Long Range Zero

leslie naylor

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2004
Messages
54
Location
Scotland.U.K
I have always been a range it,dial it, shoot it,sort of guy.
How ever, many of you guys are shooting using recticle hold over.
Is their a preferd long range zero.
Using a 300wm/190smk or 180bt.
IOR scope with mp8 recticle.
I have run a 475 yard zero on Infinity and it looks quit good .
Whats every ones preferances.

Have a good day .
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have always been a range it,dial it, shoot it,sort of guy.
How ever, many of you guys are shooting using recticle hold over.
Is their a preferd long range zero.
Using a 300wm/190smk or 180bt.
IOR scope with mp8 recticle.
I have run a 475 yard zero on Infinity and it looks quit good .
Whats every ones preferances.
Have a good day .

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi,

I use 300yards zero on my 300 Rem Ultra Magnum rifle , with 200AB bullet, Sightron II SS 6,5-20x50MD (MilDot) scope.
Having mil dot scope for me it is more easy and quick to do holdovers for quick shoots.
I have shoot with mildot holdover past 800yards, and I did not have problems hitting the target.
For me this is how I used.

Thank you
300rum
 
Ditto what 300Rum said.

I shoot a 338RUM zero'd @ 300 and a 270 AM that I 'think' I'll zero @ 500 as there won't be any shorter than 400yd shots with it.

Have been accurate until the drop is below the wide portion of the reticle (5 Mils).
 
While there is no arguement that a rifle set up properly with a very quality scope will be the most consistant dialing up or down for each shot, I will say that for big game hunting out to 1000 yards, using a properly set up rifle with a ballistic reticle will be more then accurate for most big game hunting situations.

They both have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of using a ballistic reticle is that you never touch the adjustment knobs so there is never a settling in period needed for the scope to settle in.

WIth a top quality scope this is generally not an issue for those dialing in their shots but I have witnessed some top eld Leupold scopes that needed one to two shots to bottom out and stay solid in adjustment. It is rare but it happens. I have not seen this with a Nightforce NXS scope yet.

Still, using a ballistic reticle, there is no repeated adjustment. What does this mean, well you can take quality but lower priced scope and get excellent results as most quality scopes will hold zero very well.

Another advantage to using a ballistic reticle in the field is simplicity and speed. An example is a pronghorn hunt I went on this last week to fill a couple doe tags for the freezer.

We set up an ambush position for a couple herds that were in our area and they appeared right on the mark. My brother took his first at 250 yards or so and I lined up on the next big doe in that herd with my 7mm AM using the Leupold Mk4 3.5-10x 40mm FFP with the TMR reticle. When the herd stopped running after my brothers shot they were around 300 yards.

Dead on hold with my 7mm AM which is zeroed at 275 yards. At the break of the trigger she simply folded. As I came off that rifle I saw the second herd of pronghorns in the valley, ranges one big doe that was standing there at 580 yards. Looked at the drop chart on my scope tube, said to hold -1.75 mils. Bracketed the doe between the -1.5 mil hash and the -2.0 mil line and again she simply folded to the break of the trigger.

The two does were down in under 20 seconds of each other with no scope adjustment made at all.

Just two days before that I took my buck at 730 yards with the same rifle and same sight in with no adjustments at all.

There is also no chance of getting lost in your moas when in the field and loosing your zero. You have to keep notes and return your zero perfectly when you dial up or down and in the field hunting trophy quality animals, its pretty easy to get excited and forget where you are, were or should be in your clicks.

Granted, most on this board are very experienced and do it the "right" way when dialing up for each shot but there still is potential to get load in your moas in the field unless you are very dedicated with your notes and records with your clicks.

I also freely admit that if you are reaching significantly past 1000 yards, you are probably better off dialing in for your shots because bullet drop will use up your reticle very quickly unless your shooting an extremely high BC bullet at high velocity.

For my rifles I like to zero mine at 275 yards and with my 270 AM and 7mm AM they will be dead on at 1020 to 1040 yards at the bottom post of a mil dot reticle.

For my upcoming hunt with Shawn down in Idaho, I will be taking two rifles. My light rifle in 7mm AM that I used on the pronghorn hunt above sighted in in the manor discribed with a 275 yard zero and a semi heavy rifle zeroed at 600 yards.

The rifle set at 600 yards will allow me to reach from 0 to 1300 yards using a Leupold Mk4 4.5-14x 50mm TMR reticle.

For closer range hunting if needed for bad weather the lightweight rifle will be used.

For long range hunting which is the goal, the heavier rifle will be used, that is if it shoots well, still have to get it out to the range and get it set up, finished the barrel break in Tuesday!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

My point is this, obviously dialing up for each shot is the most precise way to use a rifle at long range but for big game hunting, using a ballistic reticle out to 1000 yards will produce consistant results that are MORE then consistant enough for taking deer size game cleanly.

Simply put, use whatever system you are most confident with and go with that, it will work either way is set up properly and you are well practiced in your preferred technique.

For my general big game rifles I like to zero at 275 yards which with my AMs will take me a bit past 1000 yards with a mil dot or similiar scope.

This allows me to use the rifle with a conventional sight in for closer range shots but gives me 1K reach as well.

Kirby Allen(50)
 
Much can be controlled with zero especially in hunting situations where an animal might not stand there and profile for you, flat shooting rifles and high BC bullets make for a good combination.Mildot recticles are great but not the only option there are a few of us that use fading method for shooting game. When you have time for dial up I would say that it is very precise but that is not always the situation...
 
[ QUOTE ]
............ but I have witnessed some top eld Leupold scopes that needed one to two shots to bottom out and stay solid in adjustment. It is rare but it happens.

[/ QUOTE ]

That sux! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
I fully agree with Fiftydriver. Hunting situations can require fast shooting where time is of the essence. Shooting allows time to click. Both situations can occur while "hunting", but a person's technique of spotting and stalking can often decides on time allowed. The further away the game which is undisturbed, usually the more time available to adjust. But if a fast shot is required and distance is known, then the ballistic reticle approach works great especially to somone new to LRH.
 
Glad I found this thread. I've got a 30-06 zeroed at 200 yrds and with my MP8 I am holding over at 9 mils at 700 yrds. Not far enough for me. From what I've seen here I should probably be okay to zero at 400 yrds and use my 10 mils, and below 400 yrds I should be able to use my 5 mils to hold down?
Thoughts please
 
I go with a 200 yard zero with my stuff. I have several reticle options depending on the scope (Ballistic Plex, TMR, and ART).
Since I started out with using the ballistic reticles and have moved to dialing I still use both with using the reticles for closer and dialing for further. If I am convinced I have time I would probably dial.
I think the main thing is to practice, practice, practice with whatever you are using the way you will use it in the field.
 
I do have a few rifles and all were zeroed at 100 yards. It's by design to eliminate any confusion on my part. I can pick-up any rifle in my safe and not to be confused as to what distance the rifle was zeroed at. I'm also belong to the ranged it, clicked it and not sure about dumping it crowds /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I always use a 200y zero for centrefires, weather it's a .223 or a .338 Mega magnum. I don't see the point in 'point-blank-range' or sighting in for 3" high at 100y. I find it's better if the bullet never gets above 2" high so if a close shot pops up you can just hold dead centre and squeeze.
 
"I'm also belong to the ranged it, clicked it and not sure about dumping it crowds"

I just joined that crowd the other day. Only one range session let me know it was way more comfortable than holding over/under for elevation and windage. (If someone would make a bullet that automatically compensated for the wind I'd be much happier)

I zero @ 300 yds to limit the number MOA adjustment @ 1K but that's just a comfortability thing as the adjustment is only 1 full turn + 1MOA.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Glad I found this thread. I've got a 30-06 zeroed at 200 yrds and with my MP8 I am holding over at 9 mils at 700 yrds. Not far enough for me. From what I've seen here I should probably be okay to zero at 400 yrds and use my 10 mils, and below 400 yrds I should be able to use my 5 mils to hold down?
Thoughts please

[/ QUOTE ]


Hi,
Here is a usefull link for your question.
It is one spread**** ballistic software what I modified for my self to show you the hold over in MILS and MOA at variable power scope.
All you have to do is to input your balistic caracteristics (bullet BC, Gr, altitudine, temperature, and where you want your zero to be), and your default power scope where you have 1 mil at 100yards.

Here is the link for you guys to download and use the program.
http://www.canadaonlineclassified.com/ballisticMils.xls

Cris
 
Warning! This thread is more than 18 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.
Top