NEWS

Third Ohio Archery In The Schools Tournament A Success

For the third year in a row, Maysville High School in Muskingum County earned first-place overall team honors, as well as numerous individual awards, at the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) state tournament. More than 800 students from 34 teams participated in the state tournament.

Shooting USA Features The International Revolver Championships

It's the annual gathering of wheel gunners for the International Revolver Championships in Morro Bay, California. For fans of the classic revolver, this is the world class action shooting championship to find the fastest and most accurate masters of the double action revolver, tonight on Shooting USA on Outdoor Channel.

Charter Arms Introduces New On Duty Revolver

Charter Arms introduces their new semi-shrouded hammer On Duty Revolver. Designed for concealed carry and backup the On Duty is made with only the tip of the hammer spur sticking out so it may be used in either single or double action.

U.S Military Awards Winchester 9mm Frangible Ammunition Contract

The U.S. Military has awarded Winchester Ammunition a five-year contract with a maximum value of $30 million for 9mm frangible training ammunition. Frangible ammunition is designed specifically for training applications, and the contracted 9mm ammunition will support the Navy Surface Warfare Center.

Birchwood Casey Offers New Choices In Shoot-N-C Line Of Targets

Birchwood Casey has added four new styles of Shoot-N-C targets to their line up for 2009., including the Shoot-N-C 8" Laser target which comes with 8 ½" highly reflective Laser Spots™ with an adhesive backing to attach to the bull's-eye and the X targets, featuring a crosshair design overlay on the face of the target, making it easy to sight in on the bullseye.

Sinclair Releases 2009 Catalog

Sinclair International, the premier supplier of ammunition reloading supplies and precision reloading tools, has just released their 2009-A Catalog, with 184 pages containing more than 10,000 products.

Sportsmen's Cucus Continues Support Of FAET Legislation

The House leadership of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus sent a letter to colleagues requesting co-sponsors for H.R 510, which would change the collection schedule of the firearms and ammunition excise tax (FAET).

FEATURE

Skill Set: Zeroing The AR

Editor's Note: Today's feature comes to The Shooting Wire from our companion shooting news service, The Tactical Wire. Due to the extremely high positive responses we received on this short, but very informative feature on "Zeroing the AR" rifle, we wanted to share it with Shooting Wire readers as well. We thank Training Editor Tiger McKee and Editor Rich Grassi for this very informative piece of information.

By Tiger McKee

There is a constant ongoing debate on at what distance the AR rifle should be zeroed. Ideally you need a zero that provides the least deviation between your POA (point of aim) and the actual POI (point of impact) of your bullet. From tests I have run it seems that the best distance to zero the AR for self-defense and law-enforcement purposes is 75 yards.

A 75 yard zero provides the least deviation between your POA and POI from 25 to 100 yards. At 25 yards the POI will be around 1.5 inches low, and at 100 yards POI is approximately 1.5 inches high. Of course this depends on the offset between your sights and barrel, barrel twist and length, and ammo. So for this discussion we're talking about using iron sights, or a red-dot optic mounted on a flattop rifle.

There are some people using 25 yard zeroes, based on the fact that 25 yards and closer is where the majority of their shooting will take place, but this creates a couple of problems. First, even with a 25 yard zero, once you get 20 yards and closer you'll still have to compensate for the offset between the sights and barrel because the POI will be 2-2.5 inches lower than your POA. With body shots this may not be an issue, but for headshots, especially in a hostage situation, it is critical. The second problem with a 25 yard zero is that if you do need to take a shot from extended distances your POI will be way off. For example a shot from 100 yards with a 25 yard zero will have a POI around 6-9 inches high, again depending on weapon variables. Having to compensate for this much difference between POA and POI can be difficult, especially under stress.

What about if you are forced to make a shot from extended distances, say a shot from 200 yards? First, it will be rare that you would have to make a shot at that distance, especially in LE or self-defense work. Plus, the average drop of the .223 from 100 to 200 yards is roughly 3 inches, so with a 75 yd zero you're still capable of hitting body shots by aiming center of mass.

The beauty of the rifle is the ability to place a single projectile exactly where you want it. So regardless of what distance you zero at, learn the difference between POA and POI from 3 to 100 yards. Hit the range, work from actual fighting positions and different distances so you have the data necessary and develop the skills required to get that hit. When lives are at stake, you may not get a second chance.

Tiger McKee is director of Shootrite Firearms Academy, located in northern Alabama, author of The Book of Two Guns, a staff member of several firearms/tactical publications, and an adjunct instructor for the F.B.I. (256) 582-4777 www.shootrite.org