Travis Haley "Combat Zero"

[SmileDocHill]

I got pointed to this from the Appleseed forum. Timely video since we did combat zero and holdovers for the 100-400 yard shooting.

Great video in my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=60zbwMYJiLI#

 

[N8RV]

That's a really good tutorial with great explanations, thanks. I like Travis Haley's style anyway, and find him to be a good instructor for me.

Now I wish I had a range where I could test out various BZO techniques ...

 

[cedartop]

IIRC that is from his Adaptive carbine dvd. It was an interesting part of the dvd, I thought.

 

[Gabriel]

That's actually very interesting.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Very instructive.

 

[shooter521]

IIRC that is from his Adaptive carbine dvd.

He also included a similar presentation/discussion in the Adaptive Carbine 1 class I took earlier this year. I also thought it was interesting, and he just so happens to favor the 50/200 zero that I've been using for, like, ever.

 

[the1kidd03]

He did a similar demo for the AK variants.

 

[esrice]

That's one of my favorite video explanations of Zeroing.

 

[Josh Ward]

The 200yd zero makes the most sense to me, been using for a long time

 

[42769vette]

I was looking for that video to link someone a few months ago, but couldn't find it.

Its the best video on the subject Ive seen to date.

 

[TheDude]

He did a similar demo for the AK variants.

That'd be interesting.

 

[shooter521]

That'd be interesting.

Not really. In class, the 5.45 AKs were zeroed just like the 5.56 ARs (50/200). The 7.62x39 AKs were zeroed at 25, which seemed to work better with the trajectory of that round (the 25y zero didn't have nearly as dramatic of a rise at 50/100/200 with the AK as it did with the AR).

I haven't seen Travis' "Adaptive Kalash" video to know if he gives zeroing a different treatment there.

 

[the1kidd03]

Not really. In class, the 5.45 AKs were zeroed just like the 5.56 ARs (50/200). The 7.62x39 AKs were zeroed at 25, which seemed to work better with the trajectory of that round (the 25y zero didn't have nearly as dramatic of a rise at 50/100/200 with the AK as it did with the AR).

I haven't seen Travis' "Adaptive Kalash" video to know if he gives zeroing a different treatment there.

I don't remember exactly what he said or if he did say he preferred one with the AKs. I think you're spot on about the 25 7.62s, but I can't remember his stating his preference on the 5.45. I'll have to watch it again with more attention to detail when I have time. That was the whole point I wanted to watch the video for in the first place; to see what zeroes he demonstrated on AKs. I just skimmed through it though so far.

I could have swore at one point he said he liked the 36/300 for ARs though. I don't really care, that's what I prefer still, but it seems like he referenced "we" as in "we (his team of instructors) prefer it."

I could be wrong. This has been one of those weeks for me. Not enough coffee and too many "irons"

 

[shooter521]

I could have swore at one point he said he liked the 36/300 for ARs though. I don't really care, that's what I prefer still, but it seems like he referenced "we" as in "we (his team of instructors) prefer it."

IIRC, 36/300 is the USMC zero, so that could've been the "we" he was referring to, given that he is a former Marine. He did state in class that one big advantage of the 50/200 zero is that both 50 and 200 are commonly available known distances at shooting ranges.

 

[the1kidd03]

IIRC, 36/300 is the USMC zero, so that could've been the "we" he was referring to, given that he is a former Marine. He did state in class that one big advantage of the 50/200 zero is that both 50 and 200 are commonly available known distances at shooting ranges.

True. I just prefer the 300. POI pretty much stays the same out to 300 except for danger close and it's a very slight hold-under. I don't really get to shoot out to 300 often these days, but I'm just used to/comfortable with it in a SHTF sort of situation. Hopefully, next year my schedule will be much more free and I can invest considerably more time and money in all the different ranges in the region.

 

[rvb]

Something I seldom see mentioned is each person is going to have a preference for hold over vs hold under. Some of this has to do with past experiences/training, some has to do with your sights.

For instance, I prefer to hold on or under with iron sights so I can see my point of aim and not have the post obscure my target. So something like a 25yd zero would be prefered so that I can hold under by a couple inches out to my secondary crossover (which is likely farther than I'll need in midwest suburbia). Even at close range I can just hold on or slightly under and still be w/in 2.5" of my point of aim. (Of course there are other tricks at close range to hold on w/ irons get the POI closer to the POA...)

However, for me with a red dot, it seems more intuitive to hold over. You might have other considerations, too, eg the size of your dot... you might pick a zero that keeps the impact w/in the diameter of your dot out to a certain distance so you know if your dot is w/in the target area, so is your point of impact. As an example, a 62gr/2800fps round zero'd with the TOP of a 4moa dot at 100 will impact at the BOTTOM of the dot at 300 (12" of drop). It sounds complicated. but if you just think close = put the dot on, mid range put the top of the dot on, and farther range put the bottom of the dot on, you just extended your effective accuracy considerably, w/o having to really think about drop... worst case, if you dont consider drop at all, you know that out to 300 the bullet will impact w/in the diameter of the 4moa dot. Just one example as there are obviously many scope configurations and ammo options out there.....

lots of ways to set up the sights... I like that he didn't really push one as being "THE" way.

-rvb

 

[the1kidd03]

I like that he didn't really push one as being "THE" way.

-rvb

Mark of a good teacher IMO

 

[Dragon]

His advice on zero for the 5.45 AK is that the 50 is the most consistent.

 

[VERT]

He did state in class that one big advantage of the 50/200 zero is that both 50 and 200 are commonly available known distances at shooting ranges.

This was the reason that I sighted in at 50 and then confirmed at 200. There is a nice public range close by that has benches with 50, 100, 200 yard distances.