100 Yard or 200 Yard Zero for Dialers I’m Hunting Rigs

ckleeves

WKR
Joined
Feb 25, 2012
Messages
1,520
Location
Montrose,Colorado
The title of this thread is “100 or 200 yard zero for DIALERS”. A 100 yard zero (key word ZERO) makes sense here. If you want a 200 yard zero or 267 or whatever other bizarre number you can come up with then you can use that nifty clicky thing on the top of your scope.


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Joined
Aug 16, 2019
Messages
397
If there is any wind at all when you zero - will it effect your bullet more at 100 yards, or 200 yds...? The answer seems like an easy one. For 'limiting variables' you should zero at 100. What is the drift at 200 yards of your bullet in a say 3mph cross wind? Plugging some numbers - for my rifle the difference is .2moa at 100 and .4moa at 200.

What is .2moa at 500yds? Like an inch. At 1000 yards like 2 inches.

If you zero with a 10mph cross this goes up to .7moa at 100 and 2.9moa at 200.

What is 2.2moa at 500? Over a foot?

So the point is not the actual numbers, (my combo is fast, but not that 'slippery') those will be different for different bullets at different velocities. And, insert mil/inches/moa whatever for the example above - The point is that minimizing atmospheric conditions in your true zero is the goal.
 
Joined
Oct 5, 2015
Messages
352
Location
Alaska
For me, it's all about taking out as many variables as you can, especially on a gun I know I probably will be shooting long range. It will probably be okay your way but, it's something to second guess.

When sighting in, you eventually get to the point you say that's close enough. Any error how ever so slight at 100 that you accept, will be a lot more at 200, why not adjust from there?

After all, a 200 zero is only 1.2" high at 100, on an elk that's nothing. And I really expect to be seeing elk at much more than 100yds anyway. I would never want to walk around in the open country with a rifle set for 100, ever. Why even zero it there?
Journeyman, please read the 2 previous posts regarding zeroing at 100 yards. In addition to what they've said, among others in this thread, Doc Beach (Applied Ballistics) states, 'For a 100 yard zero you DO NOT need to worry about atmospherics.....If you zero at 100 yards, your zero is good for altitudes and conditions'. You mentioned 'taking out as many variables as you can'...zeroing at 100 yards is a good place to start.

You stated that 'when sighting in, you eventually get to the point you say that's close enough'. That doesn't necessarily need to be the case. If a rifleman is capable of consistently shooting (not having a 'wandering zero') you might find that in order to adjust the group's Point of Impact to the Point of Aim... you may not have enough resolution in the scope's turret adjustments. For example, you're POI is 0.13 MOA -ABOVE- the POA, your scope adjusts in 0.25 MOA increments, if you adjust your scope down 1 click (O.25 MOA)…..you'll end up 0.12 MOA -BELOW-. This can be corrected for by using your ballistic software to apply a 'True Range Zero'. Explaining this concept would make this post too lengthy. I'd recommend learning more about it. As a side note.....using the Ballistic-X phone app makes measuring group sizes and the relationship between POA and POI incredibly easy.

Getting a solid 100 yard zero is an important first step. Since this thread was addressed to dialers....It should be safe to assume that we're all using some type of ballistic software. I use Applied Ballistics, both on my desktop as well as in a Kestrel 5700 (for taking into account environmental conditions while shooting). There are many other really good ballistic solvers (Hornady 4DOF, Trasol, Ballistic AE etc.) However all of them are only predictive, based on the inputs they are given. They all need to be trued/calibrated to actual impacts on target at extended distances. Once again this is a subject that deserves a more thorough explanation than is reasonable in a forum post. In short, you plug in all of the required inputs into your ballistic software, shoot at extended distances (600, 1000, etc.) and then compare POA vs. POI. Use these differences to 'true the software'. In other words, you're telling the software the actual correction it should have given you under those circumstances (distance, environmental etc.). Once again, using the Ballistic-X app makes this process a lot easier.

You mentioned, 'I would never want to walk around in the open country with a rifle set for 100, ever.' From my perspective figuring out what you should dial your turrets to, yet still stay inside the target size from the muzzle out to distance is far more useful. Similar to a Max Point Blank Range. This should get you squared away from the muzzle out to 250-300 yards, depending on the cartridge, bullet etc. In the event you need to shoot farther than this bracketed distance.....you simply dial on to the turrets the DOPE required for the shot. It's not any different than what you'd be doing, if you were dialing up from a 100 or 200 yard zero anyways.

Having said this, I feel this approach is kinda bush league. If a hunter needs to take a fast shot that's over ~200 yards, I would argue that getting into a stable shooting position will take longer than dialing a turret a couple of clicks. Remember, distance to the target should give us time and opportunity to make a well executed shot. If you don't have the time to do this....you should most likely reevaluate the situation. 'Wing shooting' is for the birds.

I live and hunt in Alaska, I understand hunting in open country...sheep in the alpine and caribou on the tundra. I also understand hunting in areas with limited visibility...moose in the trees and deer on the islands. Having a 100 yard zero and a scope with the ability to dial an elevation correction has been a great approach and a valuable system.
 

Varminterror

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Messages
115
I feel like this topic gets debated far beyond its value.

Folks not shooting enough or shooting far enough for it to matter don’t need an answer. Folks who do shoot enough and far enough will figure out which of a few proven methods works best for their specific circumstances very quickly.

Personally, when hunting with high speed bottleneck cartridges, I zero at 100, dial to a 4-5” MPBR when walking afield, and then prefer to dial for anything farther, but will hold instead if necessary. It all works. If I’m sitting over a field with in-trails on the far side at 480, I’d dial to 480. If I’m sitting in wood cover with 50yrd visibility, I leave it at 100. It’s not so complicated.
 

RazzleDazzle

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 13, 2020
Messages
100
Well I don't go out and zero my rifles on windy days and I see absolutely zero reason to walk around the woods and have to dial for a 200 yard shot with a long range rig😂😂😂. So for all the reasons listed, I zero at 200 and personally have seen no benefits in a 100 yard zero over a 200. Not saying there is no benefits.
 
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