Redback One Group and Zero Standards
by Jason Falla
The firer is always going to be the weak link when it comes to accuracy. Marksmanship standards can assist with maintaining quality when it comes to individual marksmanship. The military holds personnel to a general marksmanship standard of 1.5-inch groups at 25-meters or 6-inches at 100-meters. I believe that with a quality weapon and ammunition and some good training, a more realistic group size should be 1-inch at 25-meters and 4-inches at 100-meters.
Zeroing
50m-200m Zero – To achieve a 50/200-meter zero, the MPI of the shot group will be 1” low of the aiming mark at 25-meter. When using the Redback One Zero target the shooter will use the solid 1” square of the lower left or right zeroing target as the Point Of Aim or (POA) reference at 25-meters. The POI should be center of the hollow 1” square directly below.
The Extreme Spread of a group is measured from the center of the furthest apart shots in the group. The distance between these shots is known as the extreme spread or (ES). The ES at 25-meters should no more than 1.5-inches. This represents the minimum marksmanship requirements at 25-meters.
It is important to confirm zero at each zero distance. The first distance will be at 50-meters. When using the Redback One Zero target, shooters will use the lower bullseye target to confirm at 50-meters. Groups should be POA/POI at this distance. Minor adjustments may be required for some shooters. The Extreme Spread at this distance should be no more than 3-inches.
After the group has been assessed, the shooter should then move to the 100-meter line and fire (3) deliberate (10) round groups for marksmanship purposes, breaking and resetting the firing position between each group. This will establish a Central Zero Point (CZP), or true zero of the weapon. The CZP should be no more than 2” above the POA at 100m. The ES at this distance should be no greater than 6-inches. This represents the minimum marksmanship standards at this range.
By performing this process shooters will become more confident in the performance of the zero between 0-100m and understand the trajectory of the bullet during flight.
Confirmation of Zero
The shooter must move to the 200-meter line and confirm the zero is correct and can accurately engage targets at that range. An automated range with monitor to reference shot placement is preferred. However, is this is not available; using a butts-party to identify impacts can be used. As an alternate method, several steel reactive targets can be placed at the berm. The shooter can engage the steel targets to receive instant feedback of hits. This method is relatively crude, as it will not allow the shooter to determine exact accuracy.
Firearm User Network 
Hubert Townsend
Mar 20, 2014 @ 13:12:57
So, is the army shooting this method of zeroing now? A pic or photo of the drawing would be nice for this article as I have never heard of this method. I applaud any method of zeroing that shoots beyond 25m, because in the old method the shooter never confirmed where the rounds were going, only that they hit a silhouette target. whether all hits were several MOA to the side couldn’t be known and there was never a true zero– just putting in the dark and it either went in or didn’t.
The Marines have had it right for years. When will the Army ever learn?
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John M. Buol Jr.
Mar 20, 2014 @ 15:23:13
This is the zero procedure suggested by Jason Falla/Redback One, an independent instructor. It isn’t official Army or official anything. I post it as FYI. I added a pic of his suggested zero target.
>> I applaud any method of zeroing that shoots beyond 25m, because in the old method the shooter never confirmed where the rounds were going
Aye. Being “just one square off” is a zero error of close to two MOA.
>> The Marines have had it right for years. When will the Army ever learn?
When Department of Army repairs its dilapidated KD ranges and has sufficient number of trained personnel to competently use them. So, probably never.
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E.D.M.
Mar 22, 2014 @ 09:16:12
Thanks for the post. Out of curiosity, with the 1-1.5 inch standard at 25m, is that from prone or some other position? If it’s prone, then I think I’m getting there. If it’s offhand, then I’ve got a long way to go.
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John M. Buol Jr.
Mar 22, 2014 @ 10:55:33
All standards here assume prone. Army standard is 6 MOA sandbag-supported prone and Marine standard is 6 MOA sling-supported prone with rack grade M16A2 and issue M855 ball or equivalent. Falla bumps this to a 4 MOA standard from the same position but allows better equipment (slicked up ARs with optics.)
When training for All Army and AFSAM, my goals were 2 MOA magazine-supported prone, 4 MOA unsupported sitting and 5 MOA kneeling, all with issue, rack grade rifles and ammo.
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