1" inch high?

[Robhuntandfish]

when your sighting in rifles/shotguns do you tend to dial them in 1" high at 100 yards or dead on at 100 or something else?  it seems I dial all mine in for the bullseye at 100 and if shooting over that distance adjust high on the shot.  now a .22 i dial in  at 50.  But i see on a lot of ballistics on the ammo packaging where they have the 1" high at 100 , then shot will be 3" low at 200.  etc, or even 2.5" high at 100 = 150 at zero and 4" low at 200 etc....    Was just wondering how most people sight in ... I always do the dead bull and figure within 100 yards I am dead on.  

[bugsNbows]

Depends upon caliber. Usually it’s more like 2-2.5 inches high. MPBR varies.

[ny hunter]

All my deer guns are dead on at 100 yards....In all the years I have been hunting I never felt the need to sight in differnt...All my hunting is in the woods not open feilds ...

[Doc]

I have my rifles zeroed in at 100 yards. That's the max distance of my target range where I can set them up off the bags and bench.

[Steuben Jerry]

Centerfires = zero at 200 yds

Hot rimfires (22 mag, 17hmr, 17wsm) = zero at 100 yds

22lr = zero at 50 yds

[Robhuntandfish]

7 minutes ago, Doc said:

I have my rifles zeroed in at 100 yards. That's the max distance of my target range where I can set them up off the bags and bench.

i do that same thing and my range is 100 as well.  But do you ever go an inch or higher at 100 to adjust to ballistics for like a better 200 shot or just stay at the 100 for the bullseye? 

[Uncle Nicky]

MOST high powered rifles, if you zero at 25 yards as a starting point, will be about an inch high at 50, and close to zero again at 100. This is acceptable for almost everyone who is deer hunting. Obviously, if you are shooting long range for groundhogs or heading out west for antelope or mulies and are expecting longer shots, you'd want to adjust.

A .22 rimfire will be pretty close to zero at 25-75 yards, but drops dramatically after that.

Slug guns drop a LOT more than a rifle bullet does. I zero in at 75 yards, anything closer or out to 100 will be in the kill zone

My experience from hours on the range, anyway.

Personally, I'd stay zeroed at 100, and if you do need to take a 200 yard shot, just aim EVER so slightly higher. 3 higher inches at 200 yards with an HP rifle is not going to look like very much of an adjustment if you are looking through a 9X scope, especially if you are looking to put one in the boiler room.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Uncle Nicky

[Just Lucky]

I go 1 to 2inch high at 50 yards with my  shotguns and bullseye with rifle because 50 yards is my shooting range I have. It works for me. Alot of the deer I shoot tend to be neck or back breakers.

[nyslowhand]

Like others have said, it all depends on the habitat you hunt. Makes no sense to zero-in for sniper range shots IF your max possible shot is within 100yrds - regardless of the rifle's caliber, bullet  loads, etc. IF you mainly hunt big, open woods, edges of large agr fields, out west, etc - that's another story. If you hunt where shot opportunities range from ~30 to 150yrds, probably should decide on what is most likely shot distance and plan on some +/- compensation. I don't have the luxury of having different bow and rifle stands, so I hunt mainly from my bow hunting stands even during the SZ regular season. So my ML and even when I could upgrade to a 270, both were zeroed-in at 80yrds. BUT, what works for me may not be ideal for you, so use your own strategy!

[turkeyfeathers]

Here’s my ML. Shot that’s high is 25 yards. Bull is 100 yards. .22 is sighted in at 75. Slug gun for me is 100 and dialed in daughters ( 20 gauge ) at 75. 

[Buckmaster7600]

Depends on the caliber. For 99% of hunters in NY 1" is fine for me every rifle I own is zeroed for a different range depending on velocity and caliber.


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[Jeremy K]

Right on at 100 for me . 

[rob-c]

When I hunted with the 12 gauge I would sight in high at 50 and found I was good to 100 ( my max yardage )  My super redhawk I sight in dead on at 100 because my max shootin distance is 125. My wife’s go-100  is sighted in at 75 yards her max yardage. 

[Pygmy]

I sight my HV rifles  2-3" high at 100...I just  hate to waste perfectly good trajectory....This allows me to hold center ribcage out to 300 yards or thereabouts...Keep it simple...

Back when I hunted with a slug gun I used sight about an inch high at 50 yards, which put me on zero at around 100..With my setup, it dropped like a rock past 100 yards, but I considered 100 yards maximum range...

[Larry]

My 444 is sighted in at 50yds and so is my shotgun. A long shot where I hunt is 75yds. My 6mm is dead on at 100 I can still make a 200yd shot without hold over. My 22-250 has a range card out to 600yds  that is dead on at 200yds my 22 is dead on at 25yds and one 22 is dead on at 50 ft. for sporter rifle

[philoshop]

Consider the size of the vertical kill zone on your target. On a deer it's about 6 to 8". Call it 6". Three inches high at 100 yards will hit within that zone and three inches low at say 300 yards will hit within that zone. Sight-in zero will probably be 225 yards or so. I don't have ballistics tables in front of me, and I don't know what round you're using, so don't quote me on actual numbers here. :-)

The idea behind this 'maximum zero' is that it removes a lot of the range guesstimation error. What's the most distant zero point that will still put the bullet in the kill zone even if you forget to hold a little high or a little low?

[Robhuntandfish]

42 minutes ago, philoshop said:

Consider the size of the vertical kill zone on your target. On a deer it's about 6 to 8". Call it 6". Three inches high at 100 yards will hit within that zone and three inches low at say 300 yards will hit within that zone. Sight-in zero will probably be 225 yards or so. I don't have ballistics tables in front of me, and I don't know what round you're using, so don't quote me on actual numbers here. :-)

The idea behind this 'maximum zero' is that it removes a lot of the range guesstimation error. What's the most distant zero point that will still put the bullet in the kill zone even if you forget to hold a little high or a little low?

i just in general have always zeroed eveything at 100. From shotgun to rifle.  But thinking I need to follow the ballistics a little more.  My shotgun with Hornady - prob should setup for 2" high at 100 which puts me dead on at 150 and 2.5 inches high at 50.  Then the 30-06 prob should do 1" high for a dead on at 150 and 3" drop at 200.  But i am just used to all my guns being dead on at 100.  Then I adjust from there.  I know the shotgun will be about a 4-5 inch drop at 150 (would never shoot it farther) then my 30-06 is about 4" drop at 200. Prob over thinking it as I have never shot over 200 and am generally a lot closer than that.  But i am also the guy that thinks with the bow there is no excuse for all the arrows not touching at 20 yards.  

Edited February 12, 2018 by Robhuntandfish

[moog5050]

I like the idea of MPBR for deer rifles, although I really don’t shoot far enough to need it.    I just sighted the 243 so that it will be within 1” of 0 out to 200yds.  

[LET EM GROW]

Depends on caliber, and the reticle on that scope combo.. My 243 i have zeroed at 200yrds, slinging a 58gr Winchester. It shoots so flat it only drops 4" @ 300. This would equal out to be around .8" high @ 100yrds. Nasty little predator combo.

A bdc scope id probably zero @ 100, unless i intend to take shots beyond 300.. 

[dbHunterNY]

everything's different. most of my rifles are zero'd at 200 yards and around 1.5 or less high at 100 and less than an inch high at 50.  i don't really do the max point blank range thing. i just shoot accordingly and try to put it into the bottom 1/3 behind the shoulder.

[turkeyfeathers]

I’ll add a twist , when sighting in our turkey guns. I’ll dial in aiming in at neck and POI is all head. So if any of the bottom portion hits it’s neck and not putting crunchies into the good stuff. Aimed neck years back, hit low. Wiped off the beard and breasts were riddled 

[Will_C]

I have several rifles for deer hunting. I sight most of them 1" high at a 100 yards-7mm-08, .308, .250 Savage, and .243. I will sight my .30-06 in to be on at 200 yards. I have some fields I hunt in Pennsylavania with that rifle where 300 yard shots are possible.

Will

[wildcat junkie]

On 2/9/2018 at 7:23 AM, bugsNbows said:

Depends upon caliber. Usually it’s more like 2-2.5 inches high. MPBR varies.

Most centerfire rifles with 2800-3000 fps muzzle velocity will have a maximum + or - 3" point blank range of 275-300 yds when using a bullet with moderate ballistic coefficient. And 2 1/2" high at 100 yds is a good ball park value if you don't have exacting data to work with.

[wildcat junkie]

On 2/12/2018 at 7:22 AM, moog5050 said:

I like the idea of MPBR for deer rifles, although I really don’t shoot far enough to need it.    I just sighted the 243 so that it will be within 1” of 0 out to 200yds.  

Except right in front of the muzzle if it has a scope.