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

[Felix40]

I dunno. I shoot a lot of up hill and down hill shots and it seems to make a difference. Just based off personal experience

Go out and actually put it on paper.

 

[Timeee123]

Go out and actually put it on paper.

On a 50 to 60 yard shot. There it a difference in impact if you are zeroed at a 100 vs zerod at 200.
Now throw in some uphill or down hill it can make a huge difference..

 

[Felix40]

On a 50 to 60 yard shot. There it a difference in impact if you are zeroed at a 100 vs zerod at 200.
Now throw in some uphill or down hill it can make a huge difference..

For my rifle a 100 yd zero is .5” low at 50 and a 200 yd zero is .5” high at 50. Theres not enough bullet drop at 50 yards to need to compensate for angle....ever.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Right. Which is why you zero at 200. So you have a point and shoot hold for anything inside of 300 yards, where the vast majority of shots occur.

Yeah that’s not how it works.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

For my rifle a 100 yd zero is .5” low at 50 and a 200 yd zero is .5” high at 50. Theres not enough bullet drop at 50 yards to need to compensate for angle....ever.

Ever shoot 75 degree plus angles? Highly entertaining and ur absolutely correct. At 50 yards gravity has little effect on a bullets path coming out of high power centerfire rifles.

we got into a 2 day arguement once about this. Its a lot harder then you’d think to find a cliff to shoot from that is steeper then 75 degrees that allows to set up and shoot 50 plus yards on a target.

 

[Felix40]

Ever shoot 75 degree plus angles? Highly entertaining and ur absolutely correct. At 50 yards gravity has little effect on a bullets path coming out of high power centerfire rifles.

we got into a 2 day arguement once about this. Its a lot harder then you’d think to find a cliff to shoot from that is steeper then 75 degrees that allows to set up and shoot 50 plus yards on a target.

Im lucky to have quite a few options for shooting steep angles around here.

 

[bradb]

100

 

[Ndbowhunter]

Im lucky to have quite a few options for shooting steep angles around here. View attachment 155091

spent a lot of time in that country.

 

[Sportsman247]

I guess I’m a minority here but I like to zero at 200. Anything inside of that Really doesn’t change POI significantly and shooting 200 can start telling on you or the load. Do whatever is easier for you to know your dope and allows you enough time to dial in the heat of the moment.

 

[T28w]

At what yardage do you dial?

Will shortly have my first “dial” scope. In a hunting situation at what point do you dial? At 300 yards when it is a short hold over? This is based on elk. Appreciate any insights and experience.

www.rokslide.com

Nothing to add but really rec reading this if u don’t know why u zero where u zero.

 

[rootacres]

200 yard zero. . If your windage is a touch off at 100, it could spoil a long range shot. A 200 yard zero will show any windage demons. Once I zero at 200 I will go back to 100 and see exactly how high I hit. Now you can confirm your 200 zero while shooting at 100 yds.

On most rifles with a 200 yd zero you can shoot 0-200 inside a 2" window.

 

[Cmelink]

100 if you are dialing with a open turret scope. 200. If you are holding over and have capped turrets

 

[Kalin s]

I would set it up like your other rifles so it's consistent with all of them and not trying to remember a different zeros for each one.

 

[Mosster47]

I've always kept my zero at 100, but fine tune my windage at 200. When your vert is on it's on, but normally my windage at 100 would be quite different than 200. Fine tuning it at 200 didn't effect the 100, but made a big difference past 200.

We would shoot out to a mile with my Lapua, but for hunting big game I would never take a shot over 600. That's just me. I have to be confident I can hit a 6" area every time and I trust myself to MOA when my heart is pounding, I'm tired, and probably low on sleep. Everyone has their own ethical boundaries and it's usually based on confidence or ignorance, or both.

 

[davescarp]

for those who are in the MPBR camp. this is a useful read.

Why MPBR isn’t as good of an idea as it seems...

Zeroing for maximum point blank range is quite often offered as a good way to zero to eliminate “thinking” when an animal steps out. Seems simple enough- zero a rifle at a range that the bullet doesn’t rise above a predetermined height, and when it falls below line of sight at that same distanc...

www.rokslide.com

it's kinda changed the way I've thought about setting up my guns.

 

[Bait57]

I’ve always used a 100 for a zero for years before I got into shooting longer ranges. I may change to 200

 

[MaraviaDave]

100 yard zero. Dial on your MPBR if you think that’ll make things more efficient in the field. Considering this question was asked in the long range shooting forum I think the focus would be better spent on how to establish a precise zero that will reduce artifact errors out to longer distances. Specifically determining your true range zero. This is critical considering we’re using angular units of measurement (MILS/MOA).

 

[journeyman713]

The 200yd zero makes to most sense to me, at least for guns I expect to be shooting at distances.

I want to know it is spot on at 200. The zero on the dial means 200.
It's important to know the trajectory though, for my elk guns, 1.2" high at 100yd, 2.4"low at 250yd.
So from zero to 250yds, I don't touch the dial. No fuss, no muss, just aim, you don't always have time for tweaking, especially at close range. It's a big game animal, crosshairs on the heart, will hit the heart.

If you zero at 100, then dial to 200 in the field, and leave it there like above, there is an extra variable. Variables become easier to see at increased distances, it might just be a click difference to get spot on a 200yd, that little bit is a multiplier, as you get farther. A variable I'd rather not have.

Now my deer rifles for the Wisconsin woods are a different story. I'd be lucky to see 100yds into the woods. These are my bowhunting stands. Basic scopes, 100yd zero, no dial for compensation. Just aim and shoot.

 

[MaraviaDave]

The 200yd zero makes to most sense to me, at least for guns I expect to be shooting at distances.

I want to know it is spot on at 200. The zero on the dial means 200.
It's important to know the trajectory though, for my elk guns, 1.2" high at 100yd, 2.4"low at 250yd.
So from zero to 250yds, I don't touch the dial. No fuss, no muss, just aim, you don't always have time for tweaking, especially at close range. It's a big game animal, crosshairs on the heart, will hit the heart.

If you zero at 100, then dial to 200 in the field, and leave it there like above, there is an extra variable. Variables become easier to see at increased distances, it might just be a click difference to get spot on a 200yd, that little bit is a multiplier, as you get farther. A variable I'd rather not have.

Now my deer rifles for the Wisconsin woods are a different story. I'd be lucky to see 100yds into the woods. These are my bowhunting stands. Basic scopes, 100yd zero, no dial for compensation. Just aim and shoot.

Please help me understand what you’re talking about in the second paragraph up from the bottom. A better explanation, or an example, would be really helpful.

 

[journeyman713]

Please help me understand what you’re talking about in the second paragraph up from the bottom. A better explanation, or an example, would be really helpful.

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?