308 Ballistic Zero

BamaB0wMan · December 30, 2019, 11:08 AM

I am NOT a professional shooter, and I need some advice. I have a .308 HOWA Model 1500 heavy barrel rifle.. I shoot Hornady 165gr SST. The scope has a elevation deadstop ..scope sits on a 0 MOA base mount. At this moment it shoots 4" high @ 100 yards. 5 rounds will touch (when I take my time) Does anyone have an idea what would be my dead on zero be ? Any positive advice would be great.
Thanks for any help.

jmr40 · December 30, 2019, 10:37 PM

Stop making this complicated.

With the zero you have you're going to be dead on at about 275, about 2" low at 300, and about 15.5" low at 400. But you're not only going to be 4" high at 100, but closer to 5" high at 150, and 2" high at 50. If you're shooting at game you run the real risk of shooting OVER at closer ranges.

If you're using the rifle for target shooting all of the scopes with multiple aiming points or turrets are calibrated for a 100 yard zero.

I zero all of my centerfire rifles for 100 yards. There will be a little more drop at 200 and 300 yards, but not enough to be a problem. If I can remember to hold 5" LOW at 150 yards I can remember to hold 5" HIGH at 250. Out to 300 yards very little hold over is needed to hit the kill zone on a game animal with any modern cartridge shooting pointed bullets. Beyond 300 yards you need a range finder to know the exact range and a scope dials or multiple aiming points calibrated for different ranges.

If you're shooting targets you zero at 100 yards, plug your numbers into a ballistics program, twist the dials to the proper setting and trust the technology.

Something like this

https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady...alculators/#!/

After you enter the data click on the cheat sheet option. You can print out a sheet showing exactly how much to adjust the scope for different ranges.

December 30, 2019, 11:08 AM	#1
BamaB0wMan Junior Member Join Date: December 29, 2019 Posts: 1	308 Ballistic Zero I am NOT a professional shooter, and I need some advice. I have a .308 HOWA Model 1500 heavy barrel rifle.. I shoot Hornady 165gr SST. The scope has a elevation deadstop ..scope sits on a 0 MOA base mount. At this moment it shoots 4" high @ 100 yards. 5 rounds will touch (when I take my time) Does anyone have an idea what would be my dead on zero be ? Any positive advice would be great. Thanks for any help.

December 30, 2019, 10:37 PM	#2
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,976	Stop making this complicated. With the zero you have you're going to be dead on at about 275, about 2" low at 300, and about 15.5" low at 400. But you're not only going to be 4" high at 100, but closer to 5" high at 150, and 2" high at 50. If you're shooting at game you run the real risk of shooting OVER at closer ranges. If you're using the rifle for target shooting all of the scopes with multiple aiming points or turrets are calibrated for a 100 yard zero. I zero all of my centerfire rifles for 100 yards. There will be a little more drop at 200 and 300 yards, but not enough to be a problem. If I can remember to hold 5" LOW at 150 yards I can remember to hold 5" HIGH at 250. Out to 300 yards very little hold over is needed to hit the kill zone on a game animal with any modern cartridge shooting pointed bullets. Beyond 300 yards you need a range finder to know the exact range and a scope dials or multiple aiming points calibrated for different ranges. If you're shooting targets you zero at 100 yards, plug your numbers into a ballistics program, twist the dials to the proper setting and trust the technology. Something like this https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady...alculators/#!/ After you enter the data click on the cheat sheet option. You can print out a sheet showing exactly how much to adjust the scope for different ranges. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill