300 zero for hunting

[sask boy]

I was taught to zero at 1"&1/2" high at 100 yards and that will be dead on at 200 yards. It has worked for everything I have ever shot that is from a 243win up to a 375H&H :mrgreen:.
Dead on at 200 yards will definitely suffice with the -06.


Blessings,
Dan

 

[joelkdouglas]

I like a 200 yard zero for my 30-06. Gives a PBR out to 275 or so, and like you mentioned at 300 you can hold the top of the back.

Shooting past 300 quickly turns into a wind reading game in antelope country, and I'm not good enough to read wind on the plains.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I use a 300 yd zero for my .270 win, 7mm Rem mag, and .25-06. 200 yd zero for my .243 win and 257 roberts. I use a 100 yd zero with my .220 swift but it has CDS turrets. With those three at 300 the trajectory isn't much over four inches high or low out to 350 yds and only 9" low at 400. It really doesn't matter as long as you know where your rifle is shooting and can dope range accurately.

 

[Guy Miner]

It really doesn't matter as long as you know where your rifle is shooting and can dope range accurately.

There ya go.

 

[Wyo7200]

I used Quicktarget to determine the optimum sight in range to get the most point blank range and made some fancy reticle/ drop charts. Of course, they are verified and adjusted. Most of the recommended sight in ranges are within the 200 yard mark...

With my scope card, I can see that I'll be 5" low at 300 if I use the crosshairs, or I can holdover at the 297yrd tick mark and be on at 300. I can also quickly see the rise or drop of the bullet at 50 yard increments out to 350 so there is really no guessing how much I'm holding over between 200 and 363. It's also a doublecheck- If I'm holding over at 363 yards, my crosshair should be ~10 high on the target.

 

[6mm Remington]

I've always put zero on my rifles at 2 1/2" to 2 3/4" high at 100 yards for my 6mm Remington, 25-06, 280 Remington, and 30-06. I learned what I needed to hold over at distances through lots of shooting and it seemed to work very well for me. I never felt like this game me too much of a bullet hitting high at closer distances say 150 or 200 yards to worry about it. It put me pretty close to dead on at about 250 yards. So I split the difference and 250 is just perfect for me!!

 

[Blkram]

For many years, the old writers talked of sighting in 3" @ 100 yds, and being close to dead on at 300 yds, depending on cartridge.
Today, you see many talking of sighting in for a 200 yd zero.

Depends on the person, the cartridge, the quarry and the "normal" hunting terrain that the hunter is usually chasing their quarry in.

For me, in mostly forested areas, intermixed with open fields and open mountain terrain, for the majority of the big game that I hunt, I've stuck to the 200 yd zero, with all of my rifles, regardless of cartridge...and it was worked very well for me.

Having kept tabs on the distances that I have harvested big game animals at over the past 30 years, the majority have been harvested at 100-150 yards, so the 200 yd zero has been sufficient for me. And that includes antelope on the open prairie, sheep and goats in the mountains, bears, moose and elk in the deep brush, and deer and elk in the open fields. I can still count on one hand the number of animals harvested at over 300 yds, and practice at the range enabled me to know exactly where to hold on the animal with that particular rifle/cartridge/optic combination in order to make a quick, clean harvest, when I've done my part, or a follow up shot to finish an animal when needed.

Determine what will work best for you in all of the you may encounter, and practice with it until it becomes second nature, so that you do not have to try and recall what your particular setup is at the moment of thruth.

 

[baltz526]

30-06 150 GR. 0.338 B.C.
Range Muzzle 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Trajectory -1.5 1.3 2.9 3.3 2.4 0 -4.1 -10 -17.9 -28.2 -41.1
Come UP in MOA 0 -2.4 -2.8 -2.1 -1.2 0 1.3 2.7 4.3 6 7.8
Come UP in Mils 0 -0.7 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.7 2.3

 

[zacii]

30-06 150 GR. 0.338 B.C.
Range Muzzle 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Trajectory -1.5 1.3 2.9 3.3 2.4 0 -4.1 -10 -17.9 -28.2 -41.1
Come UP in MOA 0 -2.4 -2.8 -2.1 -1.2 0 1.3 2.7 4.3 6 7.8
Come UP in Mils 0 -0.7 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.7 2.3

At what velocity are you getting these numbers?

 

[super-7]

I've been doing a 250yrd zero in the last few years. It seems to work well for a good MPBR and for my area rifle shots can be from 20-400 yrds .

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

I've gotta say that I agree with Fotis, a 200-250 yard zero is my preference as I feel that it is more embarrassing to overshoot something than to miss it low because I didn't know the range etc. I've only hunted antelope twice and a 300 yard shot can be hard to come by in open country but I have seen two of them hit the deck in my time (neither by my hand). One was with a .30-06 a 150 grain bullet of Factory make and the other was from a .25-06 and 120 grain Core-lokt Factory Load. Both shots were under 300 yards and neither buck moved more than 3 feet, straight down.

Good luck. I feel like with a .30-06 and 150's zeroed at 200-250 yards you'll be successful.

 

[cloverleaf]

You've got better advice than I can give. I practice on an 11x`14 inch sheet of paper because I figure 14 inches is about the depth of a pronghorn from back bone to bottom of brisket, (actually a little less). Pick my range and see where the bullet falls. The more interesting point is drift..... I practice at 6X cause you never know. One thing I will say, I've shot more pronghorn at less than 300 yds than over. CL

 

[baltz526]

30-06 150 GR. 0.338 B.C.
Range Muzzle 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Trajectory -1.5 1.3 2.9 3.3 2.4 0 -4.1 -10 -17.9 -28.2 -41.1
Come UP in MOA 0 -2.4 -2.8 -2.1 -1.2 0 1.3 2.7 4.3 6 7.8
Come UP in Mils 0 -0.7 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.7 2.3

At what velocity are you getting these numbers?

I used the Standard Factory listed 2950fps. 250yrd zero gives you a Point blank range of 300yrds, -10" at 350, -18" at 400. You can Flatten out the Trajectory by switching to a higher BC bullet like a 150gr Ballistic tip. http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resou ... calculator

 

[zacii]

30-06 150 GR. 0.338 B.C.
Range Muzzle 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Trajectory -1.5 1.3 2.9 3.3 2.4 0 -4.1 -10 -17.9 -28.2 -41.1
Come UP in MOA 0 -2.4 -2.8 -2.1 -1.2 0 1.3 2.7 4.3 6 7.8
Come UP in Mils 0 -0.7 -0.8 -0.6 -0.3 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.7 2.3

At what velocity are you getting these numbers?

I used the Standard Factory listed 2950fps. 250yrd zero gives you a Point blank range of 300yrds, -10" at 350, -18" at 400. You can Flatten out the Trajectory by switching to a higher BC bullet like a 150gr Ballistic tip. http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resou ... calculator

I was reading your numbers wrong. I see now that they are relative to a 250 yard zero. For some reason I was thinking 300.

That's pretty close to the trajectory that I came up with at 2910 fps.

 

[BF375]

This sounds about right.

A 300 yard zero will have too much mid range with a 30/06-150.

Zeroed 3" high at 100,impact will be zeroed at about 250,about 5" low at 300 yards....I have generally gotten about 16" of drop at 400 at my range but 18" sounds close enough depending on the bullet. The differences will get lost in the group size unless you can make them all go into the same hole.

My figures are with a scope mounted in low rings and scopes mounted in higher rings can change the numbers a bit.

 

[diverdown]

All my rifles other than my Northeastern Deer rifles are sighted in for 200 yards. I'd rather hold over than start twisting turrets, which, in a hunting situation you may not have time to do. It takes enough time to use a rangefinder besides trying to count clicks. Having hunted out west for a number of years I've worked real hard to get accurate range estimations by eyeball but found it extremely difficult and just take the extra time to pull out my rangefinder.

 

[gr8hntr]

200 yard zero for all my magnums
It's what nikon uses for the BDC
my 30-378

They have an app and can load exact fps & bullet
For most calibers
I do check the distances at the range and it works
took a whitetail @ 412 yards with ease

 

[AzDak42]

Depends entirely on the rifle/optic combo and what type of range you can work with.

If you can play around with your sight in range, at least with hunting rifles, I want to find a zero that holds +/- 4-5" elevation change as long as far out as possible.

Example:

7mm08 AB 2825fps .485 BC

Zero - Longest shot +/- 5"
100 - 225
200 - 275
*240 - 300

 

[pharmseller]

I use a plus or minus 3" from line of sight according to a ballistics chart and call it good.



P

 

[Greg Nolan]

With the 150 gr. bullet 200 yds. is ideal for a 30-06. You can use Superformance loads and go to 250 but why. Antelope are small and not hard to kill just hard to hit at long range. What you need is the most accurate load you can find or develop, a good scope with good bullet drop compensation, Either reticle (my choice) or turret and a (GOOD) range finder. I found that my Bushnell 800 compact wouldn't range an antelope at much over 300 yds. There's mostly sage brush and few if any trees or big rocks to range off of. Practice shooting from field positions (like laying down over a back pack or bi-pod) out to 400 or 500 yds and you will do well.