Sighting in a scoped pistol

[big blue daddy]

  I have just gotten a ruger super red hawk with a 9.5 inch barrel and have mounted a leupold 2x scope. I hope to use this for deer and maybe hog hunting. I want to sight it in at 50 yards-as most deer  i shoot with my rifle are at or around this range. My question is how high at 25 yards should i set it? I have a pistol range that is 25 yds and that is where i an going to sight in. I believe i will shoot a 270 grain speer  gold dot hp to shoot with, or i may use a oregon trail 310 grain flying sledge hammer. Any suggestions for ammo would be appreciated. This is my first time at pistol hunting. Thanks

[Bigeasy]

44 mag I am assuming.  Personally, I would sight in dead on at 25 yards, off the bench, then see where it shoots for you at both 25 and 50 yards, off hand, with what ever type of support you anticipate using while hunting.  You may find that with a 25 dead on sight in, the gun will be shooting slightly higher at 50 yards.  It's hard to give a blanket statement of bullet drop and rise when shooting off a bench, as how you hold the gun can make a big difference.  Personally, I try to rest my wrists over sand bags, as I have found that direct contact between the gun and rest can cause shots to hit differently than fired off hand.  When hunting, I usually brace between my knees, or use a handy tree to rest my arm against for support if any range is involved.
 
Both loads you mention sound good.  I have used hard cast heavy weights on a number of deer.  They penetrate well, but often do not provide drop in their tracks kills as a good hollow point thru the lungs sometimes can.  I have not tried the Speer heavy weight Gold Dot, but if its anything like the 240 XTP, it will work well.  With solid cast bullets, I like to hit the shoulder if I can, as it seems to bring them down a little quicker, with minimal meat loss.  Real key to handgun hunting big game is pick your shots, and lots of practice.  My personal limit is how far I can consistently keep a cylinder full on a paper plate under field conditions.
 
Larry

[big blue daddy]

Thanks, Larry. Some good info. It is a 44 mag, and i was going to use my shooting rail on my tree stand for support, but i think i will try resting my wrists or arms..as the contact with berrel could throw it off. I know with my rifle i use lighter loads such as 168 grain silver tips with excellent results would say 240 or 210 grain hollow points penetrate and expand better. I really don't anticipate shooting further than 50-60 yds until i have some time to get better as i am new to pistol hunting.

[odie-wan]

I echo much of what Bigeasy said.  Zero at 25 yds from a rest to be sure.  I'd shoot 50 and 75 with a solid rest, also to be positive where it is shooting.  Then practice all the shots and angles that you are likely to get.  My experience is that the heavier the bullet, the higher it will shoot at a given range (short of the trajectory peak).  This I believe is due to the pistol being further into recoil by the time the heavier bullet leaves the barrel.  It likely has more to do with time to reach the muzzle than it has to do with bullet weight.


Anyway, as for bullets, I have loaded SWC's and taken them to the field but as luck would have it, I always seem to have XTP's in the pistol when I've shot deer.  All pass-throughs and  given good blood trails.  This was with 44 mag 210 gr and 41 mag 210 gr.  They have patterned better than any cast bullet I've tried too.


my 2 cents,
Sean

[Mike in Virginia]

For sure.  A .44M should be zeroed at 25, then checked for impact at different distances. 

[jem44357]

I would sight it in at 100 yrds off of the bench and see where it hits at 75, 50 and 25 off of the bench. I think you will find it will not be out of the kill zone (paper plate). As stated shoot as you will hunt and see how it fairs I think you should still be in the "zone" at zero to 50.
 
JMO
Jim

[kynardsj]

Definately what Bigeasy said. Rest your gun and practice the same way you plan to hunt with it. Dead on at 25 and then check it at other distances. Tweek it if necessary. Hunting with a handgun is an exciting experience. Good luck and enjoy.

[Ladobe]

As has been said other than I sighted in handguns same as rifles, to the PBR that fit the country I hunted where shots could be short to as long as you were confident you could make them.

[Mikey]

Wait a minute here... you have a 44 magnum with a 9.5" barrel, and a scope, and you are going to sight it in at 25 yds?  If you get most of your shots at 50 yds, I would sight it in at 50 yds, and see where it hits at 25 (maybe 1" high), at 75 yds (maybe 1" low) and at 100 yds (maybe 2-3" low). 
 
Unless your vision is compromised you could probably throw that thing and conk a whitetail with it at 25 yds., although I would suggest using it to shoot a hog........

[Richard P]

Big Blue, have you visited www.jbmballistics.com    It is helpful when projecting impact point at greater distances than are available for sighting.  From the bullet library select the one you will use. Specify (or closely guess) the MV.  Select your interval distances and your max distance. Select 25yds as ''zero'' distance. You can ignore the wind values for now.  The chart given will show ''zero'' at 25yds and the drop for farther distances.  If you select 50yds as ''zero'' you'll see how high you should sight at 25 to be ''zeroed'' at 50yds.  You'll enjoy it.  rp 

[Lloyd Smale]

with a handgun its about impossible to say. Things that come into play are recoil, bullet weight, velocity, your grip, and how high your scope is mounted. About the only way will be to shoot it at various distances..

[gypsyman]

I shot literally, hundreds of silhouette match's, with a 10'' Dan Wesson in .44mag. I could have easily used the same sight setting from the chicken target,50 meters, to the pig target, which is 100 meters.(about 52yds and 105yds respectively) Generally, the bullet is still climbing at 50 yds. And somewhere between 50 and 100, it's leveled off, and just starting to drop. The heavier bullet will have a little more of an ark to it, but hardly enough to notice. If it was me, I'd sight it in at 75yds, you might be an inch or so high at 50, and maybe an inch low at 100. As stated earlier, how you grip the gun, and fight the recoil, will make a bigger difference. gypsyman

[Hairy Chest]

Whatever works.  I like to zero 4 moa low at 100 yards.  That is so I can rest the dot on the target.  At 200 yards the holdover is a foot.   

[Ken ONeill]

I also recommend sighting in dead on at 25 yards, certainly no more than 1/2" high at that distance. Depending upon the velocity of your load, that should put you up to perhaps two  inches high at 50 yds., approximately dead on again at 75 yds., and a couple inches low at 100 yards.

[300grJHP]

you have a 9.5" barrel and you'll be shooting at ranges from 25 to 75 yards, with most being about 50 yards...i'd take the scope off.


your range only goes out to 25 yards, so I'd start shooting on a 8" plate until i could hit it every time and the work my way down to a coke can...once you can hit it every time, you're gonna be good on a deer's shoulder/heart/lungs out to 75


really, any 44 mag ammo will work...i personally like 240 gr JSPs

[Steve in PA]

If all you have access to is a 25 yard range, I would sight dead on at that range. Personally, my scoped SRH is sighted in dead on at 100 yards.

[Ranger99]

if one intends to hunt an animal
at a given range, the firearm in
question should be fired at the intended
range of the shot to be taken while hunting.
there are too many variables to say to hold
x-inches high or low. if an ethical hunter
intends to take game at 100 yards, the firearm
should be fired at 100 yards to see how
the firearm and load behaves.

[Hairy Chest]

if one intends to hunt an animal
at a given range, the firearm in
question should be fired at the intended
range of the shot to be taken while hunting.
there are too many variables to say to hold
x-inches high or low. if an ethical hunter
intends to take game at 100 yards, the firearm
should be fired at 100 yards to see how
the firearm and load behaves.

Forget the holes on the workbench. 



I want to add, and this is important.  Each shot was called, except the top one touching the outer circle.  That was due to too slack of a grip.  The next shot to correct it with the tighter grip went exactly point of aim into the "group".  We know what caused the bottom hole. 

[Hairy Chest]

(Bump) I edited the post to add the last paragraph.