200 mtr zero

Hunterjohnb

Well-Known Member
Hello all, took the zero on my 30.06 to 200 mtrs last evening.I was using reloaded 165 gr. Hornady sp's over 56gr of N160. Ended up with a 4.5cm 3 shot group. Would you be happy with this result? This is my normal stalking rifle.
 
If that size group was at 200 yards it would be acceptable (1 3/4"), but I am sure you should be able to better that normally.
 
Because most modern rifles, but not all, with good ammo are capable of shooting better than that. What you have already achieved is perfectly acceptable though.
 
Despite what is often posted on the inter-web. In real life and the real world many shooters cannot consistently shoot better than that at 100 metres.

Now have you checked the POI at 100 metres and perhaps 150M and what is it at 50 metres?

Depending on the mounting height of your scope you may be surprised at just how high above the line of sight that you shots will land at some of those distances. At 50M you may well be low. many are caught out by this.
 
There's nothing wrong with a 4.5cm group at 200metres. It's certainly ok for normal chest shooting of deer at sensible stalking ranges.
The rifle may be able to shoot tighter groups but we aren't talking bench rest rifles here.
The loading sounds about right and as you reload yourself, you could see if seating depth changes the group size.
Ensuring the bedding & all screws are properly tightened can help too.
Familiarity with the rifle, lots of practice, concentration on firing position and working on your grip/technique may help you to improve things too.
Enjoy the journey!

Ian
 
I don't think I could do better than that, and I wouldn't bother trying, it's perfectly fine for stalking purposes. the reason it's not 'tighter' is probably human error or environmental influence, bedding issues, barrel quality, heat in barrel, reticle thickness, etc. etc.

that's still under MOA!
 
Thank you all for your help.I will try to improve on the grouping next time out and will keep you posted on results.John
 
HJb,

As mentioned the grouping is fine :D although practice is always a good thing IMHO. learning the trajectory of your load and bullet is always worth while after all quarry species do have a habit of popping up when we least expect them. The waskerly buck toothed garden raider this morning for instance was so close I had to sight down the side of the barrel. We are talking like 8-10 feet.
 
If that size group was at 200 yards it would be acceptable (1 3/4"), but I am sure you should be able to better that normally.

I have scored many hundreds of targets at stalkers rifle shoots for over 35 years and it is a proven fact of life that 8 out of 9 individuals cannot place 3 consecutive shots in a one-inch bullseye at 100yds from a good rest.
This covers skills from mastershots to the mediocre.
There is a bus load of one-hole rifles but few passengers capable of putting up such a performance.

HWH.
 
Hello all, took the zero on my 30.06 to 200 mtrs last evening.I was using reloaded 165 gr. Hornady sp's over 56gr of N160. Ended up with a 4.5cm 3 shot group. Would you be happy with this result? This is my normal stalking rifle.

I would kill my deer all day long with this result, if that's what you mean. ;)

If you want to do better buy a super accurate target rifle, sort out your technique to the nth degree and come back to accurising this one.
 
I have scored many hundreds of targets at stalkers rifle shoots for over 35 years and it is a proven fact of life that 8 out of 9 individuals cannot place 3 consecutive shots in a one-inch bullseye at 100yds from a good rest.
This covers skills from mastershots to the mediocre.
There is a bus load of one-hole rifles but few passengers capable of putting up such a performance.

HWH.
dont paint everyone with the same brush mate,theres plenty of fine shots out there,they just dont shout about it as they only get jumped on
 
dont paint everyone with the same brush mate,theres plenty of fine shots out there,they just dont shout about it as they only get jumped on

He's not painting everyone with the same brush, but he is correct. I have rifles that will shoot beyond my capabilities and I know from many decades experience that this is often the case: There are more accurate rifles out there than there are people capable of extracting their measure of accuracy.~Muir
 
very often the 'great' groups you sometimes see posted are from benches with the rifles almost vice'd in. sometimes in perfect 'indoor' conditions from a rock solid bipod and rear sandbags where you've had an hour to steady your breath and a cuppa between shots, with 25mag scopes with ultra fine reticles, and targer/varmint setups...yes, still great shooting, but the 'REAL' test IMHO is if you take a stalking rifle that you actually 'would' carry on the hill, out crawl with some excitement into position, rest the firearm on bipod, roe sack, hand, hat, whatever, no rear rest, and then put 3 shots in a 100 or 200 meter group. 'that' is the test when it comes to how well you can group a 'stalking' rifle,,,again, IMHO...of course to caveat that, if it can't group under still/perfect conditions, a 'real' life test will only make matters worse, but I was referring more to the drivers abilities/input.
 
Grouping is good, unless you are paper punching you need not worry. Better to practice one shot, from a cold rifle, without any 'warmers'.
A far better guide to stalking shooting.
 
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