Now that AR-15 rifles have adjustable
elevation on the front and rear sight, you can position the front sight one time, and forget it. It is important to start by
setting the elevation of your front sight properly, so your rear sight will operate according to the calibrated elevation
knob. There are two ways of setting the permanent front sight position. That depends on which method you
intend to use when adjusting your rear sight. The military style AR-15 rear sight is
designed to be adjusted in meters. It has a flip-up peep sight that gives you access to a large aperture for 0 - 200
meters, and a small aperture for 300 - 800 meters.
This is an AR-15 rear sight. This one is a
match sight with a hooded aperture.
This is the procedure for adjusting your "combat zero" setting. First, you will have to establish
the mechanical zero setting for your rear sight. This is accomplished by selecting the small rear sight aperture and
setting the elevation knob to 300 meters. Then sight in the rifle at 25 meters by adjusting the elevation of your "front"
sight. After you are sighted in at 25 meters, you will never need to adjust the front sight again. Your rifle will now
be sighted in fairly close when using standard issue ammunition. That's all there is to it. Your elevation knob is
now calibrated for 300 - 800 meters.
For example, to shoot a target at 600 meters, just set your rear sight elevation to 6. With the
military rear sight, you also need to know that each click on your windage knob moves the strike of the bullet like this:
However, there is another procedure for adjusting the sights on your AR-15 rifle. You can
setup your rifle using known "come up" settings at each distance, similar to using a target scope. This method takes a
bit more time to set your sights, but your adjustments will be much more accurate.
