Okay, most American ranges still use yards, but most military zeroing targets are designed for use at 25 meters.

25 meters is roughly 27.5 yards, so would one just adjust the sights to hit slightly below the horizontal centerline, or just say screw it and just keep things zeroed at 25 yards?

No clue on the zeroing yet my local indoor range that I can shoot an AR is 25 yards yet good enough to get a close zero in. Outdoor range for rifle starts at 100 yards then goes to 200 and 600 yards if want to shoot the 1k yards or more then you have to qualify on the 200 and 600 yard ranges. When I lived in Austin the two ranges I went to had 100 yard indoor ranges. Was fun to shoot those till some ass came out with a .300 Win Mag. That no fun in an in closed range.

Nice informative video Mike. I'm still a jarhead from the 70's qualifying @ the 200, 300 and 500 yard line. Now most of my shooting is 100yds IPSC targets. Never to old to learn something new.

The reason, the only reason, to zero at 25 meters/yards is to insure you're on paper at the longer ranges. That's it and that's all.

It works great for that. You can easily be 4" or more off in any direction at 200 yards after establishing a 25 meter zero. That's why you need to confirm at full distance.

I will zero a new rifle at 25 then move directly to the 200 yard line to finalize my zero. I know from past experience that I'll be approximately 1.5" to 1.75" high at 100 yards depending on ammo and barrel length.

I will also know that inside of 50 yards I'll be dead on the money simply because I have a good zero.

Having a great zero at 200 yards allows me to hold over or dial in longer ranges. It's guarantees that I will have confidence in my rifle and where it shoots.

bp,

So what would you consider as the "sweet spot" to zero at, given retro and more modern rifles using standard ball ammo?

I prefer a 50/200 as well.

I use a 6 o'clock hold on the NRA 200 yard target @ 200 yards. This is my personal preference. That's a 12" circle, so I'm actually 6" higher than the front post at that distance.

This allows me to see what I'm shooting at in the field. I place the post below the intended target.

Depending on your goals you need to zero it for your needs. Some people use a center mass hold with their front sight post. I need to place the bullseye on top of the front post in order to see it better.

Scopes and RDS don't need any explaining, simply zero and you're done. I use 200 for everything.