A few months ago I picked up a Sight Mark Ultra Shot Plus red dot scope for my DPMS Oracle. I am a red dot neophyte but I wanted to give one a try and this basically cost me nothing because I used a gift card to purchase it.
Yes this is a budget setup, but I'm not going into battle, just plinking at the range and maybe some coyote hunting.
I read a lot about the 36 yard zero, 50 yard zero etc. At first I was pretty intrigued with the 36 yard zero because of the small drop\rise total distance out to 300 yards. I also read that a lot of people like the 50 yard zero. I finally decided to zero at 50 and test at a few different distances.
Here is the rifle
I did my shooting a the local sportsman club, at a bench with a front rest. The rear was just supported by my shoulder and grip. I was shooting Fiocchi 55 grain FMJ 223.
Sighting in at 50 yards my first group was high and to the left. So down and to the right went the adjustments. The Sight Mark requires an Allen Key to adjust. It also does not have a very positive adjustment, you have turn much farther than you would think before you hear a click.
The 2nd group was a little low, so I came up 2 clicks. I thought the 3rd group was decent...i figured the high shot was just me.
I then shot at 25 yards to see where I was hitting at the distance. This hit about where I though it should for my zero at this distance. I though about adjusting a click to the left, but I didn't want to "chase the zero" so I didn't.
The range doesn't have a target stand at 75 yards and I forgot my portable stand so 100 yards was next. I fired 3 shots (circled) and that was the end of the box, the next box was the same stuff but was from a case ordered off the internet versus store bought. The box also looked a little different.
I fired 5 rounds from the new box (squares)...at 100 yards a 50 yard zero should be about 2 inches high I read. It seemed I had 3 shots a tad high...difference in lot cause that? I decided I better fire another group to see. I lost count and fired 6 shots, the height seemed better, but hitting to the right. It seems at 100 yards it is starting to get difficult to get a precise aiming spot with a red dot.
There isn't a 150 yard target stand
so I switched bays and tried my hand at 200 yard.
I'm not sure how many rounds I fired in the first group, but I only hit twice (circled). I loaded up 10 rounds and tried again with only 3 hits to show for it.
The target is only 12X12 so I wasn't 100% sure where the misses were going, but it looked like I was off the paper to the right. If you have paid attention to this long winded story you will remember I thought I was hitting a little to the right at closer distances.
I adjusted a click to the left and put 7 of 10 on the paper. At 200 yards I should be about 2 inches low, but as you can see some shots hit low and some high. At 200 yards the red dot is pretty hard for me to aim. The reticle I am using is a 50 MOA circle with a 3 MOA dot. The dot pretty much blots out a lot of the target, basically at this range I was centering the paper in the circle.
So what did I learn? The ballistics charts are fun to look at, but when using a red dot some of that goes out the window. If you cannot aim precisely at distance because of your skill or equipment (probably a little of both in my case) the amount of drop might be less important than your aim.
I'm not sure I would be capable of hitting at 300 yards, so the fact a 36 yard zero has less drop at the distance may be irrelevant to me. The good thing is I do have the opportunity to try 300 yards at my range. I see some 75, 150 and 300 yard (with plenty of butcher paper to track the misses) testing in my future, I hoping at 300 yard I can place the bottom of the 50 MOA circle on the bullseye to compensate for the drop and get some hits..
Yes this is a budget setup, but I'm not going into battle, just plinking at the range and maybe some coyote hunting.
I read a lot about the 36 yard zero, 50 yard zero etc. At first I was pretty intrigued with the 36 yard zero because of the small drop\rise total distance out to 300 yards. I also read that a lot of people like the 50 yard zero. I finally decided to zero at 50 and test at a few different distances.
Here is the rifle
I did my shooting a the local sportsman club, at a bench with a front rest. The rear was just supported by my shoulder and grip. I was shooting Fiocchi 55 grain FMJ 223.
Sighting in at 50 yards my first group was high and to the left. So down and to the right went the adjustments. The Sight Mark requires an Allen Key to adjust. It also does not have a very positive adjustment, you have turn much farther than you would think before you hear a click.
The 2nd group was a little low, so I came up 2 clicks. I thought the 3rd group was decent...i figured the high shot was just me.
I then shot at 25 yards to see where I was hitting at the distance. This hit about where I though it should for my zero at this distance. I though about adjusting a click to the left, but I didn't want to "chase the zero" so I didn't.
The range doesn't have a target stand at 75 yards and I forgot my portable stand so 100 yards was next. I fired 3 shots (circled) and that was the end of the box, the next box was the same stuff but was from a case ordered off the internet versus store bought. The box also looked a little different.
I fired 5 rounds from the new box (squares)...at 100 yards a 50 yard zero should be about 2 inches high I read. It seemed I had 3 shots a tad high...difference in lot cause that? I decided I better fire another group to see. I lost count and fired 6 shots, the height seemed better, but hitting to the right. It seems at 100 yards it is starting to get difficult to get a precise aiming spot with a red dot.
There isn't a 150 yard target stand
so I switched bays and tried my hand at 200 yard. I'm not sure how many rounds I fired in the first group, but I only hit twice (circled). I loaded up 10 rounds and tried again with only 3 hits to show for it.
The target is only 12X12 so I wasn't 100% sure where the misses were going, but it looked like I was off the paper to the right. If you have paid attention to this long winded story you will remember I thought I was hitting a little to the right at closer distances.
I adjusted a click to the left and put 7 of 10 on the paper. At 200 yards I should be about 2 inches low, but as you can see some shots hit low and some high. At 200 yards the red dot is pretty hard for me to aim. The reticle I am using is a 50 MOA circle with a 3 MOA dot. The dot pretty much blots out a lot of the target, basically at this range I was centering the paper in the circle.
So what did I learn? The ballistics charts are fun to look at, but when using a red dot some of that goes out the window. If you cannot aim precisely at distance because of your skill or equipment (probably a little of both in my case) the amount of drop might be less important than your aim.
I'm not sure I would be capable of hitting at 300 yards, so the fact a 36 yard zero has less drop at the distance may be irrelevant to me. The good thing is I do have the opportunity to try 300 yards at my range. I see some 75, 150 and 300 yard (with plenty of butcher paper to track the misses) testing in my future, I hoping at 300 yard I can place the bottom of the 50 MOA circle on the bullseye to compensate for the drop and get some hits..
