I am going to zero in my new AR with a SWFA SS 10x this weekend and am not sure what is the most efficient process for getting it on paper so I can start to zero it. With a bolt gun I would just take the bolt out and bore sight it but I don’t have a laser tool to use for the AR.
Is the best practice just to start at 25 yards or so?
Start close and move back.
Thanks, figured as much but wasn’t sure if there was something I was missing. Will be my first time zeroing some glass on an AR and am a novice at zeroing in general.
Take the upper off the gun. Take the BCG out. Set it on something like the back of the couch and aim it at something about 50 yards away… I use my neighbor’s roof jack across the street. Move the reticle so that it aims where the barrel is pointed when you look down the barrel.
No laser nonsense needed.
Ahhhh nice, thanks! That is a much better way of doing it.
Sand backs/squeeze bags on a table aimed out a windo works better if you have that set up handy.
Battlefield zero it and start at 25m and move back.
Why start at 25 when you can bore sight at home and not waste the time and ammo on the range? 
Because the answer from the poster you quoted sounded really cool!
On topic…use the bore just like markm described.
I put up a USPSA target at 25 yards with a 1 inch red dot sticker. It usually only takes 2 or 3 rounds to get it on. I set the point of impact approximately 1 inch below the dot. Then I got to 100 yards and finish with 3 shot groups. Generally I am zeroed in 12 rounds or so and very little time spent.
Pat
No, because the answer that I posted comes from my experience. Don’t be a douche.
No worries!
Easy, Tigers…
What is this “Battlefield zero” anyway? I only condemned it since starting at 25m was suggested, but I’m curious what the technique is.
I’m familiar with mechanical zero for irons. But for a scope, I’ve never heard of this method.
Exactly!
You can do the same thing with an AR, but its even better because the upper can be removed. See below.
IMO, the AR beats nearly every long arm in maintainability and serviceability, even for mundane tasks like this.
What Mark describes is known as “traditional boresighting”.
It works as well as “laser boresighting”, just not as fancy.
Yep, bore-sight at 50 and then touch it up.
just caveman bore sight it like markm said by taking the bolt out and looking through the barrel and getting the sight picture of the scope to be similar
Call me weird, but if I am sighting in a scoped rifle, I set up a target at 100 yards. I then shoot one shot at a dark spot or rock on the berm using low magnification, and see my impact. Then I adjust accordingly and shoot one more shot at the berm. Then adjust again and try on paper (a big target, and spotting scope). I live in AZ and usually when you shoot at a berm it sends all kinds of dust into the air, so impacts are easy to see.
This way, I am not waiting for the firing line to clear so I can move my 25y target to 100.
I agree on most, but it is way easier to bore sight from a rest like leadsled with a bolt gun because you can just slide the bolt out and look through and whalla. But with an ar, you have to take the upper off then remove the bolt and ch. not a lot harder just not as simple
Just put on a new rear sight and did the old bore sight way. First shot at 25 yds was 1/2" to the left. Two more shots confirmed it. Slight adjustment and off to 50 yds to finish the job. Very easy and very fast way to do it. Works on scopes, red dots, and irons.