100 or 200 Zero?

[kaylorinhi]

You don't have to zero a knife!

[Art Eatman]

A generality about "deer cartridges" with higher velocity than a .30-30 but not quite up to a .300 Win Mag. No magnums.

Two inches high at 100 generally is about dead on at 200 and about six inches low at 300. Beyond that, lotsa variables.

Everything I've ever read says that the vast majority of all deer are shot within 200 yards. Hard to argue with that; I got one buck at 350 and one at 450, but most of the others were somewhere in the 75-yard to 150-yard range. Maybe three or thereabouts in the sorta "up close and personal" distance of only 30 or 40 yards.

[Daryl]

Depending on how high the scope is mounted, which bullet is used, and how fast it's pushed, +1.5" zero at 100 yards will put you dead on at 200-225 yards with a .270. At 300 yards, you'll be around 5-6" low.

That said, as long as you know where your bullet will hit in corrolation to your aim, it doesn't matter how you sight in. The sights on a gun are just a reference to use to put the bullet where you want it to hit at any given range.

Daryl

[ZeroJunk]

If you have the time and room, shoot the rifle with the cartridge you intend to hunt with at 100, 200, and 300 yards and see what you have.

I think you will find that Daryl is correct, but you will know for sure and therefore have more confidence.

[jmr40]

Where are you hunting? Here in GA 99% of my shots are going to be under 100 yards. I zero at 100 and know exactly where I will hit at any range between 25 yards and 300 because I practice at those ranges. At 300 yards there is quite a bit of drop with a 100 yard zero, but I can still make hits on a deer size animal by holding on hair at any range out to 300.

If I went to a 200 yard zero it would take any guesswork out of the 300 yard shots and make 400 easier. But it would lead to a bullet striking 2-3" higher than POA at 50 yards. Not a problem out in the open, but could cause the bullet to hit brush while trying to shoot through a 3" opening in the brush at closer ranges.

I'm going to Western Colorado in October. My rifle will be zeroed at at least 200 yards for those conditions, maybe 250. I'll see how my practice sessions go this summer as I prepare for the hunt.

[Morgoroth]

Not totally certain about ranges since I have not been there to hunt before.
I am presuming relatively open areas though. Fields etc.

[riggins_83]

Always zero my 30-06 rifles at 200....

[crghss]

In PA I've shot only two deer over 200 yds in 20+ years of hunting there. One 213 yds range finder, other 250 stepped off. 20+ deer have been shot at 75 yds or less.

I zero rifles in at 200 yds. The rifles I used '06, 270, 7mm-08 plus others all are less then 2" high at 100". So I can aim dead on out to 200 yds.

When hunting you're not shooting a target. An inch either way can't really be seen on that patch of brown you're lining up on. So I put crosshairs right on shoulder and fire. Never had to tracked a deer more then 50 yards. Of course shooting them at 75 yds sure helps.

[jhgreasemonkey]

I go against the grain in my neck of the woods and zero at 100. Most hunters I know zero at 200 but I don't see the point for the kind of hunting I do.

[Colorado Redneck]

My 270 is sighted for 250 yard zero. Shot an antelope fawn at a bit over 350 paces last year. Dead center on the old boiler room. I aimed just a bit high cause she was a long ways off.

I shoot prairie doggies quite a bit, and even though I fiddle with the adjustable objective and try to figure out distance to targeted animals, it seems to be too difficult to get very good at it.The most common cause of my missed shots other than a chronic flinch with the 22-250, is the inability to gauge trajectory and distances.

For deer and antelope hunting, Maximum Point Blank Range is the best for me. If you go to http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi you can figure out what MPBR is for your given caliber and bullet.

[James R. Burke]

Were I hunt very few shots are over 100 yards. Most are more like 50 or so. So I zero for 100 yard, and know were it shots pass that. My scope has the dot system. I got to admit last year I did shot to farther out than I ever have. I think a 200 yard zero is perfect. Half the shooters I see though have a 200 yard zero, and can't hit nothing past 50 yards free arm. Just my opinion if you can't hit what your shooting at 100 yards a zero for 200 wont matter.

[Sarge]

I zero bottleneck rifle cartridges at 200, including the 30-30. The procedure has made me some meat I might otherwise have let walk.

[langenc]

I didnt read all of page 1 posts.

Im surprised no one asked where in the US are you hunting. Where I hunt it is seldom that you can see a deer at 200 and about never at 300 unless along the powerline.

In the swamp 50 yards-dead on is better asnd you will still be dead on to 75 or 80 yds.

[Honda4me]

200 yard zero for me on all my center fire rifles except for my two 30/30s. Aim small miss small.

[Morgoroth]

Im surprised no one asked where in the US are you hunting.

I am hunting in NC. There is a guy with A LOT of land that is going to take me out some this season. He does some farming and other things. I have not been to the land so I am not sure how far the shots will be, but I have seen stands over fields around here that could overlook some pretty long shots.

I think I am going to go with the MPBR since I would not feel comfortable with my abilities past 287 yds anyway.

[Doyle]

I think I am going to go with the MPBR since I would not feel comfortable with my abilities past 287 yds anyway.

Good decision. Just remember that part of the theroy behind MPBR is that YOU choose the size of the maximum hold over/under. In one post on this thread, the person uses a 3" maximum. My personal tolerance is 2". Choose what suits you and sight for that.

[ZeroJunk]

On deer size game it doesn't really matter whether you zero at 100 or 200 with a 270 Win if your intention is a center heart lung shot inside of 300 yards. Just shoot for what you decided.

There will be a few yards difference where the bullet crosses the sight plane coming up and a few yards difference where it crosses coming back down. But, you are only talking about 1 1/2 or 2 inches on a target the size of a soccer ball.

Now, if you want to center the heart or the brain I would still shoot the rifle at a variety of ranges regardless of where you eventually decide to zero.

Trajectory charts and formulas are great, but actual practice with your rifle,ammo, scope height, etc. is a good thing.

Also, the 15 foot elevation is not relevant like it would be with a bow.

[Mobuck]

I use the MPBR adjusted to the size animal I'm hunting. With a 30/06, that's about 225 yard zero. With close to 50 years of hunting, I'll have to say I've shot over way more critters than I've shot under. Of course, most of that time was prior to laser rangefinders.

[telemark]

Except for my 30-30, I sight most of my rifles in at 225 yards, this usually puts me ~2" high at 100yds and ~4" low at 300 yds.

[knight0334]

My big game guns are zero'd at 100yds, my varmint rifles are zero'd for 200 or 300 yards depending on the gun.

Nearly all my deer are taken at stone's throw distance because I stalk them in brush and pine thickets.

[James R. Burke]

Langenc sounds like you hunt about like I do. There is no time for a rest of tripod or to pick out which 10 pointer to shoot at. You need to pick the rifle up get on target, and take or not take the shot free arm. Like I said if you cannot shoot accurate a 100 free arm there is no way your going to do it at 300. Also I believe you should know what your firearm will do at differnt ranges. If you dont and pass on a shot that is great thinking in my book. Would rather have it walk away then pull a bad shot, but you should have the confidents to know what your firearm will do. Leave it walk or stop hunting. You can read all you want but try it in the field, and do lots of shooting.(free arm). Set up 10 on gallon milk jugs filled with water and see how many you can break free arm with 10 shot. Then try it at 200, and try it at 300 yards. You may be surprized.

[TX Hunter]

I sight dead on @100 yards, and dont hold over to about 300 yards.
has alwayse worked fine for me.
I hate not being able to hit with precision at close range.

[Crankylove]

I sight in 3" high at 100 yards for my .270 Winchester.

[Nnobby45]

Well, if you believe the theory, as I do, that you should sight for the longest distance you can so you aren't too high at midrange, then the 130 gr. .270 zeros at about 275 yds. Zero any rifle 3" high at 100 yds, and you'll be 5" high at the highest point in between. So sighted, the 150 30-06 would zero at about 250, and the 180 closer to 200 or 225.

That means that you don't have to worry about being more than 5" high or low out to about 300yds, (with the 130 gr. 270) nor worry about the range as long as you don't exceed the "point blank range" which is where the bullet is as low past it's zero point as it is high at mid range. That's for big game. Obviously, when you talk varmints, you don't want to be more than 2 to 3 inches at any point, so you change the way you zero.

If 5" is too high above the line of sight at midrange for you, then zero at 2 or 2.5" high at 100 yds, but then confirm the zero at longer range.

Jack O'Conner scrapped the conventional 200 yd zero in favor of this method, and it works for all scope sighted rifles and all loads. Only the distance at which the bullet crosses the line of sight for the second time changes.

Of course Mr. O'Conner was from out West in the land of the cross canyon shot at mule deer, or long shot on Arizona White Tails.

In less open country, 200 yds. seems fine to me.

[jimbob86]

I sight in 4" high at 100 = dead on at 300 .... almost a foot low at 400.....

...that is for a Sierra GK 150gr BTSP at a muzzle velocity of 2900 f/sec.... so long as you have the presence of mind to put the crosshair at the bottom of the deer's chest on close shots, center of mass between 200 and 300 and top of the back at 400.... + 6" for each 50 yds farther... you'll be good to 500 yards. Practice with milk jugs full of water (or prairie dogs!) at random distances: it is not as hard as it looks.