at what distance do you sight your rifle in..

[slim rem 7]

my 110 savage 30 06 is sighted at 25 yrds..not trying to start an argument..just curious as to how other folks set thier rifles up.it would be pertinent info ,to know where you live also.. state etc..
 

[PowPow]

100 yards in Alabama on a #1-RSI 30-06 with 2-7 scope.

Even though the most of our greenfields are only about 80 yards long, and you can't see more than 50 yards in the woods, I have a ballistic reticle that has marks for 200, 300, 400, if its sighted at 100. and the rise/drop from 0-100 is less error than my shooting error.

[Dave in WV]

Usually I zero dead on at 50 yards. I say usually becase this year my new Leupold 4x came in just before deer season started and when I went to the range the 50 yard target area was full and the guys had just showed up so I set my zero at 100 yards. I can get my rifles set exactly as I want and they are still dead on at 100 or very close in elevation. The ballistics tables show they should be high at 100 but my rifles can't read.  

[Range Rider]

I sight my rifles 2" high at 100 yds. I then check them out on a 300 Yd. target. I want a 300 yd. zero.  Most of the rifle shooting on the High Plains fall with in 200 to 300 yds.

RR

[FourBee]

I begin with a 25 yard sighting.   That will get you on paper.   Then test it at 100 and 200 yards.  Beyond 200 yards it becomes more troublesome for me.

4B

[the jigger]

All of my rifles are sighted at 200yds. For my hunting rifles that is 1.5" highat 100yds and 6.9" low at 300yds.
according to JBM Ballistics. I find this to be true in the field.I use JBM drop charts for all my rifles and find them to be very accurate out to 550yds.
which is the fartherist distance I have available to shoot.
GOOD LUCK and GOOD SHOOTING!!!

[Ron 1]

in michigan i sight most of mine in at 100 yrds   but i have one set for 250 yrds that was the distance to the ditch where the yotes were running.
my shot guns with slugs are dead on at 75 yrds
22s are set up for tree rats so 50 yrds is about max
  rw

[Graybeard]

First I'm going to address a couple of issues that seem to be common misconceptions with a lot of shooters.

Sighting in at 25 yards is a real bad plan and doing so at 50 is almost as bad a plan unless you expect those distances to be where most of your shots will be. Even then it's not the best sight in distance if you have a scope on the rifle.

Sighting in at any distance then assuming you'll be OK at longer distances is poor planning.

Now how do I do it?

If I'm doing an initial sight in and have no real clue where that first bullet might hit I set up a target stand at 25 yards that has a surface area of around 34" wide by 22" tall and shoot at a small dot in the middle of it to be sure I actually catch that first bullet on paper. I then make adjustments until I'm fairly well centered left to right but a bit low. I have found that with almost all scoped centerfire guns you really should be from a half inch to an inch low at 25 yards to assure the shot will be on an 8.5"x11" target sheet at 100 yards. If you are dead on at 25 you'll usually hit a few inches high at 100 and if hardly any high at all you'll be so high as to perhaps not even be on an 11" tall target sheet. These are my observations shooting both scoped handguns and rifles over a period of 45 years or so.

Next I move to my 100 yard target stand which has four 8.5"x11" target sheets in two rows for a total of 8 target sheets and an area of 34" wide by 22" tall. If I've done as stated at 25 it's rare that the bullet will not impact on the specific target sheet I am aiming for. I then dial it in with the chosen load at 100 yards depending on what I expect shooting distances to be.

Most commonly here in Bama where I hunt almost exclusively in forests where a 100 yard shot is a long one I'll sight it to be 1" to 1.5" high at 100 yards. That way I don't have to think about where the bullet will impact on any shot in the thick forest areas I hunt. From 25 to 200 yards I just aim where I want the bullet to hit. That's generally close behind the line of the leg/shoulder and less than half way up the body to hit the lungs and perhaps the heart as well.

If I expect to be shooting in open country where shots can come at ranges out to further than I'm willing to shoot then I sight in 2" to 2.5" high generally speaking and then try to make arrangements to shoot again at least at 200 and preferably also at 300 yards to verify my POI at those ranges. Around here I have no access anymore to a range of more than 100 yards. I used to be able to shoot at our club range to a bit over 300 but the state took it over and ended that. Now I think 100 is the longest of the ranges they built there.

If using iron sights I'll generally sight in a revolver at 50-75 yards as I'm not gonna shoot it beyond that these days and with a rifle I'll sight in at 100 yards as again that's about as far as I'm gonna shoot an iron sighted rifle on game.

To assume you know where your bullets will impact at ranges beyond 100 yards with a sight in at any shorter range is making a bad assumption. They don't all shoot the same and even if you have two rifles using the same load you can't be sure they will impact the same at longer ranges. I've tested this on hundreds of rifles over the years with lots of different loads and am convinced ya gotta shoot it at the ranges you expect to take shots at in the field if you really want to know where the bullet is gonna hit.

Back when I could I shot mine out to 300 yards and a bit further to know where my load would impact with my scope settings. Now that I'm limited to a hundred yard range I do what I can and then for local forest hunting don't worry about it as I'll hardly ever have a shot longer than that. For places with those long shots a real possibility ya really need to find a way to shoot at those longer ranges and not assume you'll be OK further out.

[jmayton]

Yeah, what Graybeard said.  I'll reiterate - Know Your Ballistics.  Decide how far you want that particular rifle to shoot and sight in accordingly.  My .223 Handi - 100yds (because it has a ballistic reticle scope).  My 30-06 Savage - 200yds (standard reticle and primary hunting rifle for ranges out to 25yds).  My Colt M4 - 50yds (because I hunt hogs with it and sometimes they're kinda close).  Another thing to consider is your sight height.  The the M4, the scope is 2.6" above the bore.  Sighting in at 50 actually puts me dead on at 200 as well (but only with my handloads and a few commercial loads that are ballistically similar).  But I can't repeat that with a rifle with a 1.5" sight height. 

[jhm]

most rifles are set 1 in. high at 100 yds, a few are set a little higher.   Jim

[Rangr44]

My sight-in distance depends upon the cartridge, and 25yds is a "close enough" starting point for most - but only a starting point.

Any short zero should/must be checked at the longest range expected to be shot, or the shooter may find the fallacy of reliance soley on a short-range zero.

FWIW, I zero my rifles for an indeterminite "point blank range" - a little different for each cartridge, but only a little.

I like the trajectory of whatever I'm shooting to impact a bullet no higher or lower than 3" from the bore C/L.

With most .308/.30-06 class cartridges, that usually give a Point Blank Range of abut 250-350yds.

That means, if a deer-sized animal is withing the PBR, I can center hold the animal & get a good hit.

YMMV, of course - and I have a hard time seeing something 350yds away in typical game territory.

.

[AtlLaw]

+1 on what Bill'um said except:

Between 25 and 100 yards I shoot one round at 50.  I usually want the bullet about .5 in low at that range.  Then I move to 100 pretty well assured I'll be on target or darn close.

At 100 yards I usually sight in about .5 inch high.  I dunno why,    a concession to the point blank range theory I guess... I could just as easily sight it dead on at 100 since that's a long shot hereabouts.   

[Swampman]

1 1/2 -2" high at 100 yards depending on the caliber.

[mechanic]

What I've found with some of my Handi rifles, with the scope so high above the bore, a 25 yd. sight in means an indeterminate at 100, so I rough in at 25, move to 50 for one or two, then finish off at 100.  I like to have my 280 about 1-1.5" high at 100.  I will no longer try a shot beyond that until I get my eye fixed.  Just too fuzzy even with a scope.

Ben

[hillbill]

i like dead on at 100 yrds, but i shoot at all distances to see exactly where it shoots.with a modern high power rifle cartridge it seems that sighted in at 100 yrds it usually is ded on to 150 0r better.i may want to shoot sumpin in the eye or ear and dont want to worry about if in sighted in at 2 in  high at 100 yrds or whatever.if yu have a scope thats higher than usual over the bore, yu will have to make sum adjustments. dont care for that kind of mount myself.

[possume]

i sight in @ 50 yards but all my hunting shots are lees than 50 yards but my gun shoots accurate out to 100 yards

[Hooker]

My 308 bolt gun is sighted in about 2" high at a 100 this gives me a 200 yard zero and a 270 yard point blank range.
11 clicks up gives me a 300 zero 23 clicks gives me 400 yards and 37 clicks 500 yards. I have windage and elevation specs from 100 to 500 yards in 50 yard increments. Hold over past the 100 yard mark is to iffy for me I like to hold on the hair or in the X ring so I use scopes target knobs for long range work.  I keep all this information on a laminated card in butt stock bag/ cheek rest  on the rifle. All this data was generated from world shooting by me with this rifle. When sighting in a rifle you have to take in to consideration the limits of the shooter and the equipment and the shots that will be available.  For me this 500 yards because one I don't get near enough practice at yardages past that and two my scope does not have enough magnification for me to feel comfortable with shots longer than that. My Marlin 336 has iron sights it's zeroed at 100 my 1895 has a 1.75- 5 power scope it's zeroed at 150 the mini 30 is zeroed at 100 with a 2x8 power scope. My 22s are all zeroed at 50 but my Marlin bolt action has a 6-18 x 50 scope with target knobs ( Sometimes I like to play) .
I hunt with an old fart who has his 30/30 Marlin zeroed at 50 which makes good sense it gives him a 150 point blank range. All of his shots are way under the 100 yard mark, he still hunts the nastiest pine thickets and has killed more deer than any 10 men I know. His zero works for him and works well with his equipment.

Pat

[HogFan]

I sight my .30-30 dead on at 100 yards. It was dea on at 75 yards until this year. All other claibers are 2" high at 100 yards. I started this when I lived in MT, and have kept it that way. This year though, it bit me in the butt. I had a high shoulder shot at a doe with my .30-06 at 120 yards and took it. The 2" high at 100 yards was too much, as I shot over her.

[FourBee]

my 110 savage 30 06 is sighted at 25 yrds..not trying to start an argument..just curious as to how other folks set thier rifles up.it would be pertinent info ,to know where you live also.. state etc..

Slim rem 7; You're right on IMO.
     The basic reason for the 25yds is to get the bullet printed on paper.  That is if you're using a scoped rifle.  Using iron sights, one should start at a prelilminary sighting of 12.5yrds.  This is done primarily to save time and ammo.  Once that is done, the next step is to refine the scope settings at the distance the shooter will be comfortable with.  There is a lot of detail that can be filled in between the lines that I've printed here.

[bilmac]

I'm with Ranger 44. This was what O'conner taught too. The way I sight in most all my rifles that have velocities in the 2600 - 3100fps range is dead on at 25. Then I check and refine at 100. I want it 3" high at that range. This is the high point of the trajectory. You can hold in the middle of the chest of a big game animal and not miss. For most cartridges in the velocity range I specified, the bullet will cross the line of sight again at around 225 - 260 yards. Then it will be 3" low at 300-350 yards. Again with a middle of the chest hold you wont miss.

 

[charles p]

My flat shooting rifles for bean fields are sighted in about 2" high at 100 yds.  The rifles I use in the woods mostly are 1" at 100 yards.  Usually inside of 100 yds I will attempt a head or neck shot on doe deer. 

[Dixie Dude]

I use a laser boresighter inside the house at 25'.  It is in a 2-4" circle at 100 yards when I actually fire it.  Saves a lot of time setting up targets.  Then I finish at about 2" high at 100 yards.  I have had laser borsighted a gun that I didn't have to adjust.  They are worth the money saving ammo especially centerfire. 

[Graybeard]

I'm with Ranger 44. This was what O'conner taught too. The way I sight in most all my rifles that have velocities in the 2600 - 3100fps range is dead on at 25. Then I check and refine at 100. I want it 3" high at that range. This is the high point of the trajectory. You can hold in the middle of the chest of a big game animal and not miss. For most cartridges in the velocity range I specified, the bullet will cross the line of sight again at around 225 - 260 yards. Then it will be 3" low at 300-350 yards. Again with a middle of the chest hold you wont miss.

 

That's another common misconception but isn't correct. No matter how you sight in most centerfire rifles the height about aim point at 100 yards is not likely to be the highest point of the trajectory. At some point further out it will be higher still and in some cases might be noticeably higher.

Check with any ballistics program and you'll see it shows that and if you shoot at various ranges between 100 and 200 to 250 yards at some point along the line you'll see you're most likely 4" or more high if you sight in 3" high at 100. Only shooting your rifle on paper at various ranges can you know for certain where you are at the various ranges. I've shot a ton of bullets down range checking such on my rifles over the years.

[drdougrx]

When I look at the tables, I see that the highest point is somewhere about 150-170yrds.  If I sight my rifles in 3" at 100 (30-06/300mag class), I'm usually 6" high at 150ish and I think 6" high is a probable miss for me.  I sight in 2-2.5" high at 100 and the mid-point at 150 is usually about 3-4".  Maybe it only matters to me in the hollow betwixt me ears....

[bilmac]

Gee thanks guys I thought I was reading O'Conner right, either he was mistaken or I was. That maybe explains some unaccounted for misses over the years. I'll take another look at the tables.

[Graybeard]

Jack was a firm believer in sighting in 3" high at 100 all right but he did most of his hunting in open country and made some pretty long shots. He might even have believed that it didn't rise any higher than that along the bullet's path but if that's what he believed he was in error.

If ya think about it logically you can see how that can't be right.

On an average scoped rifle at the muzzle you are roughly 1.5" below line of sight. If you then are on at 25 yards your bullet has risen sharply by 1.5" in only 25 yards. If you are then 3" high at 100 yards your bullet has risen another 3" in the next 75 yards.

What that tells you is that the bullet is on a relatively sharp rising path. It ain't gonna flatten out or start dropping immediately at 100 due to the velocity centerfire rifle bullets travel.

How much it rises and at what range is determined by factors such as velocity and BC of the bullet among other factors. Take for example my .257 Whby Mag pushing Nosler 110 AB bullets at 3500 fps. With a 200 yard zero it is about 0.9" high at 100 and only 4.6" low at 300 yards. Sighted in dead on at 300 yards it is now 2.4" high at 100 yards and 3.1" high at 200 yards dead on at 300 and only 7.5" low at 400 yards.

That means it's entirely logical to hold where ya want to hit out to around 350 yards with no concern about the rise/fall of the bullet if you aim for the lungs of a deer or antelope. At 400 you are still aiming on hair but need to aim just barely below the back line.

In that latter case it's still less than 3" high (Jack's favorite sight in) at 100 yet still rising at 200 yards.

All centerfire rifle rounds have trajectories of this sort it's just a matter of how far they climb and at what range. I too read Jack O'Connor and followed his advise faithfully for awhile until I began shooting my rifles at longer ranges and checking to see what they were actually doing. Since then I've sent a lot of bullets down range testing theories and finding out where they actually hit at various ranges. It's an eye opener for sure.

[Coyote Hunter]

My method seems to be a bit different than anyone else here ) I zero for MPBR (Maximum Point Blank Range) for a given maximum rise/fall from LOS (Line Of Sight).  The variance I use is 3" rise or fall, which results in a MPBR as if I was shooting down a 6" diameter pipe.

Generally that results in +2.7" or so at 100 yards, with MPBRs from 270 yards to 330 yards depending on the load.  At 300 yards and under I don't worry about adjustments.  AT 400 I either start to hold over intended POI (Point of Impact) or start using the hash marks on my BDC scopes.  Over 400 it is all about using the hash marks if I have them.

Practice has convinced me you need to practice at whatever ranges you intend to shoot at.  Zero at 25 and shoot at 200 = lunacy.

[tuck2]

I stick a 2 inch diameter  red dot on a box out at 35 yards  I remove the bolt and bore site the center fire rifle with the cross hairs at the bottem of the red dot.  The rifle is then fired off a bench rest at 100 yards. Most all of my hunting is in the wide open country so most of my big game rifles are zeroed in at 2.5 inches high at 100 yards. Followed by shootin groups at 200, and 300 yards. Most all of the pronghorn, mule deer and elk I have shot have been within 300 yards. For prairie dog shooting my rimfire 22 LR is zeroed at 60 yards, the 17 HM2 at 80 Yds, 22 WMR at 80 Yds, and the 17 HMR at 125 Yds. Some of my center fire varmint rifles are sited in for a one inch point blank range and others with a two inch PBR

[Savage .250]

For what I do and where I hunt....... 100 yds.

[FourBee]

tuck2 ~  I stick a 2 inch diameter  red dot on a box out at 35 yards  I remove the bolt and bore site the center fire rifle with the cross hairs at the bottem of the red dot.

I found your system is very helplful when mounting a new scope.