Hunt Scenario: Making Scope Adjustments In The Field

[Snareman]

Hunt Scenario: Making Scope Adjustments In The Field

[GatCat]

These are just a few thoughts..
first off, the "target knobs" ( for quick adjustment ) are really at their best target shooting,or varmint shooting. Maybe from a good stand they are ok, but moving through the bush, etc, they tend to be a pain. Of course, even "regular" adjustments could be used, but, will you have enough time to range the deer, figure exact drop, dial it in, ( don't forget to adjust for windage if you want to aim "right on").
Secondly, with the .243 & .270, if you sight them to be on at 200-250 yards or so, the amount of mid-range correction ( hold under ), and correction out to 300 yards or so, will be so slight ( 2" or so, hold over, ) that from a field position, most folks will not be able to shoot so good as to be able to "call" the shot any closer.
Of course, all that said, you COULD dial in your corrections, if that is what you want, and if you have the time, etc.
mark

[Cowpox]

Hello Snareman.  I feel "in the field" sight adjustments are best left to varmint shooting. 
     In the game fields, it is best to know where your rifle is sighted, and leave it that way, because if you start cranking around on sight settings, sooner or later you will forget the range you last adjusted for.
    With the two calibers you mention, there should be no reason to need to change your sights in the field.
   As GatCat suggested, the 250 yard sight setting is hard to beat in the game fields, because, it gives you "point blank" aiming, all the way to about 325 yards.  Just aim where you want to hit the critter, and all the way from the muzzle to 325, your bullet will only be a little over 2 inches high, to about 3 inches low.
    To a medium to big game animal, 2 in high, or 3 in low, is still a solid hit in the heart/lung area.
    If you feel the situation calls for trying a shot at 400, it is very easy to remember the drop chart for the next 75 yards, then just aim those few inches high. 

[Val]

Average bullet drop at 300 yds is a bout 12" depending on the muzzle velocity of the round. I run a ballistic calculator program on my hunting loads to get a pretty good feel for the bullet drop and keep a laminated chart with me in the field. At 300 hards it's not too difficult to judge hold over. However as you start to go beyond 300 yds bullet drop really starts to increase very fast. An accurate knowledge of the range is now very critical.Practice at the longer ranges is very critical to successful shots.

http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

[charles p]

Had an ID guide tell me last year to move 16 clicks to the right and four up!  Thought something terrible had happened to my scope.  Then the guide realized I had made a perfect shot on a smaller "corner" square rather than the center square he assumed I was shooting.  I turned the scope back but man was I ever unsure of myself even after a test shot.  Don't like moving my scopes.  Rather sight in for 200 yds and hold on top of the back at 300.  I shoot Leupolds if it matters.

[WyoStillhunter]

My inclination is to leave sniping techniques to the police/military and LR target shooting techniques to formal target competitors and varmint hunters.  Theory runs very short in the field while hunting antelope, deer, elk, etc.

Two hundred yards is a long shot and 300 is extremely long when shooting at game animals even without any wind.  Range finders and compensating scope reticles are all the rage because of marketing by the manufacturers and because lots of folks like to tinker with technology and gadgets.  That's not hunting in my book.

As suggested by others: standardize your ammo, sight in for a range that fits the trajectory without too much mid-range rise, and practice at longer ranges to learn you personal limits for accurate shots.  Then pass up shots at longer ranges.  That's what most will agree ethics is all about.

The bottom line is this:  How far can you shoot and put 9 out of 10 shots inside a ten inch circle?  Figure out the answer for you and your rifle, then never shoot at game beyond that yardage.  Most of us will find that our competence from field positions, not a benchrest, will not exceed 300 yards and likely will be closer to 250 yards.  Remember, 9 out of 10 times, not just once in awhile, the bullets go within five inches of center.  It ain't easy beyond 200 yards and it's really tough at 300 and beyond.

Save the Hail Mary shooting for water-filled milk jugs and paper targets.

[Coyote Hunter]

Snareman -

Let me make a suggestion - a laser range finer and a Burris Fullfield II 3x9 with Ballistic Plex reticle. 
Also a ballistic calculator - Point Blank is very good a free to boot at www.huntingnut.com.

Sight in at 200 and let the additional hashes do the work for you.




The ballistic calculator will provide you with a wealth of information including trajectory data.  Gotta run but more later.

[wyohandi]

The bottom line is this:  How far can you shoot and put 9 out of 10 shots inside a ten inch circle?  Figure out the answer for you and your rifle, then never shoot at game beyond that yardage.

                                                                                                                                                     

If the winds not bad, if I have time to range and adjust scope 800+yds

Under normal hunting conditions its alot closer to 300yds, much past that your holding on
air not hair. Long range shooting takes practice, patience, and a bunch of $$$$ don,t hurt.
You can click up any scope, if the adjustments are accurate and repeatable. But it can
be awful hard to keep track of clicks in the heat of the moment.
I almost never shoot without some kind of rest past 100yds and if I have time I'll find one every time.

The 9 out of 10 shots is a good rule, but you owe it to the animal to be 100% positive you can
make the shot, no room for error here.

[Coyote Hunter]

Snareman –

In my previous post I suggested using a Burris Fullfiled II with ballistic Plex reticle, then sighting in at 200 and letting the extra hash marks on the reticle do the work for you at extended range.  In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit this is NOT how I do it.

Instead I chronograph my loads and use Point Blank (see my previous post) to calculate Maximum Point Blank Range for a 6“ diameter target and zero the rifle accordingly.  (MPBR zeroing for a 6” diameter target means from the muzzle to MPBR the bullet is never more than 3” above or below Line Of Sight.)  The Point Blank program will tell you how high to sight in at 100 yards to achieve MPBR zero.

For example, I use the Barnes 168g Tipped TSX in several rifles.  In my Remington I push it to around 2850fps.  Plugging the bullet weight, velocity,Ballistic coefficient (.470) and desired target diameter into Point Blank yields the following data:
MPBR (-3” in this case) = 285 yards
Zero = 243 yards
100 Yds = +2.68”
200 Yds = +1.96”
300 Yds = -4/38”
400 Yds = -17.38”
500 Yds = -37.87”

Knowing this I shoot and zero the group center around 2.7” high at 100.  I then shoot at 200, 300, 400 and 500 yards to determine which hash mark on the Ballistic Plex reticle comes closest to matching the actual bullet drop.  At 300 yards and under I just use the center and at 500 I’m using the 4th mark down (counting the center as #1).

The hash marks may not be as accurate as turrets, but they are more than accurate enough for most work, are a heck of a lot faster and keep your hands free.

[Graybeard]

Anyone who believes the manufacturer supplied BC numbers is being led down a primrose path. You could just about as accurately pull a number from air without even looking at the bullet and come as close as they do.

[ms]

If that animal is over 300 yards for me I would let it pass or get closer. Most hunters won't shoot pass 300 yards.

[Coyote Hunter]

Anyone who believes the manufacturer supplied BC numbers is being led down a primrose path. You could just about as accurately pull a number from air without even looking at the bullet and come as close as they do.

I've found manufactuer-supplied BC numbers to be both higher and lower than what a calculator yields.  Therefore when quoting BC numbers I use whatever the manufacturer provides.  Its close enough and beats pulling one out of my ass.

[Coyote Hunter]

If that animal is over 300 yards for me I would let it pass or get closer. Most hunters won't shoot pass 300 yards.

Getting closer is not always an option.  For myself, except for load development, I shoot more at 500 yards these days than I do at 100.

[wyohandi]

The only real way to know your BC is with two chronographs, one at the gun
and one at 100yds.
And thinking the manufactures data is good enough is inviting disaster
Even if you know the BC you have to shoot it at every range you think
you might shoot.
If you use the 10" circle as sugessted, and you have a MOA gun at 800yds
that only leaves a 1" margin of error in any direction. My crosshairs cover 2"
at 800yds on 12X. Can you tell if your off by half the width of the crosshair?
Please don't shoot at game animals at longrange unless you have practiced alot,
are willing to pass on anything but perfect shots, and no longer need to prove
how great you really are, to anyone including yourself.

[Coyote Hunter]

...
If you use the 10" circle as sugessted, and you have a MOA gun at 800yds
that only leaves a 1" margin of error in any direction. ...

I agree one needs to actually shoot at whatever range they would consider taking a shot at game.  Failure to do so is just asking to lose a wounded animal.  As such it doesn't show much respect for the game animal.

One reason I use a 6" circle to determine MPBR is that it leaves me 2MOA for shooter error but still keeps me in an 8" circle.    Although I practice out to 600 yards the longest shot I've taken at big game is 350 yards.  Coyotes aren't safe at 500, though.

[victorcharlie]

If you want to adjust in the field then practice it frequently at the range.

I've seen some older varmit hunters make some shots at extremely long range prior to lasers using old outside adjusting Unertl scopes.

These guys were retired and shot most every day.

Practice, practice, practice my friends......

[Bart Solo]

Get as close as you can to your game.  You owe it to everybody, including yourself and the game, to learn how to hunt. If you want to shoot at steel targets half mile away, that's fine, but very few people are skilled enough to consistently hit much over 200 to 250 yards in the field.  If you do want to shoot at steel targets, buy a special purpose rig in 308.  PD shooters take 500 yard shots, but mostly they are shooting from benches. Remember military snipers work in teams of two.  It takes two people to work out a really long range shot. 

When you are in the field hunting deer, leave your scope alone.  Rely on your experience.  A 270 will do the job out a long way.  Much farther than you can safely shoot. Practice, practice, practice.