300 zero for hunting

[zacii]

So I'm going antelope hunting in southern Utah this fall. My hunting mentor/co-worker is telling me to sight in my '06 at 300 yards.

I gotta say, I'm skeptical. My RAR '06 likes Federal 150 grain soft points, and zeroed at 300 gives a 10" arc from 100-350 yards.

He's telling me that 300 yards is an average distance.

What do you guys think?

I think that 257 Weatherby sounds better all the time :-/

 

[FOTIS]

Negative! 200 yard zero for all non magnums. I do not like 5.3" or more between line of sight and bullet path.

Even my 30-378 and 300 Bee get 200 yard zeroes.

 

[zacii]

If I zero at 200, that gives me a 9" drop at 300. I could theoretically a hold on a buck's back at that distance and still hit the vitals

 

[zacii]

257 Weatherby 300 yd zero:

30'06 250 yd zero:

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I generally use a 250 yard zero

 

[HeathSexton]

I've never hunted Utah but I use a 200yd zero on everything that isn't a lever gun and if it's something I shoot a lot then it has a scope with a turret on it so I can dial for distance.

 

[bbearhntr]

It doesn't matter where you zero your rifle as long as you know what its trajectory is through practice. Some say 3" high is no big deal, I prefer 2" so my rifles are zeroed with no more than 2" of rise and I know my hold over at ranges beyond zero. Do what YOU are most comfortable with, YOU are the one behind the trigger, and practice, practice, practice. Then in crunch time YOU will be comfortable and make a great shot.

 

[FOTIS]

I own every wby caliber sans 338-378 and 375 wby.

Everything gets a 200 yard zero.

 

[DrMike]

Whether shooting a non-magnum or a magnum, a 200-yard zero is sufficient for my hunting needs.

 

[Elkman]

When we were all much younger the standard was for 3" inches high at 100 yards. I still use that for my non-magnums. On my 7 and 300 mags, I do sight them in for a 300 yard zero. That way out to about 375 or so I can hold high shoulder. After that I use my range cards and turret.

 

[HeathSexton]

You may shoot a lot so this may not apply to you, but practice a lot at ranges from 300-600yds if you are planning to shoot that far.


A friend who hunts knew I shoot longer ranges some and he wanted to try his hand at it. His guns are zeroed 1.5" high @100yds and both he brought are accurate rifles, 30/06 and 243 Win. We shot at 405yds and prior to shooting he was telling me how he had always wanted to try it and he really wasn't expecting much of a challenge. He was going to hold over, no turret turning needed.

He managed to strike the target holder once but never hit the 12x12 steel so technically he was 0/40, 20 rounds from each rifle.


Practice, practice, practice


I dial for distance and hold for wind. Reading the wind is some sort of strange voo-doo and I'm not real good at it. I think I need to sacrifice more chickens or something........

 

[wildgene]

...I'm w/ Fotis, 200yd. 'zero', @ 300yds. you'll probably have a lot more time to consider a 6" hold, than a 150yd. 5" hold...

..."Trust, but verify", 'after the shot' isn't the time to find out your rifle didn't read the ballistics tables. Find out what your actual 'drop' is @ 300-400yds. Duct tape is your friend, after you determine your real drop figures, you can use a grid like this to find an 'aiming point' on your scope reticle that will match your POI for that distance...

 

[zacii]

...I'm w/ Fotis, 200yd. 'zero', @ 300yds. you'll probably have a lot more time to consider a 6" hold, than a 150yd. 5" hold...

..."Trust, but verify", 'after the shot' isn't the time to find out your rifle didn't read the ballistics tables. Find out what your actual 'drop' is @ 300-400yds. Duct tape is your friend, after you determine your real drop figures, you can use a grid like this to find an 'aiming point' on your scope reticle that will match your POI for that distance...

Your link didn't work for me.

 

[Guy Miner]

Most of my bolt action rifles are zeroed at 200 yds.

But not the .25-06... It's zeroed at 300 yards. Have made good kills out to about a quarter mile, and have also made good quick kills up much closer, like 20 yards. It's shoots considerably flatter than my typical hunting rifles, and makes 300 - 400 yard shots easy. Plus, the light recoil is nice.


BTW - it's got a fixed 6x Leupold, which is working out real well.

That .257 Wby is even more of a flat-shooting laser! Whatever rifle you choose, practice, practice, practice.

When in doubt, stalk closer! :mrgreen: Both of my pronghorns were shot at about 160 yards, while the crazy mule deer have been from 20 - 400 yards. Sheesh. Silly deer. You're going to enjoy the antelope hunt and the antelope backstrap steaks...

Regards, Guy

 

[wildgene]

...I'm w/ Fotis, 200yd. 'zero', @ 300yds. you'll probably have a lot more time to consider a 6" hold, than a 150yd. 5" hold...

..."Trust, but verify", 'after the shot' isn't the time to find out your rifle didn't read the ballistics tables. Find out what your actual 'drop' is @ 300-400yds. Duct tape is your friend, after you determine your real drop figures, you can use a grid like this to find an 'aiming point' on your scope reticle that will match your POI for that distance...

Your link didn't work for me.

...fixed...

 

[zacii]

...I'm w/ Fotis, 200yd. 'zero', @ 300yds. you'll probably have a lot more time to consider a 6" hold, than a 150yd. 5" hold...

..."Trust, but verify", 'after the shot' isn't the time to find out your rifle didn't read the ballistics tables. Find out what your actual 'drop' is @ 300-400yds. Duct tape is your friend, after you determine your real drop figures, you can use a grid like this to find an 'aiming point' on your scope reticle that will match your POI for that distance...

Your link didn't work for me.

...fixed...

Thanks!

So you are using the horizontal tape for a holdover mark?

 

[JD338]

My bolt rifles are zeroed for 200 yds. I am a big fan of dialing up for longer shots.
Go with a 200 yd zero on your 30-06. You might also want to consider a different scope with either
dials or a B&C reticle system.
Good luck on your antelope hunt.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

When we were all much younger the standard was for 3" inches high at 100 yards. I still use that for my non-magnums. On my 7 and 300 mags, I do sight them in for a 300 yard zero. That way out to about 375 or so I can hold high shoulder. After that I use my range cards and turret.

I still use a 3" high at 100 for just about any bolt rifle. The flatter shooting ones (7mm WSM, MSM, 270WSM, 264WM) give a 300 yard zero.. The slower ones like the 338 Win, 35 Newton, Whelen, etc all end up being between 240-280 yard zeros. It works pretty easily for me as long as I have a range card. 3" seems to be an easy ticket to keep bullets into an elk or even deers vitals out to 300 without issues.

Zeroing much higher than 3" on a slower round like a 30-06 seems to give way too much to think about at closer ranges, unless, as Bbear mentioned, your used to doing it.

 

[Anonymous]

I guess in theory it doesn't matter where you zero the rifle if that is where the game is at.

My .270WIN is zeroed at 250yd....my caribou tend to be shot from 200-300 yards...so a 250yd zero makes sense.

My son's 7-08 is zeroed at 150yds... he simply won't be shooting much farther than that.

My .300WSM is zeroed at 200 yds...shoots flat enough for 300 yd work on caribou and won't overshoot at 30yds on a moose or a bear.

If your friend is suggesting a 300yd zero...he might be thinking that they'll be no close shooting to be done and depending on the terrain...he could be 100% right. A lot of folks really screw up Kentucky holdover...better to aim dead-on and shoot.

 

[wildgene]

...I'm w/ Fotis, 200yd. 'zero', @ 300yds. you'll probably have a lot more time to consider a 6" hold, than a 150yd. 5" hold...

..."Trust, but verify", 'after the shot' isn't the time to find out your rifle didn't read the ballistics tables. Find out what your actual 'drop' is @ 300-400yds. Duct tape is your friend, after you determine your real drop figures, you can use a grid like this to find an 'aiming point' on your scope reticle that will match your POI for that distance...

Your link didn't work for me.

...fixed...

Thanks!

So you are using the horizontal tape for a holdover mark?

...no, duct tape is 2" wide (well, 1 7/8", but if you use 2" centers you won't notice the difference), so you can use the grid @ different yds./ scope powers to match parts of your reticle to the amount of 'holdover' needed, like a BDC w/o the extra lines...