My pal and I were having this discussion on where to zero a rifle. He always does it at 200 and ended up shooting too high on a deer at 40 yardsin oklahoma last year. I sighted in at 100 knowing the longest shot taken will be 200 yards. Got mine through the lungs. It would seem to me that if your shots are gonna be less than 300, to sight at 100. What are some schools of thought here? EJ

I always sight in at 1/2 the MAX distance I would feel comfortable shooting in the geographical place I will be at.


Open fields 400 yds, Id site for 200, mountains for 100yds Id site for 50...


Works for me.


Thanks for the bear answer btw

What calibers are you using??? Are these rifles scoped???

all depends on what gun and what grainyou using. say like a .223 with a 45 grain is dead on about 40 yards making it a little high at 100 yards and dead on again around 200 yards. myself i like the 200 yard zero on a .223.

The rifle range where I practiceonly goes out to 100 yards, and I'd be reluctant to shoot much beyond a distance I practice at.

My rifles are set for about 1" high at 100 yards, and I'm reconsidering that since I shot over a small hog last year.

What the heck was he using a 44 mag carbine sighted in at 200 yds???

I sight in every rifle I own(except the brush beaters) at 200 yds.I have never had a problem with shooting deer or elk close.If you sight your rifle in to be dead hold out to 200 the bullet is never more than 2 inches above the line of sight from 0-200,and at 40 yds the bullet is more like .5 inch high.
It's more'n likely you buddy was staring at the horns and shot high(I've done this my self),or was the deer running?
I shot my elk last year at maybe 15 yds in the timber,and it hit him right where I aimed.this is with a .338 win mag sighted 2.5 inches high at 100 yds.This gives me about a 300 yd dead hold and still be in the vitals and top back out to 400(this is on elk,350 on deer).
So I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that is was not the gun or the sight-in range.
If you don't belive me take the gun in question set up a target at 25,40,75,100,150,200 and see just how it shoots.
I tell anyone who comes out west to hunt sight your rifle at 200,timber or plains.Shoot your gun and get familar with where it is hitting at various yards.
BBJ

I agree BBJ -

Sighting in any reasonably flat shooting gun for a zero at 200 would not compromise accuracy at close range. For example, my 22-250 is zero at 50, +1" @100, +.5" at 150, zero @ 200, -.5 at 250, -1.5 at 300, -4 @ 350, and it drops significantly after that.

There is simply no North American big game animal that a +/- 1.5 inches is going to matter. You're in the vital if you hold on center. If I hit extremely high or low, or take a whiff, I know it's my own fault.

The key to making good shots is not overcompensating with the windage and knowing your ballistics. Another often-overlooked issue is your scope/rifle/trigger. If you're trying to hold rock steady on a 330 yard target with a 9x scope, with a gun that isn't all that accurate and doesn't fit right, and you're pulling on a 6 pound trigger, you're probably setting yourself up for a letdown. Distance shooting is made a whole lot easier with a light, crisp trigger, a fine piece of high-power optics, and a gun that is built to handle a long range shot.

My furthest shot is 200 yards and my average shot is 70-130 yards but I sight in my guns about 1"-1 1/2" high at 100 yards wich is zeroed at 200 and about 6-7" low at 300. That way if for some reason I have a shot over 200 yards it would not be difficult to compensate.

Ditto.

I sight in about 1 1/2 inches high at 100 yards.with flat shooting rifles.