hello, i havent been around this board in a while, but now that i have my first AR with the leupold cq/t (yes i know what many people say about it, but after careful consideration i decided it was the right one for me).  i think ill be around here lurking quite a lot from now on.  might i add that i now know how hella fun ARs really are.

my question is.  with the leupold cq/t on a bushmaster with the 16in, shooting Q3131a, what would be a good plinking, home defense zero.  
i dont really ever plan to shoot over 100 yds and rarely that. if i did id rather just worry about aiming high just a little.  im mainly in the plinking stage right now, at close range, totally enjoying waxing coke cans.

today i got my left/right zero fixed but was unsure what up/down i should do.  from what ive read 25 yds sounds good for up close, but the bullet path quickly rises to a not so practical path for my purposes.  i could be wrong on my understanding of that.  ive also read about the improved battle zero thats zeroed to ?50yds? and holds fairly flat out past 200yds i believe.  this seems better for me but my question is would that be too low for really close stuff like home defense, God forbid?  is there a better zero?  ill gladly go and play around with this myself and refine it for my needs, but id like some helpful suggestions for a good place to start.  thank you very much and take care.

steven

I'd zero at 50 yards. In a home defense scenario, you'd be aiming for (I hope) center-of-mass and your zero shouldn't be a problem. In close quaters, a man sized target is pretty darn big.

Best regards,

Gil

For CQB distances, zeroing at longer ranges will only make parts of an inch differences at close range.  Shots at center mass won't matter much.  Unless you plan on shooting past a hostage at the bad guy's head, I wouldn't worry about it.

Steven,
50 yards is optimal for most mounts - especially for home defense.

In home defense scenarios you are realistically looking at a max of 12 yards and more like 4-7 yards.  At those distances the holdover for a precision shot isn't much different from a 25y zero to a 50y zero (about half an inch at 12y - even less as you get closer).  

But should you need the longer shot (you you like practicing at longer ranges) the 50 yard zero really shows its superiorirty.