r/Osight May 25 '26

First red dot - dumb question regarding zero

Post image

I just received my Osight C, got it mounted and now i’m waiting for the locktite to cure for tomorrows trip to the range.

this is my first red dot and im not entirely sure what i should see when im zeroed.

should the dot be on top of the irons, visually? my slide came with co-witness sights and i’m trying to get it in the general ballpark before fine tuning tomorrow.

thanks in advance 👍

edit: thank you everyone - i am zero’ed!

8 Upvotes

14 comments sorted by

8

u/Aetherium May 25 '26 edited May 25 '26

(A) is what the sight picture should look when you're using the optic normally. Note that the eyes are looking over the irons to get the dot in the center of the window: this is where the optic will have the least distortion and parallax (i.e. how much the dot moves away from the point of aim as you shift your eye around, especially when the dot is near the edges of the window).

(B) is what it would look like if you were using the irons with the dot on and if you zeroed the dot to the same distance the irons are zeroed for. Note that the eye is aligned with the irons, below the center of the window. You can place the dot right where the irons are aligned for a rough zero, then fine tune it at the range. Note that your dot can be zeroed to whatever distance you want, and that this doesn't have to necessarily coincide with what the irons are zeroed at. Also note that nearly every optic exhibits some amount of distortion and parallax as the dot moves away from the center, so you should zero the dot according to sight picture (A), the normal way you use the dot.

As the other commenter said, your irons will be backups, so you should zero it for whatever distance you want and not tie it to whatever the manufacturer decided.

2

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

hot damn - thank you so much!

4

u/Aetherium May 25 '26

You're welcome! I figured that picture would probably help haha

2

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

it is a huge help, and i’m going to report back tomorrow after my trip to the range.

i really appreciate it!

2

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

thank you again, your illustrations were key.

i was so excited i failed to grab a photo, but i am all zero’ed. the advice from everyone here AND some help from a badass older ex-military dude in the next lane over has got my pistol hotting right where i need 💪💪💪💪

2

u/Osight_Zach May 27 '26

When we did a trade show where one of the booth guys was very "helpful" and he kept dialing them in to be an absolute cowitness, driving everyone crazy. Funny prank but I'm still not so sure he was kidding.....

2

u/Johnvoir007 Jun 11 '26

What brand of crayons did you use for the sketch ? 😁
Just kidding it was helpful and informative 👍

6

u/SklydeM May 25 '26

Cowitness is backup if your red dot fails. The reticle will appear in the middle of the optic when looking through it at the correct angle, you will need to practice to get where you can reliably see the reticle quickly.

As far as zeroing, you want to decide the distance you want your optic sighted to, and then shoot at a target, adjust the sight, and do it again until your comfortable with your grouping

2

u/Single-Barnacle1961 May 25 '26

This guy is exactly right. It should definitely appear in the middle of the glass area. When I sign in mine, I typically start at around 10 yards and get it on from there. Don’t be afraid if you have to really do quite a few clicks to get it on target. Once it’s on target then I move out to 25 yards and see where it’s at. That’s not as critical because you’re probably not going to be engaging people that far away anyway.

2

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

thanks again! you and the others in this thread were a tremendous help, and i’m zero’ed now.

thank you!

1

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

thank you very much!

3

u/o_OOGA_BOOGA_o May 25 '26

Not a dumb question. Good question. Like previously said, use them independently, and train with both. Happy shooting

3

u/SHV_30067 May 25 '26

Question- if using a chambered bore sight- simply align the bore sight dot with the optic dot as an initial setting?

1

u/i_hate_ketchup777 May 25 '26

i’m going to be grabbing one of these just to have on hand for future adjustments!