I personally prefer to write down my elevation zeros for specific ranges in a data book or notebook based on clicks from bottom. I’m not a fan of this because elevation zeros do change based on location (specifically altitude above sea level) and age of the barrel (diminishing muzzle velocity as throat wears). Note that some people like to make additional marks on the rear of the rear sight housing to help index windage, but I find that the existing windage index marks in conjunction with the single mark added on the knob itself work fine for me.įor marking elevation, some people like to mark their rear sight so each elevation zero for 200, 300, and 600 yards are indexed for quick adjustment. National Match AR-15 rear sight, “one off” test
Note how even though the windage index marks on the rear of the housing appear centered in all three cases, it’s not easy to tell, whereas with the added paint mark it is very obvious.
The following image from top to bottom shows the rear sight when it is one click right of center, at mechanical zero, and one click left of center. Used in conjunction with the index marks already on the rear sight, I can easily reset and verify that the rear sight is at what I believe is mechanical zero.Įven if the rear sight is one click off windage-wise, I will know because the mark on the knob won’t match mark on side of rear sight housing. The above photos show how I can see the marks either from the side or while behind the gun. National Match AR-15 rear sight, added windage mark National Match AR-15 rear sight, added windage mark (45deg view) With the rear sight at what I am fairly confident is the mechanical zero (and very close, if not the same as the no-wind zero), I take a silver paint pen and make a line across the side of the elevation knob and the rear sight housing. I’m a minimalist so I only run a single mark, but it’s effective. You can easily remedy this issue by marking the windage knob itself. I’ll come back 15 clicks right and look at the rear sight and it appears centered based on the index marks, when in actuality it’s still 2 clicks left of center. Sometimes I’ll make minor adjustments during a 22-round 600 yard prone string and forget to write down after a shot if I made an adjustment.įor example, I may finish firing the last round of a 22-round string thinking I had 15 clicks left windage when I actually had 17 clicks of left windage on the gun. I’ve had this happen to me occasionally, specifically after finishing up on the 600 yard line during a variable wind string of fire. If for some reason you go over 13 clicks left from mechanical zero and don’t remember how many clicks you came over, can you recenter the rear sight using the index marks? There’s a good chance you can, but there’s also the chance you’ll be off by one or two clicks either way from center.
National Match AR-15 rear sight (new upper)
But, if you ever look at the standard index marks on the rear sight housing, the lines are very fine/thin. Initially, rookie competitors will question why this is necessary since the rear sight housing already has index marks for windage. When marking for windage, pretty much most competitors mark their rear sight in order to make resetting to mechanical windage zero faster and more definite. Marking the rear sight is simply the act placing index marks on a rear sight to show the mechanical zero (elevation and windage) and/or the operator’s zeros. But what does this mean and why should you do it? New shooters getting into the sport of competitive High Power with a Service Rifle have probably been told to mark their sights.