BATTLE SIGHT ZERO (BZO): Who has it right?
Posted by Justin Sheriff
BATTLE SIGHT ZERO (BZO): Who has it right?
By LtCol Freddie Blish, USMC (Ret) is currently the General Manager of ROBAR Companies, Inc and a Range Master at Gunsite Academy, Inc.
“A BZO (battlesight zero) is the sight settings placed on your rifle for combat. In combat, your rifle’s BZO setting will enable engagement of point targets from 0–300 yards/meters in a no wind condition.” Marine Corps Reference Publication 3-01A Rifle Marksmanship
“Battlesight zero: A sight setting that soldiers keep on their weapons. It provides the highest probability of hitting most high-priority combat targets with minimum adjustment to the aiming point, a 250 meter sight setting as on the M16A1 rifle, and a 300 meter sight setting as on the M16A2 rifle.” Department of Army Field Manual 3-22.9
Per both the Marine Corps and Army field manuals a proper battlesight zero will allow a Soldier or Marine to engage an enemy threat without adjusting the elevation of their iron sights from point blank range or zero yards/meters out to 300 yards/meters. See Figure 1. Note that the Marine Corps teaches and uses yards and the Army teaches and uses meters. For edification 300 yards is roughly 274 meters and 300 meters is roughly 328 yards. A 300 yard/meter BZO makes sense for most combat situations. However, the Army and Marine Corps differ in how to set a BZO on a rifle or carbine. To add even more confusion numerous well known shooting schools and private trainers teach a different method for placing a proper BZO setting. Additionally, a certain special operations unit advocates and teaches a 100 yard zero. Who is right? Which method is best? Why?
To answer these questions and others we need to address some of the myths and misconceptions floating around regarding the proper battlesight zero to place on a Soldier’s or a Marine’s M16A2/A3/A4 Rifle or M4A1 Carbine iron sights. We are only going to address iron sights in this article and save a look at combat optics for a future issue.
The Stoner family of rifles and carbines have been with the U.S. military and some of our allies for over 40 years. While not without its problems, it has proven itself worthy on numerous battlefields around the world. Some may argue that the 5.56mm caliber is inadequate for large two legged critters, but the purpose of this article is not to address that point. Instead consider what might be the best method to BZO these firearms given a particular mission parameter.
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