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I zero my AR's at 25 yards, because that's what I learned in basic. It's worked well for me. I test it at 100 yards. I don't use optics on the AR's. I have pop up peep sights that I really like. And I can't imagine shooting that small of a projectile out much further than 100 yards. My deer rifles, I zero at 100 yards. I have 4x20 scopes on my 270 and my 300wm. The furthest shot I've taken here in Texas with the 270 was 430 yards, and it dropped on the spot with a perfect kill shot. I shoot for heart and lungs for anything 250yds or less. Greater than that and I shoot for the spinal column about half way up the neck. My thought process (and I may be off but it's what I've always been taught) is that with a longer shot, I'd rather miss than get a hit that isn't immediately fatal, and have them crawl off somewhere and die where I can't find them. In my 40 or so years of hunting, it's served me well. And I haven't lost a deer in over 25 years.

I did shoot 3 times at one about 12 years ago, and after the 3rd shot I was flustered and was thinking... I never miss. What's going on. When I got the rifle back to the camp, I realized that the reticle was broken. The cross hair was dangling. I was shooting way high.

My first Texas deer, I was in a blind which as an Arkansas raised hunter was such a strange concept to me... And I shot a nice healthy doe about 10 minutes before sundown. The muzzle flash made me loose sight of her for a split second. When I could refocus, I saw her about 5 feet away, still grazing. So I shot again. This time when I regained focus, I could see her white belly exactly where she was when I shot. I waited about 10 minutes, got in the truck and drove out the 125 yards to where she was. Only to find two. One with her back towards me blending in, and another about 6 feet behind her with her belly towards me. Lots of good meat in the freezer that day.