Advice on Sighting In

[Splitear]

I plan on taking my newly acquired Remington out this weekend to our 4-H range and sighting it in.  It’s a .300 Savage, and with the 4x scope that’s on it, I’d like to be able to count on it out to around 150yds. My problem is that my range is maxed at 76yds to the berm. Is it even possible to feel comfortable that it will be in the kill zone at 150 by sighting at 75? 

[Larry]

you will be less than 2" low at 150

 

[ny hunter]

Set the scope to shoot a bit higher .....

[airedale]

9 hours ago, Splitear said:

My problem is that my range is maxed at 76yds to the berm. Is it even possible to feel comfortable that it will be in the kill zone at 150 by sighting at 75? 

A firearm can be sighted in at just about any size range so long as you have an accurate distance from gun to target. These days I use the Hornady Ballistic calculator for most of my sighting as a starting point, with accurate information put into the calculation I can get a gun sighted in for the range I want right on the money using my 50 yard target. When these firearms are checked out at longer ranges they are putting their shots exactly where they are supposed to be according to the calculator.

Ballistic Calculators - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Below is an example of the 300 Savage factory 150 grain pointed soft point at the typical 2630 fps factory loading sighted to be dead on at 100 yards. It shows where the bullets will print at ranges with 25 yard intervals.

Using a 75 yard range you can see where your bullets should be hitting the target, virtually dead on only 2 tenths of an inch high and only 1.5 inches low at 150 yards.

Al

Edited June 18, 2021 by airedale

[Splitear]

37 minutes ago, airedale said:

A firearm can be sighted in at just about any size range so long as you have an accurate distance from gun to target. These days I use the Hornady Ballistic calculator for most of my sighting as a starting point, with accurate information put into the calculation I can get a gun sighted in for the range I want right on the money using my 50 yard target. When these firearms are checked out at longer ranges they are putting their shots exactly where they are supposed to be according to the calculator.

Ballistic Calculators - Hornady Manufacturing, Inc

Below is an example of the 300 Savage factory 150 grain pointed soft point at the typical 2630 fps factory loading sighted to be dead on at 100 yards. It shows where the bullets will print at ranges with 25 yard intervals.

Using a 75 yard range you can see where your bullets should be hitting the target, virtually dead on only 2 tenths of an inch high and only 1.5 inches low at 150 yards.

Al

Thanks Al, this is incredibly helpful!

[dbHunterNY]

yea Al beat me to it. I'm always using those to site in. it being a 760 pump you're a little out of luck bore sighting unless you have a muzzle or cartridge lazer tool. should be able to take a shot at 25 on a big target backing, dial to get close, and then shoot once again to confirm clicks were as advertised. from there using what Al posted you should be able shoot a group at 75 yards to figure out how accurate the rifle and ammo are. shoot again if you need to fine tune the point of impact. i'll never understand, especially with current ammo situation, why people take so many rounds to sight in.

[Splitear]

17 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

yea Al beat me to it. I'm always using those to site in. it being a 760 pump you're a little out of luck bore sighting unless you have a muzzle or cartridge lazer tool. should be able to take a shot at 25 on a big target backing, dial to get close, and then shoot once again to confirm clicks were as advertised. from there using what Al posted you should be able shoot a group at 75 yards to figure out how accurate the rifle and ammo are. shoot again if you need to fine tune the point of impact. i'll never understand, especially with current ammo situation, why people take so many rounds to sight in.

I've got a big TV box that I've been hanging onto for over a year, just incase I needed it (which it turns out I do). I figured I'd get it close at 25, and then move it back to 75 and try to get it just over center from there. I certainly don't want to burn any more ammo than necessary. I'm not shooting competition, I just want to be able to trust it to kill a deer. Thanks for the advice. 

[Grouse]

If you sight it in to be 2" high at 75 yards, you will drop only 4" below line of sight at 250 yards.  That means you have a "point blank range" of 250 yards.  A deer has a 8" circle sized area of it's vital organs.  If you aim at the center of a deer's vitals and it is within 250 yards, you will be within the 8" vital area.  That's called point blank range, where no hold over is needed.

Sight in 2" high on your 75 yard target and you will be within an 8" deer vital area out to 250 yards.

Although rounds can take down game upwards to 300 yards out, the rounds are usually accurate up to 250 yards before a noticeable drop-off in trajectory occurs.

Go with the Hornady Superformance load for maximum velocity.

 

Winchester Super-X 150-grain Power Point:  Average velocity,  2657 fps   

       Extreme Spread, 48 fps;  Standard Deviation 18 fps.

Remington Core-Lokt 150-grain PSP:            Average velocity,  2622 fps

     Extreme Spread, 92 fps;  Standard Deviation, 30 fps.

Hornady Superformance 150-grain SST:       Average velocity, 2752 fps

     Extreme spread, 92 fps;  Standard Deviation 28 fps.

 

Each average is based on at least eight shots. The results would indicate that Winchester and Remington are juicing their loads right up to conventional pressure specs, and, yes, the Superformance does deliver additional velocity. In the case of the Winchester, +95 fps, and +130 fps over the Remington. This happens without exceeding SAAMI pressure recommendations for the cartridge. One could argue about the practical difference in field performance resulting from the velocity difference, but the difference is there, and the very efficient SST bullet will insure that the velocity difference is at least as great out at 200 yards where the deer might be standing.

A little history on the .300 Savage from Chuck Hawks.

The .300 Savage

By Chuck Hawks

 

The .300 Savage was introduced in 1921 and it quickly became one of the classic deer rifle cartridges, as well as an all-around big game cartridge. It was designed to out perform the .30-30 Winchester and approximate the .30-06 ballistics of the time (150 grain bullet at 2700 fps) in a cartridge short enough to operate in the Savage Model 99 lever action rifle. Later, in the 1950's, the .300 Savage became the basis for experiments by the US Army that resulted in the development of the (T-65) .308 Winchester cartridge.

With the demise of the Savage Model 99 rifle the .300 has become an orphan. However, it is still a good cartridge. The Hornady Superformance load makes it the approximate equal of the .308 Win. (150 grain SST at 2750 fps)

The .300 Savage case is quite modern in appearance. It is designed for short actions, has a sharp 30 degree shoulder angle and a short neck to maximize powder capacity.

Factory loads are offered in 150 and 180 grain bullet weights. As currently factory loaded by Winchester and Remington, the 150 grain spitzer bullet starts at 2,630 fps with 2,303 ft. lbs. of energy. At 200 yards the velocity is 2,095 fps and the energy is 1,462 ft. lbs.

The 180 grain spitzer bullet starts at 2,350 fps with 2,205 ft. lbs. of energy. At 200 yards the velocity is 1,940 fps and the energy is 1,495 ft. lbs.

Edited June 19, 2021 by Grouse

[Splitear]

Just a quick update on sighting this old rifle in. I got a chance to spend some time with it today, and after a little bit of adjustment, I’m feeling pretty good about it. 

[ny hunter]

Nice.......How far are you shooting...

[Splitear]

1 minute ago, ny hunter said:

Nice.......How far are you shooting...

Thanks. That’s at 50yds. We’re doing some work on our berm, so I couldn’t go further. I think this should suffice for my 150 yd hunting ranges though. 

[ny hunter]

Just now, Splitear said:

Thanks. That’s at 50yds. We’re doing some work on our berm, so I couldn’t go further. I think this should suffice for my 150 yd hunting ranges though. 

I think you well be fine...........Good luck...

[onlybrowning]

Just a quick update on sighting this old rifle in. I got a chance to spend some time with it today, and after a little bit of adjustment, I’m feeling pretty good about it. 

That dog’ll hunt! Looks great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DirtTime]

2 hours ago, Splitear said:

Just a quick update on sighting this old rifle in. I got a chance to spend some time with it today, and after a little bit of adjustment, I’m feeling pretty good about it. 

If that's where you are at 50 yards, then at 150 you should be right around the 't' second circle makes just below the bulls eye. If not right on the bullseye.

[eaglemountainman]

Put the caps back on the scope and go hunting. 

You're done.

What model Remington is it? 760?

Edited July 12, 2021 by eaglemountainman

[Splitear]

12 minutes ago, eaglemountainman said:

Put the caps back on the scope and go hunting. 

You're done.

What model Remington is it? 760?

Yes, 760 with a 1950’s J Unertl 4x scope. I’m pretty pleased with it. 

[eaglemountainman]

13 hours ago, Splitear said:

Yes, 760 with a 1950’s J Unertl 4x scope. I’m pretty pleased with it. 

I have my dad's in 35 Rem and my grandpa's in 300 Sav. Both are 5 diamond guns produced in the late '50s.

I'm sure there are a few out there, but I've never met one that couldn't shoot little groups. Good luck with yours. For the yardages you stated, your set up is perfectly dialed in.

Edited July 12, 2021 by eaglemountainman

[Splitear]

13 minutes ago, eaglemountainman said:

I have my dad's in 35 Rem and my grandpa's in 300 Sav. Both are 5 diamond guns produced in the late '50s.

I'm sure there are a few out there, but I've never met one that couldn't shoot little groups. Good luck with yours. For the yardages you stated, your set up is perfectly dialed in.

Thanks, and I appreciate the help from the forum in figuring out where I need to be.