Az couse deer

[Scott2200]

What should I zero my rifle in for Couse deer? I am thinking 200 yrd zero would be the best?

 

[azshooter270]

In my experience there are no short range Coues shots. The terrain is characteristically mountains/canyons. There is a reason they call it a "poor man's sheep hunt". Every shot I've had has been ridge to ridge. I'm on one side of canyon below ridgeline and the deer is opposite for 400yds plus. That said, I sight in for 250. Not because I expect a 250 shot, it's just the most reasonable sight-in without getting stupid. So I sight for 250, and do a lot of shooting at 400+ with a turret or ballistics table on my stock.
Good luck.

 

[Scott2200]

Okay thank you so much. That makes a lot of sense it is going to be open country so I will practice shooting at a longer distance and sight in at 200 yards. Thank you..

 

[Slick8]

Do you dial a scope or hold over?

If holding over then IMO a 200 or even 250 zero makes shots to 3-400 yards much easier. If dialing it still makes 300 yard shots easier and faster as you hold over is minimum but not required.

 

[mcdil]

All good responses. For me, I prefer 200 yards, as for the closer in snap shots, I don't have to worry as much accidentally hitting a bit higher than desired. Anything further needs a good support, a calm animal, time to adjust, whether dialing, using a reticle, or Kentucky windage, so in my personal opinion, it's much easier to account for.

 

[Scott2200]

I am going to dial for yardage. Going to the gun range will be able to go out to 500 yards to get
Some number of clicks then write them down. But I really will not shoot past 400 yards.

 

[Plinker147]

Doesn't matter if you dial, it really doesn't matter what you choose as long as you are comfortable with it. I prefer 100yds zeros because its easier to get a more precise zero to me. When I hunt i dial up to 200 and leave it there when walking around. I'm a MOA guy and its easier for me to compute MOA with 100 zero. Its really just personal preference

 

[vancewalker007]

I went back and average our shots on Coues deer over the last 15 years a while ago. The average is 551 yards. The min was 290 yards and the max was 1092 yards. So I think a 200 yard zero would be great. Its what we use on our rifles. It easily gives enough dialing distance to get to 1000 yards easily. So on your rig you need to understand how much dial up you have and what you need to stay inside your distance envelope.

 

[jls in az]

I've killed 2 dozen Coues deer with rifle, blackpowder, compound bow and long bow. My longest shot with a rifle was about 100 yards, my shortest shot with a bow was 13 feet. That said, my rifle (6.5X300 WBY) is zeroed at 300 yards with Barnes 127 gr. My Burris FFP scope is good to a little over 1000 with that zero.

 

[Ryodlsl]

I also like to zero at 100 and keep my dial 200. Make sure you are dialed in and know your muzzle velocity so you can use your ballistic app because chances are pretty good you'll need to shoot past 400 yards in the desert. Also recommend a nice tripod setup to help you make those long shots. The uneven terrain may hinder your ability to shoot prone. Laying on top of cow pies and cactus to make your shot might make your hunt more memorable but I'd rather not lay on poo or have to pull cactus spines from my gut. Have done it one too many times.

 

[Scott2200]

Thank you all for your reply on my question. Been shooting out to five hundred yards. And I
Really don't feel confident to shoot at an animal over that distance. So it's gonna have to be closer than that for me to even think about taking a shot

 

[lancetkenyon]

All my centerfire rifles are zeroed at 200. From my coyote AR to my 28 Nosler strictly for LR elk. Dial for elevation, hold for wind.


My closest shot on Coues has been 460 yards. It also happens to be my ONLY shot on Coues.

 

[73driver]

I am going to dial for yardage. Going to the gun range will be able to go out to 500 yards to get
Some number of clicks then write them down. But I really will not shoot past 400 yards.

I think this is a great strategy. When I hunted with a non dial up scope on my 270 shooting Hornady 140 SST Superformance ammo I used a 220 yard zero. At 100 yards this was 1.5 inches high, at 300 yards 5 inches low. I now dial up, with a 100 yard zero I hunt with my scope dialed for 210/220. In the last 20 years shots have been 5 deer 200-250 yards, one at 60 yards off hand, one sitting at 120 and three at 300-350 sitting rifle over bino tripod or using trigger sticks. When using the dial ups I would run numbers through my StrelokPro in camp (using current/guestimated atmospherics) the night before hunting. With a pre made DOPE card it is good to have a hunting buddy help with the shots out to 350-450. Spotter can range, give you your dial up and spot the hit and fall. The terrain can be rugged and brushy and when you squeeze off a shot likely recoil will take you off target. Helps to have a spotter pinpoint where your buck drops, especially if it stagers around a bit, which can happen even with a solid hit. When you hike down the hill and uphill to your downed buck with the grass 2 feet high or thick oak/mesquite brush it can be a challenge to find it without a buddy on glass to tell you where buck is down, even then could be work. Have fun, best hunting ever.

 

[Stonyman88]

What should I zero my rifle in for Couse deer? I am thinking 200 yrd zero would be the best?

Well if like most guys said here they haven't had shots under 400 yds and my partner shot a few at 400 yds, also. To me I would sight it in at 100 yds, then move out and sight it in at 200 yds, and leave it set at 200 yd, and shoot it to know where it's shooting at 300-400 and 500 your thinking your shooting that far out . but elevation, angles up and down can mess every thing up,, Mil guy here and shot a lot in Viet Nam, just shoot yours so you know the ballistics, and make notes on your stock to refer back to them. OH, one question, what are you shooting??? Hope all goes well,