I Zero My Red Dots in My Garage. There, I Said It.

Yep. I zero my red dots in my garage.

Well…sort of.

Before somebody immediately heads to the comments to tell me that’s not how you zero an optic, let me explain.

I swap optics around pretty regularly. Sometimes I’m testing something new. Sometimes an optic works perfectly fine, but I don’t like how it looks or feels on a particular gun. And sometimes I just decide I want to change something because, well, apparently leaving my guns alone isn’t something I’m very good at.

Recently, that happened with my Staccato CS.

I had a Gideon Optics Granite mounted on it. The Granite worked. I had already shot the gun with it and had no real complaints about the optic itself. But after spending more time with the setup, I decided I wanted something that looked and felt a little more streamlined on the CS.

So I pulled it off and mounted a Holosun 507 Comp.

And whenever I change an optic, I want to get it reasonably close before I ever get to the range.

Enter the Garage Zero

My solution is pretty simple: a laser bore sight.

I’ve been using the Wheeler Professional Laser Bore Sighter, which lets me establish a reference point and adjust the optic at home. It takes a few minutes, doesn’t burn ammunition, and—most importantly—usually gets me pretty damn close.

That last part matters.

I’m not saying a laser bore sight replaces actually zeroing your gun.

It doesn’t.

I’m using it to establish a starting point.

Instead of mounting a new optic, showing up at the range, firing a round, wondering where the hell it went, making a huge adjustment, firing another round, and repeating the process, I can do most of that initial work at home.

Then when I get to the range, I’m confirming and fine-tuning rather than starting completely from scratch.

Tools Are Part of the Investment

We spend a lot of money on guns and optics, but I’ve learned that having the right tools at home can be just as valuable.

That’s one of the reasons Brownells has become one of my go-to places when I’m working on a new setup or changing something around. Whether I’m looking for tools, mounting hardware, magazines, parts, cleaning supplies or something else for the workbench, there’s a pretty good chance I’m checking Brownells.

And if you’re picking something up there, you can use our code BOP10 at checkout.

The Wheeler bore sight is a perfect example of the type of tool I like having around. It isn’t exciting. Nobody is going to look at my range bag and ask me about my sweet laser bore sighter.

But I’ve probably gotten more practical use out of it than plenty of much cooler things I’ve bought.

Because ammo isn’t free.

Neither is range time.

I’d rather spend both actually shooting.

A Bore Sight Isn’t the Final Answer

This is the important part.

The laser gets me close.

Live fire tells me the truth.

A bore sight isn’t accounting for everything happening when a projectile actually leaves the barrel. Your ammunition, distance, point of aim versus point of impact and the individual gun all matter.

So I don’t consider the process finished until I’ve confirmed it with live ammunition.

For me, that’s the entire advantage of doing the initial work at home. I’m not trying to eliminate the range zero. I’m trying to make the range portion faster.

Changing Optics Doesn’t Have to Be a Big Deal

I think this is really the bigger point.

Sometimes shooters are hesitant to change an optic because they finally have the gun zeroed and don’t want to go through the process again.

I don’t really worry about that anymore.

If I decide an optic isn’t working for a particular setup—or I simply want to try something different—I’ll swap it.

Mount it properly.

Bore sight it.

Get it close.

Then confirm it at the range.

Done.

That’s exactly what I did going from the Gideon Granite to the Holosun 507 Comp on the Staccato CS.

There wasn’t anything wrong with the Granite. In fact, that’s something worth emphasizing. Not every piece of gear I remove from a gun is being removed because it failed some test.

Sometimes another optic just fits the gun better.

And for me, the 507 Comp felt like the better fit for this particular setup.

The Internet Will Probably Tell Me I’m Doing It Wrong

That’s fine.

One of the things we’ve always tried to do with MacBroz is share what we’re actually doing—not pretend there’s only one correct way to approach everything.

This is what works for me.

My garage setup gets the optic close without wasting ammunition, and then I verify everything with live fire before I consider the gun ready.

Could you skip the laser and zero entirely at the range?

Absolutely.

Could you use a rest, bags or some much more elaborate process?

Of course.

I’m not trying to convince you that my method is the method.

I’m just saying that if you’re constantly tinkering with guns like I am, a decent bore sight can make the process a whole lot easier.

And anything that means more of my range ammo gets spent actually shooting instead of chasing my zero around a target is a win in my book.

So now I’m curious:

How do you zero your red dots?

Are you bore sighting at home first? Starting from scratch at the range? Using a specific distance or method every time?

Let us know. I’m genuinely interested to see how everyone else is doing it.