You kind of want to know your max ORD and at what range that occurs if you are relying on holds And a short range/intermediate range scaled zero we could call it
Welcome Guest!
Sighting in a rifle
- Thread starter Core Lokt
- Start date
DannyW
Senior Member
My method is very similar to most of the advice here.
It has worked for me using .243, .257, 7x57, .270 and 30.06 and .300 WM with mid-range bullet weight for the caliber, and 2,800-3,000 FPS loads.
I sight in at 2" high at 100 yards. I will be slightly low at 25 yards and dead on at 200 yards. My Point Blank Range, the distance where my impact will never be more than 2" high or low, is 0-240 yards. This means I do not have to make hold adjustments up to 240 yards.
Beyond that, if the caliber will support long range hunting, I use the 7/21/42 rule. That means the POI will be 7" low at 300 yards, 21" low at 400 yards and 42"low at 500 yards. But most of us, myself included, have no business shooting at a deer at over 300 yards! If you have ever had the luxury of shooting at a long distance range, you know what I mean...300-400 yards is a LONG way, even from a bench rest!
This method is a good rule of thumb but nothing beats range time to verify.
It has worked for me using .243, .257, 7x57, .270 and 30.06 and .300 WM with mid-range bullet weight for the caliber, and 2,800-3,000 FPS loads.
I sight in at 2" high at 100 yards. I will be slightly low at 25 yards and dead on at 200 yards. My Point Blank Range, the distance where my impact will never be more than 2" high or low, is 0-240 yards. This means I do not have to make hold adjustments up to 240 yards.
Beyond that, if the caliber will support long range hunting, I use the 7/21/42 rule. That means the POI will be 7" low at 300 yards, 21" low at 400 yards and 42"low at 500 yards. But most of us, myself included, have no business shooting at a deer at over 300 yards! If you have ever had the luxury of shooting at a long distance range, you know what I mean...300-400 yards is a LONG way, even from a bench rest!
This method is a good rule of thumb but nothing beats range time to verify.
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
I personally don't use "holdover" at longer ranges.
I don't have tactical turrets or BDC. I zero 1" high at 100 yards. POI is 3" low at 200 yards. 200 yards is my self imposed maximum effective range with a center chest hold.
Which works great if you are not presented with a shot over 200 yards or you have a rangefinder and can verify whether or not your target is within your self-imposed maximum range
notnksnemor
The Great and Powerful Oz
He’s hunting a better state than this I guess
huntfish
Senior Member
Reflex meaning, not taking time to range, adjust scope etc.
Hunter922
Senior Member
Sorry for saying this but not really. If I can't get closer than 300 or 400 yards from the deer I'm looking for then I need to scout more. No chance I'm taking that shot. That's just shooting not hunting.
huntfish
Senior Member
The number was just used for comparison and not for all calibers. I've shot quite a bit and used to practice out to 400 yards regularly. I know my limitations and where the bullet should go if I do my part.
huntfish
Senior Member
Seems all the rage is adjustable scopes to allow you to hold dead on. Watching videos of 700 yard kill shots, shooting completely out of a brace takes the fun out of hunting.
BriarPatch99
Senior Member
I usually first sight in a new rifle/scope at 25 yards ...most loads are a little low at 25 yards .... I then sight in at 100 yards ...
I use the Maximum Point Blank Range +/- 3" method... For my current 80 grain TTSX load in my .25/06... it is -0.3" low at 25 yrds, +2.2" high at 100 yrds, +3.0" at 168 yrds, 0.0" at 292 yrds, -3" at 340 yards....
I use the Maximum Point Blank Range +/- 3" method... For my current 80 grain TTSX load in my .25/06... it is -0.3" low at 25 yrds, +2.2" high at 100 yrds, +3.0" at 168 yrds, 0.0" at 292 yrds, -3" at 340 yards....
Tight Lines
Senior Member
My brother from another mother...
transfixer
Senior Member
Only time shots like that come into play are on clearcuts, I when we had a clearcut a long time ago on our lease I had 250-300 yd shots from one side of the cut to the other , hunting out of a box stand with a good platform rest for the rifle , I could have hunted the trails or areas in the woods where I knew they frequented, or I could hunt 4 or 5 trails at once from the clearcut stand
Core Lokt
Senior Member
How many hunters actually shoot at deer 400 yds away? I sure haven't and won't. Heck I can't see that far where I hunt.
Lukikus2
Senior Member
What you have spoken is sure enough truth. It’s the same with a raised scope on a rifle with iron sights.
Tight Lines
Senior Member
Around here, not many, and not me, ever.
I shot a doe in Kansas at 323 yards when I was in college...but it was a crystal clear blue bird day with very little wind and my brother and I shot on the property out to 1600 yards...we could easily see from the ridges literally miles...and I could see well back then...since then, I have not killed a deer that was over 200 yards...
WOODIE13
2023 TURKEY CHALLENGE 1st place Team
Got some buddies up North, longest shot is 647 yds so far, plenty @ 450. Know your equipment and lethality. Most are using a 6.5, CM, PRC, 284 or Sweed.
My furthest was 200 yds, powerline, 30.06, center hold.
My furthest was 200 yds, powerline, 30.06, center hold.
Liberty
Senior Member
I normally sight in at 50, which is usually a little high at 100. If it’s a hunting rifle for these parts, I’ll shoot it at 100 then 200 and make sure it is still close enough or make a note of the drop if it’s not. Rifles for competition are a slightly different procedure checking drops and making a dope card out to 600 on a day not too cold and not blistering hot or windy.
There are a lot of ways to achieve a similar result. For my Riton 1 Primal 3-9X40 that has a plex reticle, I use, Maximum Point Blank Range to zero. MPBR is the distance over which a shooter can hold his sights dead on the center of the target and hit it. The bullet may strike the upper or lower edge or any point in between, but it will not miss (unless the shooter flinches or pulls the barrel off target.) Most ballistic apps will tell you where you need to have your POI at 100 yards to impact the vitals of your game. Quick,easy and accurate as long as you have a rangefinder to range landmarks.
Tight Lines
Senior Member
You can definitely do that in Kansas regularly in certain areas...the Flint Hills being one. My issue is not about hitting the target, it's more about will that whitetail move in that split second that it takes me to get on target and squeeze. If they are on the move, as they often are at that distance in the open, you better be dialed in!
My brother and I frequently would practice out to 600 yards, 400 even more so. But that's off a bench, prone, or out of the back of a truck. We would practice with steel, bullseyes, and prairie dog cut outs. I could hit the prairie dog cutouts with my 6.5 CM out to 400 every single time. With tactical turrets and a known round, it isn't really that hard. But that's all static, not dynamic.
If you do it enough, and have the right tools, I'm sure it is a high percentage shot. I just never really had to do it over and over, so didn't...
