, slightly high at 50 and slightly low at 100 so that would be a good all around zero.

I may set my drum a touch high so I could go down 1 click for 50 yds, and then 100 wound be about 1-2 clicks up from zero.  I think that unless better ammo improves accuracy a LOT, just the 25 yd zero should be pretty functional as an inch or 2 at 100 yds probably won't be very noticeable with a larger group.

ETA: Casper, where it says "target distance 80" that means your data is for an 80 yd "zero"?  If so, still looks like zero'ing at 25 yds will get me a good battlesight type of zero out to 100 yds.

My 9mm is sighted at 25 yards. She hits juuust a bit low at 15, but I can smack bowling pins at 100 just fine.

for Casper507

Do you know how is the ETA data calculated ?

That depends on the quality of your barrel and ammunition.  The 10-shot group pictured below was fired from my Colt 6450 with a Novekse barrel at a distnace of 25 yards using Hornady 125 HAP hand-loads.














....

A good, free online ballistics calculator is at the Federal website: http://www.federalpremium.com/ballistics_calculator/

For 115 grain, 9mm FMJ ammo, 2.68" sight height, 1200 fps, if you zero at 25 yds, you'll be -3.1" at 100 yards.
If you sight in so you're 0.8 inches high (might as well make that 1" high) at 25 yards, then you'll be right on at 100 yards

Thanks for all the replies.

Next time I get to the range I will zero at 25 yds, figuring that would be a good "Battlesight zero" and be close from 0-100 yds, then I will figure out how many clicks I need at 100 in case I want to do anything more precise at that distance..

I get great groups at 50y with 123g NATO and 135g Hornady Critical duty. In my 10.5 RRA Barrel and My Colt 16.          115g SUCKs out of a 1/10 twist AR Barrel and looks like buck shot.   147g Hornady Custom groups good but for me 123-135 is the sweet spot.     I guest my point is for me the 50y zero workers best for me with a A1 and A2 upper and no optics.

This topic has been covered in great detail several times over the past few years. There is actually a lot of info on this, including some nice tables and graphs in this thread.
After shooting 9mm carbines for the past 20 years I have learned from the advice of experts who state that the 25 yard zero gives the best overall sighting results rom zero to 100 yards. The 50 yard zero works for 50 yards but if you look at what happens at closer and further distances you are further off due to the trajectory.

The numbers don't lie.

I agree, when it comes to sighting in a 9mm, there is a right answer.  

Do this. I did not know the calculations behind it, but in practice found it to be right on. My budget targets consist of squares of 1 1/2" blue masking tape on paper. I normally rest the crosshairs or sight post at the base of the square (target shooters will call this a 6 o'clock hold). At 25 yards I was right in the center of the blue (ie: .75 inches above point of aim). At 100 yards I was also right on.

With my JSE 16" barrel, Aguila FMJ and a 4x scope, I normally got a 4" group with 5 shots at 100 yards. I considered it to be doing well for me and the rifle.