Zeroing

From Airsoft Community Wiki

Zeroing is the action of calibrating a sight or scope so that where it points is where the gun shoots.

Something actually done by less than 5% of airsofters as most aftermarket optics and BUIS are only there for aesthetic reasons. However, the act of properly zeroing one's sights can improve the accuracy of the weapon when trying to fire precisely.

Accuracy Concerns

Many have noted that due to the lightweight nature of Ball Bullets, and the resulting innacuracy in any conditions involving wind factors, zeroing sights is not a worthwhile procedure. However, if playing in conditions where windage is reduced, such as urban scenarios or dense forests, BBs can be quite accurate. Especially at shorter ranges (less than 50 yards), and therefore having sights properly lined up is a good advantage.

Common Zeroing Procedure

The best strategy for airsoft, due to the innacurate nature of the ammunition, is to zero in a 'clean' environment so as to give best performace possible in all subsequent fields of play. Procedure follows:

In a location where wind is reduced to a minimum, such as a large indoor room:

1. Mark out a known accurate range, such as 25m, which is both within the effective range of your weapon and close to your most likely engagement range.
2. Despite a lack of recoil with (most) airsoft weapons, the firer should be in the prone position, as it aids stability.
3. Decide on a Point of Aim (POA), and keeping with that point fire a small number (3-5) of consecutive single shots.
4. Establish the Mean Point of Impact (MPI), ie the centre point of the grouping.
5. Adjust the sights until your MPI is super-imposed onto the POA, effectively moving your groupings across the target toward the POA.
6. When done fire a 'check grouping' to ensure sights are correctly aligned for the range specified.

A simpliar method is to bore sight your weapon, secure the weapon in say a workmate,after first removing the trigger mechanism housing (TMH), look down the barrel and place it on a target, idealy centre of mass, now with out moving the barrel and rest, proceed to move your sight adjustment, so that you see the same point through them as you see through the barrel. Once this is done, proceed to check fire aiming at the same point of aim every time and adjust slightly where needed.

Article originally posted by Slim Shady.