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Posted: 4/26/2016 12:43:31 AM EDT
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Does anyone know typical trajectories for a 16" 9mm AR with various zeros? Say where POI will be at 7, 15, 25, 50, and 100 yards with a 25 yard zero vs. 50 yard zero.
I shot a pistol caliber carbine match this past weekend. My 9mm AR isn't ready yet so used a friend's which he zeroed at 25 yards. One stage had 8" plates at around 50-60 yards. Had to figure out POI on the clock and wound up having to aim about 3 inches under the plates in order to hit them. I'm wondering if a 50 yard zero might be flatter shooting? I'll be using my 9mm AR for USPSA PCC once they start offering it which is almost all shots under 20 yards, but I'll also use it for carbine matches where we have steel out to 60 yards and sometimes 100 so wondering what's the best zero to work for everything. Thanks |
| Grab a ballistics calculator, and use that. There are pretty big differences depending on if you shoot 115s, 147s or 158s, etc. I like a 20 yard zero because it's essentially flat from 20 to 50, but that's with 158s. Right now my zero is 100 yards, which is about 4" high at 50. |
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Thanks all for the replies. I had read on here that most use a 25 yard zero and if the trajectory in those links of within 1-2 inches from 10-100 yards works out that'd be great, although that was very different from what happened last weekend. I was aiming around 3" low just to hit the 8" plate so it could have been shooting as much as 10" high at around 50-60 yards. I didn't zero this gun since it was my friends, although after I shot I told another friend who was shooting next where it was hitting for me so he knew. He said it shot the same for him and I did see him zero his at 25 yards right before the match.
Once I get mine finished (which should be arriving at Rudy tomorrow to get it all sorted out  ) I'll zero myself with my ammo and see how it shoots. Not sure why my friends' guns were shooting so differently than those charts.
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What ammo was he shooting? I was just using factory 115gr FMJs since I didn't have any 9mm loaded and didn't have time to before the match and not sure what my friends were shooting, I think one of them was using 135gr. But I'm planning to shoot my normal minor power factor reloads through it once I get mine. I have 124gr, 135gr and 147gr bullets I can load; I was thinking I'd start with the 124gr. |
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This question comes up periodically. People jump in with all sorts of answers, many based on their personal opinions and not actual good shooting practices.
Some of us are "old school" and we learned how to hold high and hold low based on range. We didn't use scopes with built in bullet compensaters and such. We actually used our firearms in the field for hunting where we didn't have time to waste, you had to guess the range and then shoot. This caused us to have to learn ballistics and actually think about what the bullet was doing as if left the barrel. When in the military we were exposed to the same thing. "Targets" that would pop up quickly at different ranges where you only had a second to aim and shoot. You had to be quick. This is why some of us use a zero that gives the least variation in POI over a wide variety of distances. Its quicker and it gets results in "real world" situations where people have to shoot quickly. If you are just a range king who only shoots plates at 75 yards then go ahead and zero your firearm for that range. Of course should you ever end up in a tense situation where lives mattered and fractions of a second made a big difference then you will likely not be in the best of situations to hit your mark. Its on you. Do you actually learn about ballistics and learn how real shooters adjust for range? Or do you take the easy way out and just set up for one range because its simple and the lazy way out? What is your personal goal? Be a real marksman or just brag about how you can ring the plate at 75 yards all day? 9mm carbine....zero it at 25 yards if you are using 115 or 124's and then learn how to hold a bit over or under. Actually with a 25 yard zero you are pretty much good to go from 25 to 100 without much correction at all. Certainly close enough for "field" or defensive work under pressure without any adjustments, just aim and shoot. |
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I'm zeroed at 50 with dot, shooting my first pcc match the 14th of may, now im rethinking my zero IF it's hitting targets from 5-50 yds with no noticeable drop keep it as is. Will the pcc match be paper, steel or both? Set up paper (IDPA / IPSC targets) out to 50, see how it performs. |
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IF it's hitting targets from 5-50 yds with no noticeable drop keep it as is. Will the pcc match be paper, steel or both? Set up paper (IDPA / IPSC targets) out to 50, see how it performs. Quoted:
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I'm zeroed at 50 with dot, shooting my first pcc match the 14th of may, now im rethinking my zero IF it's hitting targets from 5-50 yds with no noticeable drop keep it as is. Will the pcc match be paper, steel or both? Set up paper (IDPA / IPSC targets) out to 50, see how it performs. Both, and it works ok, just wondering if 25 would be better, if i can even percieve it being better. |
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Both, and it works ok, just wondering if 25 would be better, if i can even percieve it being better. Quoted:
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I'm zeroed at 50 with dot, shooting my first pcc match the 14th of may, now im rethinking my zero IF it's hitting targets from 5-50 yds with no noticeable drop keep it as is. Will the pcc match be paper, steel or both? Set up paper (IDPA / IPSC targets) out to 50, see how it performs. Both, and it works ok, just wondering if 25 would be better, if i can even percieve it being better. Stop over thinking and shoot it, people get so wrapped up in EVERYTHING they read on line. It's a wonder anyone actually has time to shoot. I did 25yd zero on the spouses PCC's, just because. 50 on mine "hopefully' getting back in to competitions. or as i call em, fun n gun |
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