bigbulls

He didn't say he was dead on at 200 yards.

He said it was easy to get on at 100 yards and even 200 yards.

At 200 yards you would only be 2"- 2.5" off with a 10mph wind. Very easy to compensate for. At 300 yards you get 5.5 - 6 inches off and is much more noticible and if the wind insn't a steady 10 mph,much more dificult to compensate for.

Of course it could be him but my money is on the wind.

PAhunter86

I gotta disagree, I've done rifles quals on some windy days and a 10-mph wind at 100 and 200 yards isn't going to affect the shot a whole lot. There've been times where I wouldn't even make sight adjustments at 200 and 300 yard lines, but once you hit a 500 yard line, you really notice a difference and the wind affects the bullet a lot more then it would at 100 or 200 yards.

PaJack

I hunt "long-range" woodchucks,500 yards plus for close to 30 years and crosswind will be a factor when the winds get 15 mph or more. Here is a ballistic chart for the .270 WSM...

http://www.cpcartridge.com/270wsmB.htm

James B

He said he got pretty good groups at 200 yards, he didn't say they were right on. You can have a good group way over on the edge. I have seen a lot of long range shooter in action and they usually have wind flags every 50 yards. The wind at 500 yards can sometimes be blowinjg from a completely different direction. I don't think that in this case is was all the wind. 300 yards is a long ways. Ever notice how small a target that a deer is at that range?

Targets at 500 are fun to shoot at. If you miss you can laugh and try it again.

CBM SC

Guys I have been on bowhunting forums for years...........I figure it's better to be honest and get some help than to tell half truth's or worse and get a bunch of deserved wise cracks !!

I started sighting(going for a 250 zero)in with federal fusion 150's.......I got on at 100 ...dead on but 2.5" high within 6 shots with the brand new set up !! got it on at 200 within a few more shots . This was all with a sand bag !! Shot it at 300 and they all hit lower than I expected and missed the target(some below and some a tad right)!!

So I tried some Fed. Accubond 140's and they shot like crap !! So I locked it down and went hunting with the Fusions !!

Next day : It was windy like I said........shot the Fusions again at 300 and aimed higher ......missed all the target several times(BTW....this was probably a 6-8" black circle target that flakes theblack paint off when you hit it)! Was running low on Fusions so I shot a few Fed.Accubonds.......nothing. Went back to 100 and was 2" high........went to 200 and was 2" low and right !!

Felt like something was wrong and I cleaned my gun and went back to 2" high apprx at 200 ! My buddy showed up with his lead sled or whatever rifle vise.........so I locked it down and the Fed. Accubonds were (surprisingly)cutting holes with it and I felt really good but my groups were about an inch right @200 !! I shot my last group of Fed's at 200 and had 4 shots touching but about 1-1.5" right !!

I borrowed a box of Win Supreme Accubond 140's from my buddy (since I ran out of shells) and adjusted my sight one clickleft ! First shot was 2" high .......dead on at 200..........so I am feeling good ! Next shot was at 300 and aimed aroun 4" high and hit about 1" left of bullseye.........next shot was 4" right of bullseye and no other shot hit ! I couldn't tell where they were going (backstop was too shot up to tell)!! Went back to 250 and shot a 3 shot group......only one bullet caught the far right corner of the target barely but dead on heigth wise !!

So I shot at 200 again(cleaned it again)and was high and around1.5-2.5" right .........moved it over 3 clicls left and shot 1" left and higher.............decided to just move it and zero it 200 and shot 2 that touched at 200 dead on and locked her down !! Went hunting that evening and shot a buck at 125 and dropped him and hit right where I aimed !!

Have not shot again at 300 but I would have no confidence at this point !!

Any thoughts, advise, criticism, or otherwise would be appreciated .......because I generally learn the hard way !! Took me a long time to figure out bows.........but I finally got it !!

Briman

How much lower did you expect them to hit at 300 yards, and how far lower did they hit? If you are dead on at 200 yards, I would adjust the elevation up 3 minutes to get you close to where you should be at 300.

If you sight in with one brand of ammo then switch brands, or even bullets or bullet weights with the same brand, you are going to be chasing your tail. They will all hit in different places unless the stars, moon, and the planet venus are perfectly aligned for you.

nchawkeye

1) Decide what ammo your gun groups the best
2) Buy a case of that lot number
3) Sight-in about 2 1/2 high at 100...much higher is kinda high on our Southern deer...(meaning I have tried 3 inches and shot over deer at 175..)
4) Buy a decent range finder ( I bought a Nikon 660) its amazing how distance fools you while in a tree over a flat field.
5) Shoot at 100/200/250 and 300 yards....You will probably be dead on at 250 and about 3 inches low at 300. (Its especially helpful if this is done out of a tree stand...It kinda keeps you from taking those Hail Mary shots)
6) Enjoy your new rifle...Don't forget to pull it out this summer for crows, coyotes, groundhogs etc, to keep in practice...

Oh yea...Congrats on the 1st deer with the new gun....

Sorry to be so short, but I'm making deer spaghetti, deer jerky and trying to watch UNC and Clemson...

James B

Good advise from nchawkeye. Practice is always the key.

CBM SC

Thanks for the help guys !!

It is sort of sobering to realize I will spend nearly as much money on sighting it in.......figuring out what it likes and stocking up on bullets .........as the gun itself cost me !! Did not really think about that going into this purchase !! But $25-$45 a box shells bring in the reality fast !! [8D]

Briman

That's why people who like to shoot a lot and aren't independently wealthy either
A: buy the cheapest ammo possible
or
B: start reloading

B is by far the better option. You can reload premium huntingor match gradeammo for 1/2 the price of commercial ammuntion or less.