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pblanc · January 30, 2020, 05:14 PM

I would use a rest and you can use just about anything from a cheap rolled up backpacker's foam sleeping pad to a range bag. Just don't let the barrel contact your rest if you don't want to burn a hole in it.

For a 22 lr rimfire rifle, with most ammunition if you zero at 25 yards you will be very close to a 50 yard zero. How close will depend on the exact muzzle velocity your rifle achieves with whatever ammo you are shooting, and how high the center of your scope tube is above the bore axis of your barrel. But if you zero at 25 yards first, you should only have to make a slight elevation adjustment for 50 yards. With a zero at 50 yards, your near zero (where the projectile first crosses the sight line) will be within a few yards of 25 yards.

I would also start zeroing your center fire rifle at 25 yards to get on paper. You can use an online ballistic calculator to determine exactly where your bullets should strike so long as the calculator provides an estimate of muzzle velocity for your cartridge and ballistic coefficient for your projectile. If not, you can usually find estimates for these on-line and input them into the ballistic calculator. Make sure to adjust the sight height for your particular scope height above bore as this will make a considerable distance.

For just about any center fire rifle zeroed at 100 yards, your point of impact at 25 yards will be low. You can get an estimate of how low you want to group from the ballistic calculator, but it will be an estimate because the ballistic coefficients provided by ammo makers are not always accurate and will vary with environmental conditions, and the default muzzle velocities will likely vary a bit from what your rifle achieves, and will also vary with air density. But the estimates should be good enough to get you on paper at 100 yards, or wherever you want your final zero to be, and you can then adjust from there.

January 30, 2020, 05:14 PM	#4
pblanc Senior Member Join Date: March 23, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 697	I would use a rest and you can use just about anything from a cheap rolled up backpacker's foam sleeping pad to a range bag. Just don't let the barrel contact your rest if you don't want to burn a hole in it. For a 22 lr rimfire rifle, with most ammunition if you zero at 25 yards you will be very close to a 50 yard zero. How close will depend on the exact muzzle velocity your rifle achieves with whatever ammo you are shooting, and how high the center of your scope tube is above the bore axis of your barrel. But if you zero at 25 yards first, you should only have to make a slight elevation adjustment for 50 yards. With a zero at 50 yards, your near zero (where the projectile first crosses the sight line) will be within a few yards of 25 yards. I would also start zeroing your center fire rifle at 25 yards to get on paper. You can use an online ballistic calculator to determine exactly where your bullets should strike so long as the calculator provides an estimate of muzzle velocity for your cartridge and ballistic coefficient for your projectile. If not, you can usually find estimates for these on-line and input them into the ballistic calculator. Make sure to adjust the sight height for your particular scope height above bore as this will make a considerable distance. For just about any center fire rifle zeroed at 100 yards, your point of impact at 25 yards will be low. You can get an estimate of how low you want to group from the ballistic calculator, but it will be an estimate because the ballistic coefficients provided by ammo makers are not always accurate and will vary with environmental conditions, and the default muzzle velocities will likely vary a bit from what your rifle achieves, and will also vary with air density. But the estimates should be good enough to get you on paper at 100 yards, or wherever you want your final zero to be, and you can then adjust from there.