Zero Yardage for Long Range Hunting

Joined
Feb 25, 2013
Messages
481
Location
Northern Colorado
What range does everyone zero their rifle at? Growing up we always zeroed for 200 and held from there. However if I plan to dial dope should I be zeroed at 100 or 200?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Carr5vols

WKR
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
1,295
Location
West Georgia
For me depends on the ballistics of the gun. I run a 300 win mag and play the three inch rule. Whatever it works out to not go higher than three inches or lower than three inches. My 180 grain bullets are zeroed at 252 yards shoots roughly 3 inches high at 150 yds and 3 inches low at 325. Everything in between 0 and 325. Pull trigger and it will die. Go to nikon's spot on ballistics calculator and it will tell you everything you need to know.
 
Joined
Mar 6, 2013
Messages
3,034
I like to zero at 100 because that range is readily available and I can be very steady and feel confident in the exact zero. Then I dial for carrying and quick use (typically 1.75 MOA on my STW) and if a longer shot is necessary make the exact dial as everything is referenced from 0 on the elevation turret.
 

Rifles And More

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
283
Location
Wyoming
100 yards - everything from there will be dialed or use the reticle when urgency arises (never rush a shot).

Somewhere on here is a great write-up on the fallacy of MPBR and the errors that lead to misses.
 

Wrench

WKR
Joined
Aug 23, 2018
Messages
5,596
Location
WA
It depends on the method. For reticle holdover, I'd try to get a zero that follows my subtensions....distance makes less difference to me than having a reticle track my measuring system.

For turrets, I choose 100 to avoid the high shot at 150 incase I'd like to shoot a bee on a flower. You can input your zero into your dope, you could have a 500yd zero and hold under closer if you needed the up travel.

I try to keep it simple because I have a lot of rifles and don't want to have to re learn every one.
 

2five7

WKR
Joined
Jul 15, 2017
Messages
657
All my hunting rifles are zeroed at 200, I don't want to have to think about dialing or holding over for a 250 or under shot, where time and movement can be restricted. For most modern cartridges, that's only about 1.5" high at 100.
 

6.5Express

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 31, 2013
Messages
207
Location
WY
For my scopes with dials, I will zero at 100 yards at the range because I feel like I will have the least amount of error based on different climatic conditions in the field at that closer distance; however, I will also carry the rifle in the mountains dialed to correct for ~250 yard shot to maximize point blank range as noted above. I do this with an moa dial and g7 rangefinder.
 
Joined
Sep 23, 2016
Messages
906
100 yards - everything from there will be dialed or use the reticle when urgency arises (never rush a shot).

Somewhere on here is a great write-up on the fallacy of MPBR and the errors that lead to misses.

This. I asked formid about this a while back as I'm relatively new to the spinning game (have a couple swfa's but prior to 14' all I did was hold-overs). If you're spinning turrets there's not much reason not to zero at 100 and a few small reasons not to. I like the fact that anything beyond my zero I'm always coming up. Main reason for me is (on paper) I'm far more accurate when shooting crosshairs vs trying to hold above or below. YMMV
 

Savage99

WKR
Joined
Jan 26, 2017
Messages
429
Location
CO
I like MPBR. Can go a few inches high and a few inches low and only worry that I’m within my personal effective range. Didn’t grow up hunting or shooting so this works for me right now. I admire the guys who dial and hope to eventually.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sled

WKR
Joined
Jun 11, 2018
Messages
2,148
Location
Utah
target and varmint rifles get zeroed at 100 (also my lever 30-30). i prefer a 200 yard zero for all my western rifles to simplify things. whatever gives me 3" low off a 200 yard zero is my max point blank range. from there i just dial out.
 

jmden

WKR
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Messages
652
Location
Washington State
The general consensus for a few years now, and for good reasons, is 100 yds. Basically, you are most likely to have the best zero information with the least amount of variables otherwise (wind, etc.), but still have it be enough yardage to be meaningful information. Eliminating variables is the name of the game in long range shooting/hunting. A dead nuts zero is one of the most important variables to eliminate.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
804
Location
Dallas
I would say it depends on your style of hunting and the range of your expected shot... and your confidence at distances.

For anything not in the eastern whitetail woods I see no reason not to zero at 200. For my flatter shooting rifles I zero at 250.

You can dial just as easily from a 200y zero as from a 100y zero and like another above said, most cartridges will only be ~1.5” high at 100 which eliminates any guesswork. If you start at 100y zero you are handicapping yourself when you shouldn’t need to start dialing.

A 100y zero doesn’t reduce any additional variables for sighting in. You still have to confirm your data if you are hunting responsibly at distance. The data you get from 200y won’t be any less accurate... it just might indicate you need to spend more time behind your rifle.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2014
Messages
8,185
You can dial just as easily from a 200y zero as from a 100y zero and like another above said, most cartridges will only be ~1.5” high at 100 which eliminates any guesswork. If you start at 100y zero you are handicapping yourself when you shouldn’t need to start dialing.

A 100y zero doesn’t reduce any additional variables for sighting in. You still have to confirm your data if you are hunting responsibly at distance. The data you get from 200y won’t be any less accurate... it just might indicate you need to spend more time behind your rifle.

I disagree. Your data at 200 might not be less accurate if you know exactly how the atmosphere, wind, and situational velocity variance may be impacting your zero, but people wont.

A 300 win mag shooting 200 ELDx at 3000 FPS at sea level with 10 MPH cross wind has 2" of wind deflection at 200 yards. How would you know to zero 2" off POA?
 

Lawnboi

WKR
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
7,693
Location
North Central Wi
Why would one not just zero at 100 to avoid variables, and dial up and walk around with the gun at whatever dope the range you want your zero at?
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2013
Messages
804
Location
Dallas
By using the same app or calc that you just used to determine that distance??

That same atmospheric condition still has an effect at 100y and if they don’t account for it there the error continues to get magnified at distance whether its 100y or 500y.

The same person you are saying can’t account for wind you now want to put in a more difficult position while hunting if an animal steps out beyond their zero distance.

Being realistic the majority of animals are probably taken between 100 and 300 yards. Which when we consider the average hunter is probably about the max range they should be engaging. The 200y zero is much more appropriate for that situation.
 

mtmuley

WKR
Joined
Mar 5, 2017
Messages
585
Location
Montana
For me depends on the ballistics of the gun. I run a 300 win mag and play the three inch rule. Whatever it works out to not go higher than three inches or lower than three inches. My 180 grain bullets are zeroed at 252 yards shoots roughly 3 inches high at 150 yds and 3 inches low at 325. Everything in between 0 and 325. Pull trigger and it will die. Go to nikon's spot on ballistics calculator and it will tell you everything you need to know.
This is basically what I do. My .300 RUM is zeroed at 300 yards. With the load I use, I don't need to touch the turret until yardages are 500 plus. Has worked well for me for a long time. mtmuley
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2014
Messages
8,185
By using the same app or calc that you just used to determine that distance??
Assuming they know it was blowing exactly 10 MPH at a 90 degree angle, over the entire course of 200 yards at the time of shot, no problem.

That same atmospheric condition still has an effect at 100y and if they don’t account for it there the error continues to get magnified at distance whether its 100y or 500y.
At 100 yards atmospheric impacts are likely within or close to being within the margin of error for that shooters ability. There is a reason competitive shooters who are excellent at reading wind and intimately familiar with atmospheric impacts still build their data off of 100 yard zeros.

The same person you are saying can’t account for wind you now want to put in a more difficult position while hunting if an animal steps out beyond their zero distance.
Regardless of skill level, minimizing compounding errors is a good thing.

Being realistic the majority of animals are probably taken between 100 and 300 yards. Which when we consider the average hunter is probably about the max range they should be engaging. The 200y zero is much more appropriate for that situation.
The title of this thread is "Zero Yardage for long range hunting", not "what is the best zero yardage for the average hunter". Under 300 yards it isn't as important. I'd still rather have the best possible understanding of where my POI will be inside 300 yards. Using the same 300 WM #'s as before - 100 yard zero will be a little over 2" low at 200 yards, which you know. 200 yard zero might be 2" off on a wind call, which you are more likely to not know. For "the average hunter" yeah, we're picking fly shit out of chili,. For "long range" 100 yard zero is better.

If you want a 200 yard zero - Lawnboi nailed it:
Why would one not just zero at 100 to avoid variables, and dial up and walk around with the gun at whatever dope the range you want your zero at?
 

RCB

WKR
Joined
Apr 1, 2018
Messages
366
Location
CO
If you’re shooting “long range” - say, over 300 yards - then you’re going to be dialing for the shot anyway, so it doesn’t really matter where you zero as long as you know how to dial to various ranges.
 
Top