What distance do you sight?

What distance do you sight your deer rifle in for

  • 100yds

    Votes: 33 27.5%
  • 100 meters

    Votes: 41 34.2%
  • 150yds

    Votes: 17 14.2%
  • 150 meters

    Votes: 6 5.0%
  • 200yds

    Votes: 12 10.0%
  • 200 meters

    Votes: 8 6.7%
  • Point Blank Range

    Votes: 3 2.5%

  • Total voters
    120
  • Poll closed .
The 100m zero is where all further shot drops are calibrated from ,yes or am I wrong .To zero at anything else is counter productive using BT I guess .Dont have BT myself and Zero 1/2 inch high at 100 which incidentally has worked very well for the past 30 odd years .
 
100 yds. I know my drops out to 300. Since most of my deer are taken between 50 and 150 yds, it's point and shoot, no faffing. For smaller targets, I use a Leica RF and calibrate it (as far as it can be) to the measured drop for a particular load so I get immediate readings for dialling. Windage becomes far more important a factor for smaller targets at distance since drop is a known given.
 
I use ballistic turrets on all three scopes, .243, 6.5CM and .308. I zero them at either 50 or 40 yards in order to exploit the PB for the round I'm using. I use a ballistic calc to determine what the round should be doing at various ranges, then go and test them to be certain. For example, a 58 grain foxing round in the .243, zeroed at 50 yards prints 1.2" high at 100, 1.5" high at 150, back on zero at around 200 then drops to 0.7 low at 225, and a full 2" at 250. This tells me that a centre mass body shot on a fox is good from 25 to 225 yards. Most of my foxing is done at night under a lamp where it isn't practical to range them with a laser, but the turret comes into its own for daytime long range varminting, where I have a sniper tape patch on the scope with the elevation required written out in moa out to 600 yards. (9.25 moa) These have been tested by shooting plates at 50 yrd intervals, and successful hits at intermediate distances are written in a notebook which lives in the drag bag. SO a 418 yard bunny was dispatched with 3.75 moa elevation and the result noted for next time I encounter one at that range.

I use the same principle for the deer rifles, with a close zero to exploit the curve. The .308 loaded with 150 gr Nosler BT at 2600 fps (slow but very, very smooth and accurate) is zeroed at 40. It rises to 1.2" at 100, and back on zero at 160, dropping to 2" low at 200. That point blank means point of aim kill shots on deer at all decent stalking ranges, woodland and hill. I haven't yet had time to go out and test drops with the plates, but my lad has confirmed kills on foxes out to 200 and a hill stag at 175. Woodland roe are simply point and shoot.
 
Working on the basis of a 6" dia or slightly larger killing area on broadside deer I zero both my 30R Blaser (138gr) and my .243w (75gr)at 150 yds. Just aim and shoot under 150 or out to 200 yds. I know adjustments out to 300 yds but very rarely shoot that far. Neck shots only taken front or back on so a couple of inches either way vertically matters not. The .17HMR spot on at 100 yds, guesswork beyond that.
So far in 60 odd years stalking deer it has worked for me. Hind
 
I zero at 175m. This is my mean average distance. It also means for shoulder/chest shot placements I dont really have to think about elevation until 220+. Yes I know that along various points the bullet will impact plus or minus but on a deer size effective kill zone on the chest or shoulder shot an inch or two plus or minus is not that crittal up to 220 with the bullet design/speed and hence terminal energy/impact. As you get out beyond the 220m it is more crittal to have better bullet placement. This is where proving on paper your researched trajectory and windage is important. Equally important is to know your limits, and consider and evaluate environmental/circumstance factors and your mental state. By mental state I mean, how you are confident you can shoot accurately at that distance. If not get closer, get a better platform or just leave it for another day. Practice is a key factor and the less deer you actually shoot the more practice on paper is really needed in proportion to deer shot. I know that if I have had a bit of time off work I am not just as sharp/accurate and it takes a wee bit of time to get finely tuned in again.
 
inch high at 100.. it'll put it in the centre vitals from in front of my nose to almost 200,,and if it feels like a 'good 200', I'll just add 1/2" to an 1" on my POA..hasn't failed me or any family members I've hunted with for a good 4-5 decades
 
The 100m zero is where all further shot drops are calibrated from ,yes or am I wrong .To zero at anything else is counter productive using BT I guess .Dont have BT myself and Zero 1/2 inch high at 100 which incidentally has worked very well for the past 30 odd years .

Depends on the scope. My Zeiss V8 has 9 optional rings with clicks out to 600m With the 7mm RM and a specific load I have to use a specific ring and zero at 1cm high at 100m. Other loads will require different rings and zero point

S
 
Zero at 100m with all except rimfire. Drop charts on the side or in scope cap. Mostly stalk with scope 3 clicks up (cm clicks) for the quick close range shot. Above about 150m I dial in.
edi
 
I zero both .243 and .308 at 100m both have mil dot 1st focal plane scopes so I can work out mil hold over should I need to to or dial in to my chart. Although my .243 which is what I generally use is only 3 cm low out to 150m anyway so don't really have to worry much as I don't take beyond this due to the land I shoot on.
 
The 100m zero is where all further shot drops are calibrated from ,yes or am I wrong .To zero at anything else is counter productive using BT I guess .Dont have BT myself and Zero 1/2 inch high at 100 which incidentally has worked very well for the past 30 odd years .
I suppose that depends with BT calibrated from 100 yes. I have a scope with turrets that start at 150. You can zero at 200 or 175 etc if you are using a ballistics app. As it works it out for you.
I don’t agree with the 1” or whatever high being a zero. Zero is where POA and POI coincide. Typical stalking calibre’s 1” high are zeroed between 150 and 200. iirc my 243 was 175 yards for maximum point blank range. Which put it roughly an inch high at 100 yards. With 58 Vmax I believe it was on at 50 and 150 then 1/2” at 100.
All my CF rifles are set at 100 yards. If I was shooting out a lot further I would change it to one that suited the distance involved.
 
I sight in my rifles at the typical average distance at which I usually shoot one. For deer that is 40-60 Yards. A longer shot is an exception. Combined with a fixed power scope and a simple duplex reticle.
No '1" high at X'; no ballistic program on my mobile; no hold-over/under. In the field, under hunting conditions, things have to be KIS. Keep It Simple.
 
I always zero my 308 to be on target at 100yds. Most of my shots are taken under 100 yards. I regularly practice at 200 yards so when it's needed I know how much to allow for the bullet drop. With reds I can happily go out to 300 yards if there is no other option, but usually I can get closer. Difficult to practice at 300 as I don't have any safe fields big enough. I don't have ballistic turrets just a plain Swarovski 8X56 keep it simple.
 
I suppose that depends with BT calibrated from 100 yes. I have a scope with turrets that start at 150. You can zero at 200 or 175 etc if you are using a ballistics app. As it works it out for you.
I don’t agree with the 1” or whatever high being a zero. Zero is where POA and POI coincide. Typical stalking calibre’s 1” high are zeroed between 150 and 200. iirc my 243 was 175 yards for maximum point blank range. Which put it roughly an inch high at 100 yards. With 58 Vmax I believe it was on at 50 and 150 then 1/2” at 100.
All my CF rifles are set at 100 yards. If I was shooting out a lot further I would change it to one that suited the distance involved.
Correct me if I’m wrong mate but .....
zero is just a pre determined distance .If a want to zero my rifle at 134.6 m ,any tele sight has the adjustment to do just that and from that I can shoot at various ranges to see what the drop ,rise is .Zeroing at 100 yds /m @1/2 inch high gives me a kill shot out to 170 easily but more importantly it reflects better on a shot closer @ 50 .100 is just a comfortable range to shoot at which is I believe ,why most cf calibres and scopes are built around that distance as a starting point .
Please don’t ask for the ballistics and **** to back this up as I’m a stalker not a paper puncher as it’s been down to practice rather than mathematics that put me on this track .Whatever you do ,it needs to land that bullet roughly where you want it .
 
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An inch high at 100 yards allows me to shoot from zero to a little over 200 yards without having to think about hold over
Just put the crosshairs on the kill zone, job done nice and simple.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong mate but .....
zero is just a pre determined distance .If a want to zero my rifle at 134.6 m ,any tele sight has the adjustment to do just that and from that I can shoot at various ranges to see what the drop ,rise is .Zeroing at 100 yds /m @1/2 inch high gives me a kill shot out to 170 easily but more importantly it reflects better on a shot closer @ 50 .100 is just a comfortable range to shoot at which is I believe ,why most cf calibres and scopes are built around that distance as a starting point .
Please don’t ask for the ballistics and **** to back this up as I’m a stalker not a paper puncher as it’s been down to practice rather than mathematics that put me on this track .Whatever you do ,it needs to land that bullet roughly where you want it .

Exactly. I wasn't clear. With ring 5 of the nine and zeroed 1cm high with the bullet I use (from the zeiss tables) the markers on the ring for 150, 200, 250 etc etc to 600 all land the bullet exactly on poa. No holdover/under etc Just dial in and shoot I am a stalker too and some of the ground very arable with no cover will require 300m shots with no mistakes. Ditto for Chamois at 400/450m. Works perfectly on the Rem Mag I wouldn't dream of that distance with the .275 Rigby, it just isn't up to it, but great for my woodland stalking. End of day we all zero and shoot with whatever we are most comfortable with.

S
 
I zero dead on at 100m or 109 yrds with all my CF's .243 , 6.5 cm and the .270 . Then if I need to do calculations for longer distances then it will be spot on .

Zeroing an inch high at 100m if you have to dial (if you do dial) for say 400yrd then your calculation will be , depending on your turret spacing, as much as 6 clicks off if your running data so your "DOPE" will always be wrong. The only way to guarantee data on hold over or by dialing is if you are zero'd spot on.

MOST centrefires wont need any hold over for deer, most species, up to 230yrds. I say most species as you will find that Munty and CWD being smaller may require a hold over to the ridge of the back at 200 yrds
 
I zero dead on at 100m or 109 yrds with all my CF's .243 , 6.5 cm and the .270 . Then if I need to do calculations for longer distances then it will be spot on .

Zeroing an inch high at 100m if you have to dial (if you do dial) for say 400yrd then your calculation will be , depending on your turret spacing, as much as 6 clicks off if your running data so your "DOPE" will always be wrong. The only way to guarantee data on hold over or by dialing is if you are zero'd spot on.

MOST centrefires wont need any hold over for deer, most species, up to 230yrds. I say most species as you will find that Munty and CWD being smaller may require a hold over to the ridge of the back at 200 yrds

FYI the Zeiss data tables for the specific bullet, SD, speed etc etc etc stipulate ring 5, zero 1cm high at 100m to ensure the 200m and beyond markers on the BT work. (and in the field they do) If I were to ignore that and zero exactly at poa bull at 100m then I will be approx 0.5 moa low on 200m onwards - quite a bit at 400m

Essentially Zeiss are trying to create the minimum number of ring variations (and increment clicks) on the scope to cope with the many different rounds the scope could be used for, so I am not surprised there isn't a ring that is dead on at every increment for a specific round

S
 
FYI the Zeiss data tables for the specific bullet, SD, speed etc etc etc stipulate ring 5, zero 1cm high at 100m to ensure the 200m and beyond markers on the BT work. (and in the field they do) If I were to ignore that and zero exactly at poa bull at 100m then I will be approx 0.5 moa low on 200m onwards - quite a bit at 400m

Essentially Zeiss are trying to create the minimum number of ring variations (and increment clicks) on the scope to cope with the many different rounds the scope could be used for, so I am not surprised there isn't a ring that is dead on at every increment for a specific round

S
yer but IF you zeroed like people did traditionally at 1 inch high that is a far cry from 1cm .
 
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