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Science & Technology
Hunting season is approaching. What's the Best Distance to Zero A Rifle?
2020-08-21
[Outdoor Life] Most hunters dial in their centerfires at 100 yards, but you should sight in a rifle at a distance that fits your shooting capabilities and the game you will be pursuing.

An annual question at shooting ranges around the country is "What distance should I zero for?" And the answer is...

The distance that gives you the most flexibility for putting your bullet on target quickly with minimum measuring, guessing, hoping, or missing.

And that’s rarely 100 yards.

THE 100 YARD PROBLEM
The old 100-yard zero is perfect if your longest shooting distance isn’t much beyond that. Otherwise a 100-yard zero wastes your bullet’s trajectory potential. By 200 yards you’re already needing to compensate for bullet drop. To understand this, let’s look at a trajectory that is considered "flat."

I don’t know what you imagine when you hear cartridge XYZ shoots "flat," but when I was a new shooter I assumed it meant the bullet went like a laser to 300 yards or so. That’s flat! But it’s also impossible. Bullets are not light waves. Gravity begins to pull bullets down the instant they leave the muzzle. If you aimed a barrel perfectly in line with a target 100 yards away with the world’s highest B.C. rating at 4,200 fps, it would miss. Oh, it would be close, but it would still fall under the precise point of aim by about an inch.

An inch is no big deal even if you’re shooting squirrels in the head. But at 150 yards this hyper-velocity bullet would already be down by 2.3 inches. At 200 yards it would be low by 4 inches. Gravity is relentless. Meanwhile, back in our real world where most of us shoot "flat shooting" rifles like .243 Win., .270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag., and the more recent 6mm Creedmoor, 27 Nosler, and 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, the drops are even greater. We won’t even bother with the .30/30 or .45/70.
Posted by:Besoeker

#18  I have a Ruger American Rifle in .270 Win. Sighted in at 200. I dislike shooting from a bench as they are hard to find out in the woods and plains of Wyoming. But at 200 yards I can put 5 rounds into the space of my palm from prone, sitting and standing using shooting sticks. I feel that's sufficient for my purposes.
Posted by: Silentbrick   2020-08-21 23:38  

#17  My 10 pound Parrot rifle

Seems a bit up-gunned for shooting parrots, but who am I to say.
Posted by: SteveS   2020-08-21 23:19  

#16  Years ago some wag in Field & Stream was asked, "What's the proper length for a fishing rod?" The answer:"Wharever length it is after you shear the tip off with the trunk lid..."

Hahahahah...Ain't that the Gd damned truth; especially with kids.
Posted by: swksvolFF   2020-08-21 22:01  

#15  Years ago some wag in Field & Stream was asked, "What's the proper length for a fishing rod?" The answer:"Wharever length it is after you shear the tip off with the trunk lid..."
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-08-21 20:01  

#14  #4 Max range from which one would wish to carry the carcass.
Posted by Skidmark

Hoot! Great snark but in the hills, yup.

Nice to hear an Alaskan shooters perspective Paul, thank you.
Posted by: Eohippus Borgia5809   2020-08-21 19:31  

#13  The question is, do you have canister rounds for Antifa visitors?
Posted by: Silentbrick   2020-08-21 19:29  

#12  My 10 pound Parrot rifle is accurate to a little over a mile but there isn't much left when the round hits..
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2020-08-21 19:16  

#11  Rutgers are nice rifles. I have a Model 1-H Tropical in 458 Win Mag. Never hunted any appropriate game with it but it's interesting. I have several Remington Model 700s, which some people hate even more than Internet Explorer, but I've never had any trouble with them. One is a Sendero II, 300 RUM with a 26" barrel. It can easily be sighted out past 600 yards though that's a bit much for most shooting.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-08-21 18:38  

#10  300WinMag 190gr sighted in at 200 since that's the best my eyes can do, and typical of shots I get. I used to sight at 300 but anymore my rifle is more accurate than I am.
Posted by: Marilyn Tojo7566   2020-08-21 17:07  

#9  M Murcek. I shoot 1" groups at 100 yd. I vary the powder loads for various bullet weights (use Hornadays) to keep the same drops at various yards. 175 gr for moose and bear. Lighter for caribou and wolves. Weigh every powder load, but with new digital scales not a problem. Son's lady used my rifle first time and got a caribou in the chest. The only thing I changed out was the trigger guard. The factory aluminum one cracked, so I got a steel one. Safety is convenient and ergonomic.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2020-08-21 14:28  

#8  I also vote 7 mm Rem Mag. With the results you get, Alaska Paul, you seem to have it dialed in.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-08-21 10:48  

#7  For almost 50 years I have used a Ruger M77 in 7mm Remington magnum and a Leupold vari X II 3 x 9 scope.
I always set my zero at 200 yd. At 100 yards the bullet is 1.5 in above sight line. At 300 the drop is 7 in. At 500 yards drop is 41 in. Got 2 caribou at -50F once at 500 yards. I used hand loads to 0.1 gr of powder. Extremes in Alaska.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2020-08-21 10:36  

#6  @3

I do the same with my .270. I can reach out to 400 pretty easily and not have a ton of drop. Anything farther than that and I ain't shooting at it.
Posted by: DarthVader   2020-08-21 09:26  

#5  MeaTech Ltd. the Israeli startup that is developing technology for bioprinting meat using stem cells announced on Monday that it had reached a substantial product milestone. The company said its scientists had successfully printed a layer of meat combining both muscle and fat cells that successfully fused.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-08-21 07:52  

#4  Max range from which one would wish to carry the carcass.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-08-21 07:01  

#3  Zero my .270 Win carbine for 200. It's not like I am going to hit anything cleanly beyond 400 yards.
Posted by: Sluns Gurly-Brown7484   2020-08-21 01:47  

#2  How far away is the average mostly peaceful protester when you have to deal with them?
Posted by: gorb   2020-08-21 01:03  

#1  I hunt squirrels with PCP pellet rifles...and always zero at 50 yards..(my rim fire CZ .22 cal zero is 50 yards, but I only shoot it at the 100 yard range).
Most shots I get with my pellet rifles are 40-60 yards..rarely beyond 70.
Anybody here zero their shotgun ? LOL
Posted by: crazyhorse   2020-08-21 00:23  

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