Zeroing a Rifle

Malazan

Malazan

New member
Do you guys zero your rifle to be dead on at 100 yds. and then just compensate for bullet drop at 100, 200, 300 etc. with scope adjustments or hold over. Or do you zero at different ranges i.e 200, 300 yds. and then deal with hold over and hold under?
 
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Depends on the caliber. For most of what I shoot (smaller caliber stuff), they are sighted in at 100 yards and then compensated for. Rarely do I take a shot far enough that I need more than basic memory to know how much to compensate for. If you plan on being one of those 500-1000 yard coyote guys, then you will probably want to sight in your guns differently. Here is a good read though on an interesting way to sight in your guns:

http://www.rmvh.com/MPBR.htm
 
I've gotten to the point that I will initially zero mine at 50 yards (gets me in the ball park for 200yds) and then fine tune to 200yds... My rise at 100 is negligible since most of my shots will be at the 50yd range and the farther one more rare....but I'd hate to miss because I forget to adjust for any drop...

This is for my ARs (.223) and the round starts off at 2.5" below the line of sight and .9" high (tighter than I can hold) at 100yds...At 250 yards, the bullet has only dropped 2.2" for a 50gr bullet..
 
With the 22-250 on at 200 YRD's is the perfect solution as it lets me shoot to 350 with no messing with the elevation on the scope.
 
I have my varmit rifle zero'd in to MPBR at a 3" target. With that I can hold dead on easily to 250yds. Zero is at 230yds and it's 2.5" low at 250yds.
 
+1 on the old turtle method....
I also found it is a lot easier to hold under ( a little) on 100-150 yard shots where you can see pretty well in the scope.

If you are on and sighted in at 200 or 250.... than your only hold over a little out to 350 or so....
I find it easier to the adjusting in closer where i can see better in the scope....
 
My hunting rifles I set for a PBR on a 6" target, good for antelope (barely) through elk (easily), so the max range varies by caliber/load. I haven't zero'd a rifle in years, might end up with like 217.93 yard zero if I did the math. As long as the game is w/in the max range, hold dead on and pull the trigger with no hold over or under guesses involved.

I did a bad range estimation of my antelope last year and dropped him at 440 yards (lazered later), exited low and took off the far leg. Not the prettiest and a poor job on my part but it worked and he went down in 10 yards.

 
I agree it depends on the caliber - as well as your target&game WHERE you want to zero.
I like to sight in at 100, but 1.5 to 2" high at 100 (easier to sight in at 100 for me than 200). This will give close to a 225 to 250 yard zero, depending on scope height, caliber, round, velocity...
Rarely have to hold under with 1.5" high @ 100 (actually NEVER for me)
I will usually boresight first by setting my gun up on rests and look through the bore, adjusting the scope as needed, then start at 25 yards to get "on paper" then move to 100.
 
most of my coyote hunting is done by back road cruises,,first light and last light,,,and if I see them they are 300-400yd"s out in a field,,or if they are close by the time you get out of the truck and find a nice fence post to shoot off,,they usually stop for a second at 300-400 yards out,,so I zero my 22-250 and 243 at 300 yards,,,meaning my hold under at 100-200 yard is 3-4",,wich I admit has caused me to miss a couple,,forgot to lower my point of aim,,lol
 
Malazan, A "Point Blank Range" is really a set of minimum and maximum distances for a relative target size...

In other words, if your "kill zone" on a target is 4" high, you are going to want your "zero" to encompass that area throughout the MPBR..

The starting (low) point of your trajectory will be at the bottom of the zone (let's say 50 yards) and the mid range (high point)(say 215 yards) of the trajectory will be at the top of the zone while looking straight on at the target area...The end of your MPBR will be where the bullet falls back through the bottom of that 4" zone (maybe 325 yards)...

Those figures above are just for illustration and not based on anything realistic...

That's the reason I will 'zero' my hunting rifles at 200 yards...my MPBR starts at 50 yards, is a little low at 100 yards, dead on at 200 yards and falling off at 300 yards..Exactly where it is falling off will depend on bullet weight and powder charge..but, generally,, if I'm aiming at anything between 50 and 300 yards, my hold over or under is very minor..
 
I tell ya what, the turtle convinced me he knows what he's talking about. Personally, I sight everything I have at 100 yards. Any shots past that point are few and far between around here.

-Dave
 
Quote:Are there any negatives to zeroing at MPBR


You'll have to hold lower at close range (before the bullet has initially crosssed the line of sight).
Having the MPBR "advantage" more thn makes up for that, in my opinion.
 
Originally Posted By: OldTurtleMalazan, A "Point Blank Range" is really a set of minimum and maximum distances for a relative target size...

In other words, if your "kill zone" on a target is 4" high, you are going to want your "zero" to encompass that area throughout the MPBR..

The starting (low) point of your trajectory will be at the bottom of the zone (let's say 50 yards) and the mid range (high point)(say 215 yards) of the trajectory will be at the top of the zone while looking straight on at the target area...The end of your MPBR will be where the bullet falls back through the bottom of that 4" zone (maybe 325 yards)...

Those figures above are just for illustration and not based on anything realistic...

That's the reason I will 'zero' my hunting rifles at 200 yards...my MPBR starts at 50 yards, is a little low at 100 yards, dead on at 200 yards and falling off at 300 yards..Exactly where it is falling off will depend on bullet weight and powder charge..but, generally,, if I'm aiming at anything between 50 and 300 yards, my hold over or under is very minor..

That's the best explanation of MPBR I've ever read..
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Think of shooting at MPBR as shooting thru a dead straight pipe of some certain dia. You fire thru the center of the pipe and the bullet never leaves the pipe till it reaches the point of max range. it also never rises higher than the top of the pipe anywhere.

The size of the target is determined by the size of the animal you plan on shooting. On a coyote I like 3" target because I have shot over when all I had was a head to shoot at.

That MPBR works at every range to max with a dead on hold. Beyond max is when you start adjusting for bullet drop. If you decide you'll never shoot a coyote in the head, you could use a target of about 5" and it extend"s the MPBR.
 
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