Zero range?

M

MCary

New member
I'm bored here at work. I started reading old posts. Read a post where a guy was going antelope hunting so he zeroed his rifle for 200'yards. Now he just needed to ask the antelope to walk to the 200 yard mark and stand still. JK

So it made me curious. What range do you usually sight in at? And why?

There are many methods. I have on scope with a ballistic reticle set for a .223 with hold over marks. If I want to use them, it must be sighted in at 100 yards.

Many shooters I know use 100 yards routinely. I'm not sure their reasons. The antelope hunter obviously wanted to sight his rifle to the yardage of his expected target. There's the 50/200 method. Zero at fifty and you're good to 200. Then there's target turrets and a dope chart. Doesn't really matter then.

My favorite is MPBR. In that method, you start with your target size. If I want to hit a 5 inch target with my load in my .223, I zero at 25 yards and I can hold true and hit that 5 inch target out to 275 yards. No hold over necessary, no adjusting turrets, just find a bush 275 yards away at setup, wait until they past that bush, point and shoot.

So what do you like?
 
I like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif
 
I'm getting a new rifle soon for precision long range shooting. For this purpose and for target shooting, there is plenty of time to plan the shot and hitting a target 3" high at 100 yards is a miss. I will zero this rifle at 100 yards, set the turrets to zero and create a dope chart. Different strokes...
 
Originally Posted By: borkonI like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif


I'd like to hear about these 400yd MPBR rifles.
 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: borkonI like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif


I'd like to hear about these 400yd MPBR rifles.

laugh.gif


- DAA
 
100 yard zero unless i'm going for MPB which i'm not a fan of, I like to know exactly where my bullets going not a general area of where it may hit.

 
On my precision rifles with scopes that dial, I zero at 100 and zero out the turrets. While in the field I keep it dialed for 200 yards, that takes care of 90% of the shots I get. If the range is something enough different that a 200 yard impact won't take care of it then I dial as needed.

Regular rifles with scopes that don't dial, I just zero at 200 and be done. A 200 yard zero on most rifles will kill coyotes holding on fur from 0-225, no muss, no fuss.

I use this system so that basically all my rifles are the same. Using MPBR it means all the rifles are zeroed different, at different ranges. That leads to lots of unnecessary complication, which leads to unnecessary misses.

At least that is what works for me, swapping around from rifle to rifle.
 
Frankly, speed kills and it also generally means a flat trajectory. For example, my 17 Fireball shooting a 25 gr bullet at 3750 (I actually am pushing them a bit faster) sighted for 200 yard 0 gives me 0.1 at 50, 1 at 100, 1 at 150, 0 at 200, -2.3 at 250 and -6 at 300 so its pretty much hold on target..... save for the 300 which we dont shoot in the close confines of the hill country of Southernmost Illinois.

Now that being said.... my 6.5 Creedmoor shooting 120 gr factory Hornady stuff with a BC of 0.450 runs from 0.5 at 50 to 0 at 200 and only -2.5 at 250 and -6.4 at 300. Pretty flat for where and what I am shooting.

I guess I should add, I use the online ballistic calculators as a start. I generally sight in at 50 yards using the reading from the calculator(s) and then move out to check validity. You do not have to waste time shooting at 100 yards to set your rifle up. However you should always check your settings against real distance targets just for S&G......

Just an old guys thoughts......

I have dope on all my rounds printed up so that I can consult if need be. Thats only happened once and it was a long poke at a coyote in the Ohio River bottoms. I dialed and shot and the coyote died. There was some luck here I must admit and I did whoop it up a bit after the shot.



 
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Dead on at 200....on my main coyote rifle I have a dope chart affixed right on the magazine..for those occasional dogs that hang up beyond poa.

My creedmore is zeroed the same but my dope chart is in my range finder pouch... which is attached directly to my bino harness.. which is always with me.
 
Originally Posted By: DAAOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: borkonI like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif


I'd like to hear about these 400yd MPBR rifles.

laugh.gif


- DAA

Hahaha! I figured if you can't even get close at 400, I would see how he gets by just holding on fur that far
wink.gif
 
So if the round crosses the sight line at 50 yards using a 200 zero, why zero at 200. The target is so far away you'd have more difficulty holding the same on all shots. Why not use 50 for more precision?
 
I run my .308 AR-10 zeroed at 75 yards. My 75 and 150 zeroes are the same. With my 4-12x40mm Nikon Coyote Special this allows me aim points out to 475 yards. So from 0-475 I am good to go.

My advice, no matter what zero you run, shoot your rifle, A LOT!!! Get to know what it does at different ranges. Don't rely solely on the numbers. Practice, practice, practice. Shooting is a perishable skill.
 
Originally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: DAAOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: borkonI like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif


I'd like to hear about these 400yd MPBR rifles.

laugh.gif


- DAA

Hahaha! I figured if you can't even get close at 400, I would see how he gets by just holding on fur that far
wink.gif


To be fair though, Dave (Borkon) is not exaggerating either. He's employing hold over at 400, but is still on fur. I don't really take those shots much anymore, since my hands started shaking a few years ago I just can't shoot good enough. But his rig and all the ones I use for coyote calling, with a 4" target MPBR, are hitting ~6" low or even a little flatter than that at 400. So it's very realistic to employ hold over on a 400 yard shot without getting off fur.

For myself though, anymore, if I'm thinking about hold over, even hold over still on fur, I tend to just not take that shot these days. Used to dump them out to 400 pretty routinely with my .17 Predator though. And still do on occasion, but only when I'm feeling really confident in the conditions and the hold, otherwise, I just don't bother. It's only a coyote, they'll be plenty more and I just don't care how many I get anymore, haven't for a long time.

- DAA
 
Originally Posted By: MCary The target is so far away you'd have more difficulty holding the same on all shots.

That's valuable information to demonstrate to yourself. Computer models are great for bench racing. And if the input variables are entered accurately, the predictions will also be very accurate. But there will never be any substitute for actual shooting and verification of what the entire system is actually doing at distance. I'd never take a rifle afield with any confidence in what it's doing at distance based solely on the numbers. Gotta actually shoot it and see for myself.

One input variable that is critical here is sight height. Measure it and know, precisely. Don't accept the default values. This is especially true with AR's and bolt guns sporting large optics requiring tall rings. If you are running something like that and just use the default sight height, which is usually 1.5", the numbers are going to be pretty far off at distance.

- DAA
 
Originally Posted By: DAAOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: DAAOriginally Posted By: skinneyOriginally Posted By: borkonI like a fast one!!
Hold on fur out too 400 yards
smile.gif


I'd like to hear about these 400yd MPBR rifles.

laugh.gif


- DAA

Hahaha! I figured if you can't even get close at 400, I would see how he gets by just holding on fur that far
wink.gif


To be fair though, Dave (Borkon) is not exaggerating either. He's employing hold over at 400, but is still on fur. I don't really take those shots much anymore, since my hands started shaking a few years ago I just can't shoot good enough. But his rig and all the ones I use for coyote calling, with a 4" target MPBR, are hitting ~6" low or even a little flatter than that at 400. So it's very realistic to employ hold over on a 400 yard shot without getting off fur.

For myself though, anymore, if I'm thinking about hold over, even hold over still on fur, I tend to just not take that shot these days. Used to dump them out to 400 pretty routinely with my .17 Predator though. And still do on occasion, but only when I'm feeling really confident in the conditions and the hold, otherwise, I just don't bother. It's only a coyote, they'll be plenty more and I just don't care how many I get anymore, haven't for a long time.

- DAA



I completely understand! I was just seein if you caught the drift. I do not use a MPB method at all (and certainly have nothing against those that do), I use a reticle or dial if need be with a 100yd zero on all of my rifles.
 
It's all good
laugh.gif
. I knew where you were at. Just wasn't sure Dave would know and wanted to point out that what he said is true.

- DAA
 
I think that if you have a 223 scope calibrated that requires a 100yrd zero then that debate is over. Use that, or why did you get the scope? Take advantage of it.

The problem i am solving for is Coyote hunting. I want to be able to get the round on the coyote and the farther that i can open up that kill circle confidently, the more likely it is that once something enters that circle i can put it in the truck.

One of the issues i run into is a coyote coming in and hanging up or running off and then stopping. For those (especially the second) i need to be able to gauge that distance, adjust holdover and fire the best shot I can usually in a short order.

I have a BDC reticle and range card on my rifle. Which leaves me the chance to use the MPB method. I could zero at 150 yrds, knowing that anything inside that I am just hitting an inch high, at most, until it's inside shotgun range. Outside of 150yrds, i have until 250 and i am basically up to an 1" low.
Then a range card on the stock tells me which circle to use for the longer shots. (I also have a buddy that brings a range finder and calls out distances before the start of the stand) I don't create the range card until i shoot it, i just don't trust the computer modeling. It gets me a good idea on what ranges to check and verify, but that is it.


interesting question to see the different responses and methods to.
 
Originally Posted By: Tbone-AZ

I have a BDC reticle and range card on my rifle. Which leaves me the chance to use the MPB method. I could zero at 150 yrds, knowing that anything inside that I am just hitting an inch high, at most, until it's inside shotgun range. Outside of 150yrds, i have until 250 and ....1" low

Using a .223 the drop at 250 with a 150 zero is more like 6" isn't it?
 
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