where to zero for coyote's.

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Dave Allen

New member
hello..i know it's been mentioned in the past where to zero ?? a common answer would be dead on @ 100..or 1 1/2" high.. after boresighting in my backyard..or having someone @ the gunshop do it for me..i'm usually dead on @ 25 yard's.."but" it seem's to me i'm usually several inche's high @100 yard's..i wish i kept record's for that..then i start making adjustment's..for a 100 yard zero..it make's me wonder where i should really zero...in my experiance's most called coyote's show up in the 50 yard area..maybe i should set the scope @ low power & zero @ 50 yard's..i know the only way to truly determine this for me is to spend time @ the range..& see what my result's are..i'm just wondering if i'm alone in my thought's or what other's are doing ??
 
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What sort of caliber are we discussing here, and what's your typical ranges?

For my .25-06 I just put it 1" high at 100 yds. and I'm good for everything I do in South Alabama. Nothing too fancy. Same with my .300 (and .416) - but I put them both 1" high at 150 yds.

Generally 200 - 250 yards is as far as I shoot anything around here - beyond that there's just too much woodland "jungle", and I find that does just fine for me down here.
 
Try 1/4" high at 50 yrds. It should get you around 1 1/4" high at 100 yards. This is assuming you are using a high velocity .22 centerfire or the like. It seems to also work well for my .243. There is really too much variance to say exactly what your 100 yard height will be exactly, but I have always started with the 1/4" at 50 and it has always worked well.
 
I tried a 100 yard zero for a while on a coyote rifle but in the end I went back to the 200 yard zero that I'd always used. For most reasonably fast and flat calibers that equates to something in the range of 1.6-1.8 inches high at 100.

For all of the hype we give to different calibers, when you get right down to it there is very little trajectory difference in the first two to three hundred yards for common calibers like the 223, 22-250, 243, 270, 7mm Mag., 30-06. That said considering typical factory weight bullets and a coyote, or larger, sized target. Without looking it up, I think the greatest trajectory difference between those calibers listed is about 2" between the 223 and 22-250 at 300 yards shooting 55 grain bullets.
 
Dave if you are callin' coyote zero at 100. Most your shots will be well under 150 yards.

If you are shooting a bolt gun with the scope the traditional 1.5 inches above bore, you will only be a tiny bit under at 50 yards. I think my 243 hits about a half inch low at the most at 50.

Good rule of thumb for folks......... zero at your average killing distance based on your terrain and style. If its 100 or 300.
 
i think next time i'm in the field i will zero off my stick's..i ran a few test's about a year ago..shooting off the stick's..can't find the target's now..it seem's with a 100 yard zero..i was shooting 3"-4" low @ 50 & 100 yard's..now stick's are not as solid as the bench of course..but may provide me with more of a "real" solution..ya know know it's crunch time to get after the coyote's..i had all summer to do this..now i start worrying !! btw as far as caliber i'm talking a few rifle's..223,22/250,243..
 
All my varmint (coyote and smaller) rifles are zeroed for MPBR on a 4" target. That's the way I've been doing it since I got my first scope when I was a little kid. I'm super comfortable with it and it works for me.

- DAA
 
Keep it simple and know how to shoot. 1" high at a 100 has worked for me for a long time. Takes advantage of the trajectory of a flat shooting round for as far as I'm gonna shoot.
 
This year I have made a goal to not shoot at anything past like 250 yards UNLESS I am able to lay prone and be really stable. But for me I have always sighted my guns in at 200 Yards dead on. This has always worked for me.
 
I use the same gun I woodchuck hunt with my 223 savage so I zero at 100yrds and click to my down range settings, I have only shot a few yotes and they all were under 200 so I never have had to click yet, its only 3.3 inches in drop from 100-200yrds for me.

12.6@ 200yrds- 1/8 clicks
32.2@ 300
56.7@ 400
86.3@ 500
 
Last year my .223 was zeroed @ 200 yds with 55gr Black hills. 100 yd impact was just shy of 2" high. 50 yd impact was right on. Covers the bases pretty well, IMHO. This year I'll probably do the same with my reloads and note any trajectory change. Being a bowhunter, holding slightly high or low on a critter to account for yardage comes pretty easily. A 200yd zero efficiently allows for this.

On longer range rigs where precision factors more into the equation, I have 100yd zero and dial up or use reticle stadia holdover for looong shots. Admittedly, I don't expect to be using these firearms much for predator hunting.

I know that most shots at yotes are well inside of 150 yds, but I feel it wise to cover my butt with a 200 yd zero and be able to hold on fur rather than air in the event a 300 shot presents itself.
If a farther shot is not possible due to terrain/setup, then I'll just hunt with an Aimpoint on that stand.

Same as fishing, efficiently matching the tackle to the species and conditons combined with the knowledge of how to use it yields positive results...
 
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Last year my .223 was zeroed @ 200 yds with 55gr Black hills....

... but I feel it wise to cover my butt with a 200 yd zero and be able to hold on fur rather than air in the event a 300 shot presents itself...



Not to be argumentitive, but you do realize that using the Black Hills .223 55 gr. load as the example, if you are zeroed for 200, and don't hold over at 300, you're going to miss? Lots of variables not accounted for, of course, but using that particular load, zeroed for 200, you'll be somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 inches low at 300. That will in fact, require holding off of fur. Not much to be done about it with that particular load, either. Your 200 yard zero is already really close enough to MPBR.

The 200 yard zero doesn't make much sense to me for anything with a nice flat trajectory though. Just use a .22 caliber, 55 gr. Vmax being launched at 3700 fps, as an example (a nice warm .22-250 hand load, perhaps). With a 200 yard zero, you're still going to be about 5 1/2 inches low at 300, still requiring a bit of holdover. But with a MPBR zero of 250 yards (approx.), you can hold your normal sight picture for that 300 yard shot. Mind you, the difference at mid range, is less than an inch - it's not like you have to start "holding low" for close shots or anything. Use exactly the same hold you always have. No drama. The only difference, really, between the 200 yard zero and the 250 yard MPBR zero, is that you no longer have to worry about estimating range or making adjustments for range, clear out to 300 yards. Which is as far as most of us should be contemplating a shot at a coyote anyway.

Mind you, I'm not advocating anything. People should use whatever zero system they want to use. But I think people should at least think about all the possibilities, and have a logical reason that is based on facts, for using whatever zero they decide on.

It's just never made sense to me to take a flat trajectory, and then use a zero that would require me to estimate yardage and make adjustments, when I don't have to. The rifles I use for coyote hunting allow me to hold on fur clear out to 350 yards or more. Essentially, I ignore range altogether, for trajectory purposes - if it is so far I need to hold over, I probably won't shoot. It just seems backwards to zero those rifles in such a way that I can't take advantage of the flat trajectory they offer. But, again, that's just me. I'm not criticizing or advocating. Simply tossing out an opinion.

And I should also add... I think that anyone who is really accustomed to using a short zero, and especially anyone who is really used to using a 100 yard zero, will "shoot over" a lot of coyotes if they switch to MPBR all the sudden. Like I've already said, whatever works for you, great - I wouldn't go changing anything that is working, based on anything I read on the internet.

YMMV...

- DAA
 
You are exactly right, DAA.
I did confirm my 300 yd drop and corresponded it with the ballistic reticle in the scope I had mounted at the time. And low & behold, it was darn near 7" and that fact was duly noted in my memory bank.
The coyotes I shoot at here in NY happen to be quite a bit larger than what you may be used to shooting at out west. I can assure you that holding the crosshairs on the top of the back of a 50lb coyote with said rifle zeroed @ 200 will NOT result in a miss, if you can make the shot. There is a whole lot more vertical ribcage on a 40-50lb dog.
But don't take my word for it, see for yourself below...or ask Sleddog, he's shot plenty more than me.
SuperBowlCoyote114-1.jpg

Notice the bullet hole center punching the ribs ~6" below the top of his back.
290 something yards, if I recall.

I guess us guys back east are "spoiled" with such big targets to shoot at, allbeit harder to come by....

Above just for reference.

I wholehearted agree with you about maximizing whatever caliber you are shooting by practicing with whatever works best for you and your gun/caliber.

The acronym MBPR refers to Maximum Point Blank Range.
In the case of a coyote I'd correlate an MPBR of 3". Therefore the shooter would zero his gun at a distance where the trajectory of the bullet would not rise above, nor fall below an 3" imaginary line on either side of point of aim.
 
Dave A, DAA's explanation will be well worth getting. Especially for you guys who live in parts of the country where the longer shots may be more common or popular.

I'm a stuck in the mud 200 yard zero kinda guy but I certainly hope that DAA has time to explain what he's doing so that you understand it. I live with holding high for that 300 yard shot, on the very rare day where I'd even begin to consider it. DAve has something else to consider.
 
I also zero my hunting rifles for Maximum Point Blank Range based on average/estimated "vitals zone" target size. Here is a very simplified reference that may be useful to you. http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/February02.htm
My reloading software from RCBS has the MPBR feature in the External Ballistics Calculator tool of the software.

The US Army uses these principles in their "Battle Sight Zero" techniques for their basic rifle marksmanship program, taught to all soldiers. If you zero the rifle for "Battle Sight Zero", based on the average size of the human torso, no adjustments in elevation are needed in the heat of the "fire fight", out to 300 meters.

Using MPBR or "Battle Sight Zero", you will not win at the local NRA Highpower match, but it will put "meat on the table"! Coyotes or Insurgents!

Redhound80
 
Certainly not a 12" vital zone but a 12" body profile from shoulder to brisket on a big dog is about right. That one was a BIG one. Naturally the vitals are much smaller than that and hitting the fur outside of them will result in a wounded animal.

Knowing the relative body size of the animal, my rig's zero & bullet trajectory is what killed that dog. Or maybe I just got lucky...

I should reiterate that a 300yd shot where I hunt is a rarity , hence my 200yd zero.
 
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