Question about zeroing a rifle.

[7070yshot]

Some shooters will Zero to 200 because they only shoot to 350-400 and the drop of the bullet is still in the kill zone so no elevation adjustments.
Doesn't matter what you Zero at 100, 200 with a Kestrel or any other Ballistic program. They all go off of the ZERO point and calculate drop from there. Just make sure you are using MOA or Mil the same with your scope and ballistic program.

I zeroed my 338 RUM on saturday for 200yds. Later I got looking at my Kestrel and it said when zeroed at 200 I need to come up .300. Scroll down the ballistics and it says I should be 1.5 inches low. Now what happens when I go to shoot at say 600yds. I dial up said amount. Will I be way high because I did not zero according to my Kestrel. Or will I be just fine. I am a little confused by this or have I missed some ting along the way. To be clear I put in all needed info. Put in zero 200yds.. then transfered it to the Kestrel. My bullets are striking right under the center line in the bulls eye. I mean lerally rubbing it. The group measured .675 center to center.. I was using it with my bipod and a roll of paper towel for the rear support. So any thoughts guys and what would you do.

Others have said this but I will jump on my soap box here.
I think the "200y zero is an imprecise tool and should be done away with in our common vernacular. this will upset old timers for sure but what I'm about to say is where this 200y zero comes from.

1 always always always zero at 100y/100m. This removes the affect of almost all environmental impacts.
2. Point blank range is the area the bullet drops and remains in the kill/target zone. Typically being 6-8in. Now the hunter can with variable confidence shoot from
50-300y, just point and click. This is constant for most hunting calibers sans 22.
3. To extend that PBR hunters started doing 100y zero's with a 1-1.5in high offset that was "dead on at 200y". We have all herd that right. This extends the PBR maybe 75-100y

So, what is reality is that since the 1950's, 60's and 70's bullets have changed a lot and I like to have everything precise.

The best answer in my opinion is to always do the 100y zero with an offset. The 200y has potential for environmental issues and shooter error.

The offset of 1in, 2in plugged into a ballistic calc then determine your PBR and Max PBR.
Learn to dial a scope or use your subtension lines/dots. This is where people get lazy, they don't want to learn this half of it and these excuse is "If I have to make a quick shot I won't have time"

Reality is at 25-125y you may not have time but that's totally within the PBR of a 100y zero. Distances beyond that the animal has less and less awareness of you in most situations so yeah you do have time.

99 out of 100 hunters I have guided have never shot an animal beyond 150y.

So, use the ballistic calc, and determine 100y with offset that keeps your bullet in a kill zone for xxx yards and drop the whole 200y zero.

Ok I'm done lol

 

[Phil Rizzo]

So, take a gun that shoots a .315 G7 Bullet at 3200+fps and zero it at 45/70 shooting distance?
I'd rather it be a 225-250yd zero than 100, personally.
Guess I'm old school at age 49.

 

[cajun]

So, take a gun that shoots a .315 G7 Bullet at 3200+fps and zero it at 45/70 shooting distance?
I'd rather it be a 225-250yd zero than 100, personally.
Guess I'm old school at age 49.

I think what they are saying is set a 100 yd zero because it's more accurate. Then you can dial to 225 -250 or whatever gives you mpbr of 6-8"

 

[WildBillG]

I think the answer about wind is my issue. I never plugged in zero wind and I know how that can effect point of impact up and down. I have to agree why zero at 100 with a relatively flat shooting rifle..

 

[QuietTexan]

I think what they are saying is set a 100 yd zero because it's more accurate. Then you can dial to 225 -250 or whatever gives you mpbr of 6-8"

That's what I do. Zero on the dot at 100 yards because the ranges I use have that distance dialed in. Then dial up whatever the MBPR calc says, then confirm on steel at distance.

Minimizes impact of environmentals, minimizes zero distance error (meaning actually laser your "100 yard" target and find out it's actually 107), just in general is an easier task.

MPBR on my most common hunting calibers is still 300 yards or under, that's not a hard thing to shoot to confirm. Wind is the limit moreso than drop where I shoot.

 

[7Rum Slayer]

I always zero at 100 yards, then I dial up to a 200 yard zero on my calcs, say 1.25 inch or 5 clicks. Verify groups at 200, I then set my turret to zero and set my zero stop 5 clicks under my now 200 yard zero. That way I can dial down to my 100 yard to verify on the bench or when hunting tight cover. This gives me a little more on the scopes top end if limited on travel. Then I take out to distance and validate trajectory and verify accuracy. Just my way but it works for me. Sorry I got side tracked but I am no help with the kestrel. Cheers, Jason

 

[Sealesniper]

From personal experience I know if you don't have your center line heights of your optics to bore correct, NONE of your electronics data will be right. Verify your height above the bore.

For my hunting in Eastern NC I zero at 250 so I can make the quick shot to 400 without any dope, as many times just don't have the time to mess with it before the big guy has moved into the woods.

For a LR gun, I zero at 100. I do this so my clicks are easy to zero. Also, wind deflection and my ability to have a tight group are much better at 100 than 200 or more. If I want to know where the gun is hitting, I can get a much more accurate zero at 100, off a cement rest with good bags and bi pod. Again this is for a long range gun. For my hunting gun I shoot off a bipod with rear bag but in more of a hunting like environment, ie Wood bench. I then verify my drop out to my max "un Doped" range of 450-500 and make a sheet sheet for hold over (or clicks for dope).

Hope this helps.

 

[Dirtrax]

Personally I find that an honest 100yds is easy to find just about anywhere. That makes the task of verifying zero easy. Drop your gun…zero it, travel with it…zero it, crazy different weather… zero it, significant elevation change… you get the picture.

 

[RB II]

Shoot the 100 yd zero to verify the load accuracy. Once established, shoot all viable distances to verify the ballistics of the load/bullet in that specific rifle. If it is a 500 yd hunting rifle, then shoot it at various ranges out to 500 yds using the reticle or the turret to verify.
I have a large plate at 400 yds. After zero at 100 yds do not adjust the scope, shoot that 400 yd plate for a 5 shot group, same POA. Physically measure the center of that group for the actual drop and do the math to verify the velocity and amount of drop at exactly 400 yds. (400 is a good "middle distance" for most rifles). I also verify at 500 and further as required for each specific load for that specific rifle. Works well for me.

 

[George Dean]

Others have said this but I will jump on my soap box here.
I think the "200y zero is an imprecise tool and should be done away with in our common vernacular. this will upset old timers for sure but what I'm about to say is where this 200y zero comes from.

1 always always always zero at 100y/100m. This removes the affect of almost all environmental impacts.
2. Point blank range is the area the bullet drops and remains in the kill/target zone. Typically being 6-8in. Now the hunter can with variable confidence shoot from
50-300y, just point and click. This is constant for most hunting calibers sans 22.
3. To extend that PBR hunters started doing 100y zero's with a 1-1.5in high offset that was "dead on at 200y". We have all herd that right. This extends the PBR maybe 75-100y

So, what is reality is that since the 1950's, 60's and 70's bullets have changed a lot and I like to have everything precise.

The best answer in my opinion is to always do the 100y zero with an offset. The 200y has potential for environmental issues and shooter error.

The offset of 1in, 2in plugged into a ballistic calc then determine your PBR and Max PBR.
Learn to dial a scope or use your subtension lines/dots. This is where people get lazy, they don't want to learn this half of it and these excuse is "If I have to make a quick shot I won't have time"

Reality is at 25-125y you may not have time but that's totally within the PBR of a 100y zero. Distances beyond that the animal has less and less awareness of you in most situations so yeah you do have time.

99 out of 100 hunters I have guided have never shot an animal beyond 150y.

So, use the ballistic calc, and determine 100y with offset that keeps your bullet in a kill zone for xxx yards and drop the whole 200y zero.

Ok I'm done lol

Simplified: I believe the 200 yard zero comes from WWII training on the Garand (30.06). Zero the Garand to 100, click the range up to 200 and put a witness mark on the windage knob (Assuming it is already neutral) and the range knob so that you can return your zero quickly on the fly. The Garand had an effective range of 800 yds. with 50% of soldiers being able to hit the target at that range.

 

[sp6x6]

Your zero range is whatever you pick.In th ol days as most out west I had a 300 zero. Todays equipment far surpasses. I use a 200 zero on all my rifles, what I favor. If all I did was hunt close for whitetails, id have a different set up.Ive been in close to most all NA game, having shot most 6x6bulls,5x5 whitey in there beds at point blank many times.But if needed I'm sending a 300 otm,for the job and in last 15 years 5-700 yrds is a real common shot for me or my son.Your kestrel our whatever method you use needs to be true.I actually crunch rocks in areas I hunt, on off days or off season for practice. I shoot mils and know the drops out to 1000 in my head, the 200 simplifies this for me, my 6.5 Prc is within .1 mil off my 338 NM.I also shoot FF,so I can speed hold my drops if wanted

 

[victor3ranger]

Others have said this but I will jump on my soap box here.
I think the "200y zero is an imprecise tool and should be done away with in our common vernacular. this will upset old timers for sure but what I'm about to say is where this 200y zero comes from.

1 always always always zero at 100y/100m. This removes the affect of almost all environmental impacts.
2. Point blank range is the area the bullet drops and remains in the kill/target zone. Typically being 6-8in. Now the hunter can with variable confidence shoot from
50-300y, just point and click. This is constant for most hunting calibers sans 22.
3. To extend that PBR hunters started doing 100y zero's with a 1-1.5in high offset that was "dead on at 200y". We have all herd that right. This extends the PBR maybe 75-100y

So, what is reality is that since the 1950's, 60's and 70's bullets have changed a lot and I like to have everything precise.

The best answer in my opinion is to always do the 100y zero with an offset. The 200y has potential for environmental issues and shooter error.

The offset of 1in, 2in plugged into a ballistic calc then determine your PBR and Max PBR.
Learn to dial a scope or use your subtension lines/dots. This is where people get lazy, they don't want to learn this half of it and these excuse is "If I have to make a quick shot I won't have time"

Reality is at 25-125y you may not have time but that's totally within the PBR of a 100y zero. Distances beyond that the animal has less and less awareness of you in most situations so yeah you do have time.

99 out of 100 hunters I have guided have never shot an animal beyond 150y.

So, use the ballistic calc, and determine 100y with offset that keeps your bullet in a kill zone for xxx yards and drop the whole 200y zero.

Ok I'm done lol

This is exactly what I do with mine

 

[WildBillG]

The issue was that I had a 8mph wind at 10 o clock punched into my Kestrel. When I put wind to zero my zero at 200yds was zero. For my 338 Rum shooting a 300grn Berger Elite Hunter at 2845fps. A 200 yd. zero is flat enough shooting to hit Richardson Ground Squirrels from point blank to 225 yards. That is with the gophers in the prone position. Sorry to some of you but I will stick to my 200 yard zero. Really I would have prefered my normal 250 yard zero but I only have a 200 yard range now. I just can;t see dialing more than you need to. With my 257 Bee I use a 300 yard zero you can hold on deer out to 400 yards. Not all rifles shoot like modified compound bows. I am soory if your rifle does. Remember though they made todays flatter shooting rifles for a reason. It is so we don't have to worry about hold over and under so much .

 

[Marky_mark]

The issue was that I had a 8mph wind at 10 o clock punched into my Kestrel. When I put wind to zero my zero at 200yds was zero. For my 338 Rum shooting a 300grn Berger Elite Hunter at 2845fps. A 200 yd. zero is flat enough shooting to hit Richardson Ground Squirrels from point blank to 225 yards. That is with the gophers in the prone position. Sorry to some of you but I will stick to my 200 yard zero. Really I would have prefered my normal 250 yard zero but I only have a 200 yard range now. I just can;t see dialing more than you need to. With my 257 Bee I use a 300 yard zero you can hold on deer out to 400 yards. Not all rifles shoot like modified compound bows. I am soory if your rifle does. Remember though they made todays flatter shooting rifles for a reason. It is so we don't have to worry about hold over and under so much .

Its not really dialing more than you need to. When you have a 200 or 300 yard zero, youve just already made the adjustments in advance. But, like others have stated, is your 300 yard zero a true 300 yard zero? Or is that small bullet going out of you 257 wby already being influenced by conditions? Super fast, flat shooting rifles arent new, they are actually pretty old technology. More gunpowder made up for poorly designed bullets and little to no understanding of ballistics. Things have changed a little since then