Technique
Zeroing a Rimfire: 25, 50 or 75 Yards and Why It Matters
A .22 LR bullet leaves slowly and slows down quickly, which means the arc it flies is steep at both ends. Choosing where that arc crosses your line of sight is a bigger decision on a rimfire than on almost anything else you will shoot.
The short version
- A zero is not one distance, it is two. The bullet starts below the sight line, rises to cross it, travels above it, and crosses back down at the distance you set.
- 50 yards is the sensible default for most rimfire use. It keeps the whole trajectory within a useful window across the distances a .22 is actually shot at.
- Scope height is a bigger factor than people expect. A high mount on a rimfire increases the offset between bore and sight line, which matters disproportionately at close range.
- Ammunition changes the answer. Standard velocity, high velocity and subsonic loads fly differently enough that a zero confirmed with one is not a zero with another.
The shape of a rimfire trajectory
The sight sits above the bore. That single geometric fact produces everything else.
Because the sight line is above the barrel and the barrel is angled slightly upward to compensate, the bullet begins its flight below the line of sight, climbs to cross it at some near distance, travels above it through the middle of its flight, and then falls back through it at the distance you zeroed. Past that point it keeps falling, and it falls faster the further it goes.
Every rifle does this. What makes rimfire distinctive is how compressed and how steep the whole thing is. A .22 LR bullet leaves the muzzle at a fraction of centerfire velocity and sheds what it has quickly, so the arc that a centerfire rifle spreads across four hundred yards, a rimfire completes inside a hundred and fifty. The drop past the zero is not gentle.
Choosing 25, 50 or 75
| Zero | Suits | The trade |
|---|---|---|
| 25 yards | Indoor ranges, backyard shooting, pest control at close range, training new shooters | Drop past 50 yards becomes significant quickly. Fine if you never shoot past the zero. |
| 50 yards | General-purpose plinking, small game, most range use — the default for a reason | Requires holdover past roughly 75 yards and a slight hold-under in the middle band. |
| 75 yards | Shooters who mostly work at longer rimfire distances, some positional competition | The bullet sits further above the sight line mid-flight, which matters on small close targets. |
| 100 yards | Precision and competition where every shot is dialled anyway | Substantial mid-range rise; a poor general-purpose choice. |
Pick 50 unless you have a specific reason not to. It places the near crossing close enough that short-range shots need very little thought, keeps the mid-range rise small, and delays the steep part of the drop until past the distance most rimfire shooting happens. It is also the distance most rimfire scopes are parallax-set for, which is not a coincidence.
Choose 25 only if your shooting genuinely lives there — an indoor range, a short backyard, pest control inside a barn. Choose 75 or 100 only if you are dialling or holding deliberately for every shot anyway, in which case the zero is a reference point rather than a setting you rely on.
In positional disciplines where every stage has a known distance and you build holds or dial for each one, the zero distance matters much less than having a trajectory you know cold. Pick whatever your squad and your reticle work with, and spend the effort on the data rather than on the choice.
Scope height and close-range offset
The vertical distance between the centre of the bore and the centre of the optic is the offset, and it is the reason a rifle zeroed at 50 yards can shoot noticeably low at 10 yards.
At very close range the bullet has not yet climbed to the sight line, so it strikes below where you are aiming by something approaching the full offset. That is a small number on a low-mounted scope and a much larger one on a high mount or a red dot on a riser — and rimfire shooting includes a lot of close-range work where it matters.
Three practical consequences:
- Mount as low as the objective allows. Low rings are not just an aesthetic preference; they compress the whole close-range problem.
- Know your close-range hold. If you shoot pests at ten or fifteen yards with a rifle zeroed at fifty, find out on paper how low it hits and remember the number.
- Adapters add height. A dovetail-to-Picatinny adapter plus rings plus a red dot on a riser stacks up quickly. Check the total before assuming.
A zeroing method that works
The goal is to get on paper cheaply and then refine deliberately, without burning a box of ammunition chasing your own corrections.
- Start close. Set up at a short distance to get on paper at all. Being on paper is the entire objective of this step; do not refine here.
- Shoot from a proper rest. Front rest or bag and a rear bag. A bipod alone is not enough, and shooting a zero off a jacket rolled on a bench is how you zero your position rather than your rifle.
- Fire groups, not single shots. Three shots minimum, five is better. A single shot tells you nothing about where the rifle is pointing, only where that shot went.
- Measure from the centre of the group, not from the nearest hole or the one you liked.
- Correct once, deliberately. Work out the adjustment, dial it, and shoot another group. Do not adjust between shots.
- Move to your chosen zero distance and repeat. Confirm with at least two groups, not one.
- Verify on a different day. A zero confirmed once in one set of conditions is a hypothesis.
Many rimfire scopes are marked in quarter-inch increments measured at fifty yards rather than in true quarter-MOA, which means a standard correction computed the centerfire way comes out roughly double what you intended. Run a box test — group, dial a known number of clicks, group again, dial back, group again — measure the actual movement, and write the real value inside your scope cap. Twenty rounds spent here saves an afternoon of chasing corrections.
Building a dope card that is actually yours
Published trajectory tables and ballistic calculators are useful starting points and poor substitutes for measurement. Rimfire velocity varies meaningfully between lots, individual barrels differ, and the low velocities involved make the drop sensitive to conditions in ways centerfire shooters are not used to.
The only trajectory you can rely on is the one you shot.
- Zero at your chosen distance with the ammunition you actually intend to use.
- Shoot groups at fixed increments out to the furthest distance you will realistically shoot, and record the centre of each group relative to the point of aim.
- Convert to whatever unit your reticle uses — mils, MOA or plain inches of holdover — so the card matches how you will actually use it.
- Include the close-range numbers. Most people record the far end and forget that a shot at fifteen yards also needs a hold.
- Note the ammunition, the date and the conditions on the card itself.
- Tape it to the stock. A dope card in a notebook at home is not a dope card.
Do this once per ammunition type you use seriously. A card built with high-velocity bulk ammunition will mislead you the day you load subsonics, and the difference is large enough to matter well inside a hundred yards.
Why zeros drift
A rimfire zero that has moved is usually telling you about something other than the scope.
- Loose action screws. The most common cause by a wide margin, and the first thing to check. Torque them evenly and check again after a few sessions, particularly on a new rifle or after any stock work.
- Loose rings or base. Second most common. A scope creeping in its rings behaves exactly like a scope that cannot hold zero.
- A different ammunition lot. Even the same product from the same maker can shift point of impact between lots. This is normal in rimfire, not a defect.
- A deep bore clean. If you stripped the barrel back to bare metal, the first rounds afterwards are not representative and your zero will appear to have moved until the barrel settles.
- Stock contact. Wood moves with humidity, and a barrel that has started touching the forend where it did not before will change point of impact seasonally.
- Temperature. Rimfire ammunition is more temperature-sensitive than most shooters expect, and a zero confirmed in summer heat may not hold in winter cold.
Work down that list before concluding the optic is faulty. In rimfire, the optic is rarely the answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best zero distance for a .22 LR?
Fifty yards for general use. It places the near crossing close enough that short shots need little thought, keeps the mid-range rise small, and delays the steep part of the drop until beyond where most rimfire shooting happens. It also matches the parallax setting of most rimfire scopes. Choose 25 only if your shooting genuinely lives at close range, and 75 or beyond only if you dial or hold deliberately for every shot.
Why does my rifle shoot low at very close range?
Because the scope sits above the bore and the bullet has not yet climbed to meet the line of sight. At ten or fifteen yards the bullet is still below the sight line by something approaching the full height of your mount. This is geometry, not a fault. Mount as low as your objective allows, and find out on paper how low your rifle hits at the close distances you actually shoot.
Do I need to re-zero when I change ammunition?
Yes, and often even between lots of the same product. Standard velocity, high velocity and subsonic loads fly differently enough to move point of impact noticeably, and rimfire manufacturing varies more between lots than centerfire does. Confirm your zero whenever you change what you are feeding it, and build a separate dope card for any load you use seriously.
How many shots should a zeroing group be?
Three at absolute minimum, five is better, and more is better still when you are making the final adjustment. A single shot tells you where that shot went, not where the rifle is pointing. Measure from the centre of the group rather than from your favourite hole, and correct once deliberately rather than adjusting between shots.
What is a near zero and why does it matter?
It is the closer of the two distances at which the bullet path crosses the line of sight, on its way up. Setting a far zero automatically sets a near zero and everything between them, so choosing your zero distance decides the whole close-and-mid-range picture. Knowing where your near zero sits tells you which distances need no hold at all.
My zero keeps moving — is my scope faulty?
Rarely. Check the action screws first, then the rings and base — those two account for most drifting zeros. After that, consider whether you changed ammunition lot, deep-cleaned the bore recently, or whether a wooden stock has moved with humidity and is now contacting the barrel. Rimfire zeros are also more temperature-sensitive than most people expect.
Can I just use a ballistic calculator instead of shooting a dope card?
Use it as a starting point, not as the answer. Rimfire velocities vary meaningfully between lots and barrels, and the low velocities involved make drop unusually sensitive to conditions. Shoot groups at fixed increments with the ammunition you actually use, record the results in whatever unit your reticle speaks, and tape the card to the stock. Measured data beats predicted data every time.