This will now my go-to video to send to people that have trouble visualizing what I'm trying to explain to them! Thanks Kevin 👍 Sadly most of the people I run into at my local range are just new shooters, or aren't familiar with AR-15 height over bore or ballistics, plus there's no cellphone signal... I've helped people zero lots of rifles, but even with a screenshot of a basic 1.5" AR-15 optic sight line vs. bullet trajectory many still don't really understand what's going on because of the distance limitations of that range, and the fact that they planned on accomplishing all of this in a short time frame with a small amount of ammunition 🤦♂️ My range bag has now turned into a separate cleaning/armorers box after helping several people re-mount previously slapped on out of the box optics by using my tools, scope levels or jigs, and always with loctite that was previously not there 🙄 Luckily everyone's always nice and very few have a "know it all attitude", If I see someone struggling I usually offer to let them "borrow my tools if they are having scope issues" which I've found is a good approach without stepping on toes or trying to jump in and tell them how to do something, sometimes they literally just need to borrow a tool, sometimes they ask if I'll help them or just zero it myself, occasionally I'll visibly see an optic mounted several degrees off, then watch as the person chases holes around a target with a bad attitude and it's usually that know it all person 😆... Atleast now I've got this nice short simple video that I can reccomend they check afterwards! I've seen people drive 2hrs to get to this remote range and not even bring targets or sometimes forget ear protection 🙄(other things I purposefully carry plenty of spares for) Those are usually the minority at the range, but helping newer shooters is always a good thing for the community, I know I get something out of it, and I hope they leave with positive thoughts of complete strangers (I'm certainly not the only one) giving time/loaning equipment, which hopefully builds a better community in the future... 👍
You seem to be a great teacher! I’d love for you to do a video on zeroing-and using-the A2/A4 carry handle sights. I know the basics, but I think you’d be able to make some of the intricacies seem more understandable. When someone starts getting into taking the drum loose and resetting it so you can go to 200 and below, I start to get lost, so right now, the drum is kept on ‘z’ and I’ve got a good 50-200 (more like 220 with 55g and 20”). But I’m not dialing for distance.
I've found some of the ballistic calculators from, say, Hornady, make it really easy to get a decent estimate of your specific setup's bullet climb/drop for a specific zero. Especially useful if you're running one of those higher risers.
The thing you mentioned about young eyes automatically focusing the reticle without actually manually focusing the reticle with the focus adjustment makes me realize that I probably need to re focus my reticles. I’m almost sure I didn’t do the adjustment properly and since I never stay on the scope for long periods I don’t notice any eye fatigue. I would imagine after a few minutes of looking through it my eye would start to strain.
Extremely entertaining and informational! You had my attention the entire video and I observed so much. I really hope you continue to create amazing content as you have been doing so far, thank you and great job!
First thing, Thank You For Your Service Sir! Second, Thank You For Your Continued Service In Helping Us All Becomes Better At Defending Ourselves, And Those We Love.
Love the way you so fluidly speak about these complex topics in easy to understand ways. That really demonstrates your depth of knowledge! Truly appreciate you sharing!
Very good explanation of a complicated subject. Just found your channel but have been watching you elsewhere for a while. Keep up the good work brother.
Fantastic content. Ballistic calculator sites and trajectory graphing are great for various zeroes and resulting round elevations down range. Really fun, and relaxing, to be able to sit there and do what Kevin made look easy out to 500yds.
My first AR was a RRA with a 18” medium heavy barrel. That dang thing is so heavy compared to the others I have today. I put a 1 x 4 Burris with a BDC reticle on it. Even with cheapo steel cased 55 gr ammo I could make hits out to 500 on steel about 80-90% of the time shooting from a bag. My daughter was 15-16 at the time and she could make hits about 50% of the time. At 1x I’d center the crosshairs on the top of a silhouette’s head to hit between the eyes and simply center mass for body shots. I still love the BDC reticles. Thanks for these videos.
Thoughts and preference for folks with astigmatism and the starburst effect of the non-holographic red dots? I look down an RMR and it's not a crisp spherical dot. Eotech holographic seems fine.
Great stuff Kevin. Lots of knowledge and experience. Straight and to the point for me as a new shooter. What yard zero do you recommend for a 10.3/11.5?
Kevin! Thanks for the video and all the knowledge you pass down. Question for you...If the largest line of sight on my property is ~300yds...would an 11.5 inch AR be a good fit for HD? Something light and very handy > a longer more cumbersome rifle like 16in? Also...for that same application would you prefer a LPVO or Red Dot + Magnifer ?
Personally, I’ve never liked magnifiers I’ll either go LPVO or red dot I usually have a red dot on anything shorter than 14.5” But that’s just me, I know lots of people love magnifiers
@@kevinowens9636 what offset red dot & mount do you use with your Vortex Razor 1-6x? I have the old heavy Gen II model with the JM-1 reticle and freaking love it. I used a Weaver USA made offset and Vortex Crossfire II RDS w/ low mount. I started with this "budget" approach when I wasn't sure how I'd like the offset red dot arrangement. When I zeroed after mounting the windage was mechanically zeroed at 25 yards only needing minor adjustment at 50. Entertaining options of an eventual upgrade, but the combo has been solid and reliable for over a year of being banged around and does its job, so I haven't felt like fixing what isn't broke, ya know? It's been dead nuts reliable from 3 to 300 yards and anything in between.
The rifle you use in the video has the offset red dot. What would you zero that at with the LPVO being 50/200 yard. Does it make sense to zero the red dot at something like 25 yards? Thanks and great video.
I personally zeroed the offset red dot at 50 yards, since the JM-1 reticle of my 1-6x Razor has a 200/50 yard zero, my reasoning being to keep consistency between sighting systems, including any mechanical bore offset shooting up close.
Mr Owens, I have a vortex strike eagle 1-6x, which has a second focal plane reticle. From what I understand the zero and markings are only accurate at maximum zoom. In the case that I would have to take a shot at a lower power, how would I estimate where to place the reticle for the shot to be effective? Or is this a situation which should be addressed by simply bringing the optic back up to 6x? Thank you for the amazing videos.
The Strike Eagle 1-6x BDC calls for a 200 yard zero. Get zeroed at 50 yards, refine that zero at 200 yards if/when possible, have your optic at 6x when zeroing. Your center hold WILL NOT change regardless of magnification, so for any target between point of muzzle contact (bore offset withstanding) and 200 yards, you just hold center reticle regardless of magnification. If you need to shoot beyond 200 yards, you're likely to need magnification to see it properly, so twist all the way to 6x, use the reticle for your holds depending on distance, and fire away. Seems more complex than it actually is, I prefer 2nd focal plane LPVO optics for this reason, and not ending up with a tiny, unusable speck of a reticle at 1x. Hope this helps.
i would like to get a bdc reticle for a shorter barrel but all of them are for 16inch/14.5 barrel lengths and my main ar is a 11.5 bcm and getting a custom reticle in a optic is some $$
i like the fact that at the 35 yard zero equates a 300 yard shot will be inside of a diameter of 5 in CD per say. however i just bought a 1x6x24 and the instruction due to the BDC it say to zero at 50 then move from there . so my question is do i follow directions or just do what i prefer?
I always lose the reticle when I put it on target when I am target focused. Without illumination I have to put it back on a light background to pick it up again. Any suggestions ?
I am still dazzled with targeting 500 with NATO 5.56. We were told (long long ago) that it is maxes out at 200 with steel sights. And 350 with the green steel core ones, with trij. What changed that it is gtg for 500 these days?
depends on your application, if you're going to build data or use a ballistic program to engage at farther ranges, zero at 100, strelok pro is a good app , I'll do a video on longer range later
@@kevinowens9636 thanks for the reply!! Tbh my rifle is more general purpose, I’ve been running a 12.5 w/ a Surefire rc2 556 , Atacr 1-8 on top. It’s been a very good do all rig, I use it to hunt, train and to compete. It’s been good to me. Thanks for the video!
@@d3ltaohniner261 about 1/2 inch with good ammo, with cheap(using that loosely) ammo the shift is negligible due the the ammos inaccuracy. It’s repeatable though so if I needed to I could dial for the correction
Helpful video. Do you have a certain ‘pull’ that you’ve adjusted to in order to shoot accurately that quickly (meaning how a pistol shooter might shoot low left, and anticipate it by holding high right)? Or have you worked the pull out of your shot / never had a pull?
If you shoot off a bag it’s not much of a problem. Bags and tripods hold the muzzle steady for the most part. The main thing with a rifle is to ‘squeeze’ the trigger. Squeeze your fist, don’t ‘pull’ with your trigger finger.
I've been shooting for almost 40 years, and no one's explained these basics better!
Great explanation of how zero works and using the BDC.
This will now my go-to video to send to people that have trouble visualizing what I'm trying to explain to them! Thanks Kevin 👍 Sadly most of the people I run into at my local range are just new shooters, or aren't familiar with AR-15 height over bore or ballistics, plus there's no cellphone signal... I've helped people zero lots of rifles, but even with a screenshot of a basic 1.5" AR-15 optic sight line vs. bullet trajectory many still don't really understand what's going on because of the distance limitations of that range, and the fact that they planned on accomplishing all of this in a short time frame with a small amount of ammunition 🤦♂️ My range bag has now turned into a separate cleaning/armorers box after helping several people re-mount previously slapped on out of the box optics by using my tools, scope levels or jigs, and always with loctite that was previously not there 🙄 Luckily everyone's always nice and very few have a "know it all attitude", If I see someone struggling I usually offer to let them "borrow my tools if they are having scope issues" which I've found is a good approach without stepping on toes or trying to jump in and tell them how to do something, sometimes they literally just need to borrow a tool, sometimes they ask if I'll help them or just zero it myself, occasionally I'll visibly see an optic mounted several degrees off, then watch as the person chases holes around a target with a bad attitude and it's usually that know it all person 😆... Atleast now I've got this nice short simple video that I can reccomend they check afterwards! I've seen people drive 2hrs to get to this remote range and not even bring targets or sometimes forget ear protection 🙄(other things I purposefully carry plenty of spares for) Those are usually the minority at the range, but helping newer shooters is always a good thing for the community, I know I get something out of it, and I hope they leave with positive thoughts of complete strangers (I'm certainly not the only one) giving time/loaning equipment, which hopefully builds a better community in the future... 👍
You seem to be a great teacher! I’d love for you to do a video on zeroing-and using-the A2/A4 carry handle sights. I know the basics, but I think you’d be able to make some of the intricacies seem more understandable. When someone starts getting into taking the drum loose and resetting it so you can go to 200 and below, I start to get lost, so right now, the drum is kept on ‘z’ and I’ve got a good 50-200 (more like 220 with 55g and 20”). But I’m not dialing for distance.
Kevin Owens has the most informative gun content on YT
I've found some of the ballistic calculators from, say, Hornady, make it really easy to get a decent estimate of your specific setup's bullet climb/drop for a specific zero. Especially useful if you're running one of those higher risers.
Yes, strelok pro is an app for your phone too that’s helpful
Some really good info right here, thanks for taking the time to explain it so thoroughly.
The thing you mentioned about young eyes automatically focusing the reticle without actually manually focusing the reticle with the focus adjustment makes me realize that I probably need to re focus my reticles. I’m almost sure I didn’t do the adjustment properly and since I never stay on the scope for long periods I don’t notice any eye fatigue. I would imagine after a few minutes of looking through it my eye would start to strain.
Extremely entertaining and informational! You had my attention the entire video and I observed so much. I really hope you continue to create amazing content as you have been doing so far, thank you and great job!
First thing, Thank You For Your Service Sir! Second, Thank You For Your Continued Service In Helping Us All Becomes Better At Defending Ourselves, And Those We Love.
Kevin, you're amazing man, I'm sorry for comparing your voice to Conor McGregor's.
Love the way you so fluidly speak about these complex topics in easy to understand ways. That really demonstrates your depth of knowledge! Truly appreciate you sharing!
Very good explanation of a complicated subject. Just found your channel but have been watching you elsewhere for a while. Keep up the good work brother.
Im 25 and im getting eye fatigue. Thanks krvin for your information and tips.
Great video. Simple explanation. Thanks KO!
Very good! Simple to understand 👍
Good stuff. Helpful. Making It look easy
Excellent, please keep putting out good vids like this, short and to the point.
Great video Kevin thanks 👊
Fantastic content. Ballistic calculator sites and trajectory graphing are great for various zeroes and resulting round elevations down range. Really fun, and relaxing, to be able to sit there and do what Kevin made look easy out to 500yds.
Thank-you for making this video, i need a lot of re learning , God bless
Thanks Kevin! Outstanding and simple explanation. You made it look easy. Appreciate the BDC lesson. Sláinte.
My first AR was a RRA with a 18” medium heavy barrel. That dang thing is so heavy compared to the others I have today. I put a 1 x 4 Burris with a BDC reticle on it. Even with cheapo steel cased 55 gr ammo I could make hits out to 500 on steel about 80-90% of the time shooting from a bag. My daughter was 15-16 at the time and she could make hits about 50% of the time.
At 1x I’d center the crosshairs on the top of a silhouette’s head to hit between the eyes and simply center mass for body shots.
I still love the BDC reticles.
Thanks for these videos.
God Bless You.
Outstanding information, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge. 👍👍
I just need a kevin owens in my bug out/in bag. What a badass. great info!!
Great content! Just attempted to zero my new Sig Tango, got it pretty tight but would like to take it back out and confirm it.
Pretty good shooting Irish.
Thanks Kevin Good info and made in a way that is easy to learn!
Much information absorbed, thank you Kevin!
Thank you for your video. Very informative..... truly appreciated in addition to your notable insights.
Kevin, great stuff, always looked for your content and now I'm glad you're putting out more
Good instructions. I’m glad you have a channel. I subscribed. Looking forward to more videos.
Thank you Kevin.
Badass shooting! Thanks for the videos. I always learn something
Thanks for the video. Just subscribed as well.
Awesome video, thank you
Thank you sir.
Incredible instruction. Thank you! 🙏🇺🇸
Great video, Kevin.
Thanks, very easy to understand.
Excellent Kevin! Thank you.
Appreciate it boss 🤙🤙🤙!!!!
Glad you made a channel!
Awesome, thanks Kevin!!!
i love how past you is on the wall in overwatch for this lesson.
Excellent information. Thank you.
Thank you Sir!🍻
Excellent! Thank you for this!
Very interesting and well done. Thanks!
Well explained
Helpful
Thoughts and preference for folks with astigmatism and the starburst effect of the non-holographic red dots? I look down an RMR and it's not a crisp spherical dot. Eotech holographic seems fine.
Great stuff Kevin. Lots of knowledge and experience. Straight and to the point for me as a new shooter. What yard zero do you recommend for a 10.3/11.5?
same
Excellent. Thank you.
Great video
500 is impressive
What power did you have dialed on?
That was awesome, what are zeroing that canted RDS at?
Well done sir thank you
Thanks so much
Very helpful, thanks!
Thanks for the info
Beast
Kevin! Thanks for the video and all the knowledge you pass down. Question for you...If the largest line of sight on my property is ~300yds...would an 11.5 inch AR be a good fit for HD? Something light and very handy > a longer more cumbersome rifle like 16in? Also...for that same application would you prefer a LPVO or Red Dot + Magnifer ?
Personally, I’ve never liked magnifiers I’ll either go LPVO or red dot
I usually have a red dot on anything shorter than 14.5”
But that’s just me, I know lots of people love magnifiers
@@kevinowens9636 what offset red dot & mount do you use with your Vortex Razor 1-6x? I have the old heavy Gen II model with the JM-1 reticle and freaking love it.
I used a Weaver USA made offset and Vortex Crossfire II RDS w/ low mount. I started with this "budget" approach when I wasn't sure how I'd like the offset red dot arrangement. When I zeroed after mounting the windage was mechanically zeroed at 25 yards only needing minor adjustment at 50.
Entertaining options of an eventual upgrade, but the combo has been solid and reliable for over a year of being banged around and does its job, so I haven't felt like fixing what isn't broke, ya know? It's been dead nuts reliable from 3 to 300 yards and anything in between.
Kevin - great video. With modern optics, does it make sense to use a reticle that you have to manually adjust based on distance?
Yes, for beyond 600m
Can you share what the upper and lower are for that AR, please?
❤
👍
The rifle you use in the video has the offset red dot. What would you zero that at with the LPVO being 50/200 yard. Does it make sense to zero the red dot at something like 25 yards? Thanks and great video.
Yes, first I align the red dot with the LPVO crosshairs at 25 then I shoot to confirm
I personally zeroed the offset red dot at 50 yards, since the JM-1 reticle of my 1-6x Razor has a 200/50 yard zero, my reasoning being to keep consistency between sighting systems, including any mechanical bore offset shooting up close.
Now if I were running an optic with a 100 yard zero, I'd probably use a 25 yard zero on an offset dot with such a disparity.
Interesting that during my service, we zeroed at 25yds.
Mr Owens, I have a vortex strike eagle 1-6x, which has a second focal plane reticle. From what I understand the zero and markings are only accurate at maximum zoom. In the case that I would have to take a shot at a lower power, how would I estimate where to place the reticle for the shot to be effective? Or is this a situation which should be addressed by simply bringing the optic back up to 6x? Thank you for the amazing videos.
The Strike Eagle 1-6x BDC calls for a 200 yard zero. Get zeroed at 50 yards, refine that zero at 200 yards if/when possible, have your optic at 6x when zeroing.
Your center hold WILL NOT change regardless of magnification, so for any target between point of muzzle contact (bore offset withstanding) and 200 yards, you just hold center reticle regardless of magnification.
If you need to shoot beyond 200 yards, you're likely to need magnification to see it properly, so twist all the way to 6x, use the reticle for your holds depending on distance, and fire away.
Seems more complex than it actually is, I prefer 2nd focal plane LPVO optics for this reason, and not ending up with a tiny, unusable speck of a reticle at 1x.
Hope this helps.
i would like to get a bdc reticle for a shorter barrel but all of them are for 16inch/14.5 barrel lengths and my main ar is a 11.5 bcm and getting a custom reticle in a optic is some $$
Don’t need a custom reticle, just recalibrate it using strelok pro it’s an app for your phone, I’ll try to do a video on it
Kevin,
What kind of stock are you using on the rifle your running the LPVO on? I’ve been looking for a good stock to put on my 16” gun.
Magpiul UBR I think
What 45degree red dot are you using in video?
I have a Vortex strike eagle on my AR. The scope has a dot then cross hairs then has 400. Would I still zero at 50?
i like the fact that at the 35 yard zero equates a 300 yard shot will be inside of a diameter of 5 in CD per say. however i just bought a 1x6x24 and the instruction due to the BDC it say to zero at 50 then move from there . so my question is do i follow directions or just do what i prefer?
what specific reticle is in it?
Safe to say some muj didn’t make it back home when you were behind the scope 🇺🇸💪🦅
I always lose the reticle when I put it on target when I am target focused. Without illumination I have to put it back on a light background to pick it up again. Any suggestions ?
I am still dazzled with targeting 500 with NATO 5.56. We were told (long long ago) that it is maxes out at 200 with steel sights. And 350 with the green steel core ones, with trij. What changed that it is gtg for 500 these days?
77 grain ammo
If anyone sees this comment ... What would you recommend for an AR optic Scope vs Red Dot ?
Still running the SSP trigger in that gun? Thoughts of it compared to an SD-C or SD-E?
Love it, there’s something about a straight trigger I find very easy to press
At what point would you use a 100 yd zero? I run an ATACR 1-8 with a mil reticle. Which zero would you recommend?
depends on your application, if you're going to build data or use a ballistic program to engage at farther ranges, zero at 100, strelok pro is a good app , I'll do a video on longer range later
@@kevinowens9636 thanks for the reply!! Tbh my rifle is more general purpose, I’ve been running a 12.5 w/ a Surefire rc2 556 , Atacr 1-8 on top. It’s been a very good do all rig, I use it to hunt, train and to compete. It’s been good to me. Thanks for the video!
@@1GruntZPOV sounds like a good setup. Do you have POI shift when going from suppressed to unsuppressed?
@@d3ltaohniner261 about 1/2 inch with good ammo, with cheap(using that loosely) ammo the shift is negligible due the the ammos inaccuracy. It’s repeatable though so if I needed to I could dial for the correction
With an 11.5 inch barrel where do you recommend your close zero to be at?
Same
Don’t know if you mentioned it, but at what distance do you zero the canted red dot to?
25 yards
How would you rate the normal 1.5x on Steyr AUG A1 ?
i didnt like it. not a red dot and not a magnigied optic, pick a lane
Helpful video. Do you have a certain ‘pull’ that you’ve adjusted to in order to shoot accurately that quickly (meaning how a pistol shooter might shoot low left, and anticipate it by holding high right)? Or have you worked the pull out of your shot / never had a pull?
If you shoot off a bag it’s not much of a problem. Bags and tripods hold the muzzle steady for the most part. The main thing with a rifle is to ‘squeeze’ the trigger. Squeeze your fist, don’t ‘pull’ with your trigger finger.
I was always taught 25/300 in the army for the m4a1. Is the new logic 35/300?
Did you zero with magnification at 1x or 6x?
6X, you should zero at max power
My reticle is mrad, first number is 200, where do I zero? This is 7.62x51
Algorithm.
👍