Sight-in for .338

[firsttimeelkhunter]

Going Elk hunting this fall and am starting to work up loads for my .338. Been shooting Factory so far and have not loaded any yet. Loading H4831sc and Nosler Partition 225gr. Advise? Where would you sight in for " zero" and why? At 200 what would be the drop at say 400? Over at 100? Etc. How much difference does up hill and down hill shooting make? Is this compensated by the bullets drop w/ zero distance. (My thought would be no) Thanks in advance.

[Vapodog]

I' d sight in at 3" high at 100 yards and that should put you back on " O" at about 275 yards.

Shooting uphill and downhill will cause your bullet to strike somewhat high but it' s only a factor if the distance is long and the angle is much greater than 45 degrees.....I' d not get too excited about that factor.....

[handloader1]

Go to www.realguns.com or www.norma.cc , and enter the specifications of your load, and it will give you your trajectory. Good luck.

[ColoradoElk]

Hi FirstTime:

Your load sounds like a good one.

Since it appears you will be in an unfamilar area, hunting elk, I would suggest you sight it at about +4 inches at 100. Elk are large targets. If you encounter a buck at 50 yards you will know it and can hold low! As Vapo (VD) said, that will give you a zero at LONG range, with effective (zero) range well over 300 yards (at +4).

The ballistics tables are great, but nothing beats going out to the range and seeing for yourself! You might find you get better ballistics than published (median, by definition). You WILL shoot HIGH at uphill and downhill angles. I can' t figure it out, but VD is right, I had to go to open country to believe it for myself. If anyone can explain it I would love to know.

Happy hunting!

[firsttimeelkhunter]

Thanks. I had to boresite the darn thing after the first trip to the range...[:@]...I bought it used at an auction. The scope was off a great distance at 100. Not even on paper at 50. After that with the .338, I went home and boresighted[]. Hope to get back out this week. Also got some empties to start reloading.