100 vs 200 yard zero?

[Topher Durden]

I've heard that some people will zero their long rifle to 100 yards, while others zero at 200. I know the answer depends on the type of shooting, rifle, caliber, shooter, and several other factors. I have two questions:

1.) What are the advantages/disadvantages to wither of these distances for a rifle zero?

2.) I'm going to be shooting a .308 Win Bolt gun for longer range bench/target shooting. What would anyone recommend as a good zero distance and why?

 

[ghostdncr]

I've always zeroed 7.62x51 @ 300 yards, mainly because this is the baseline zero for the old Leatherwood ART II used on the M21. It's pretty easy to estimate range and hold under at shorter range, but my estimation accuracy degrades as distance increases. I suspect this to be the case with most shooters. I seem to recall Marine scout/snipers in Vietnam zeroing at 600 yards, but this may have involved the Redfield Accurange scope. Anyone care to elaborate on this?

 

[spaniel]

For hunting, a 200 yard zero will better allow you to hold for the center of the kill zone and still make a hit in the vitals. A 100 yard zero will make you hold over at a shorter range.

For targets, you're going to want to dial right in to whatever range you are shooting at anyways, so it doesn't matter.

More ranges have 100 yards and more people shoot at 100 yards than 200....so a 100 yard zero is often just more convenient so you are right on target when you are on the range.

I still use a 100 yard zero for targets, because if I think it's more than 150 yards I'm going to use a rangefinder on it before I shoot anyways. Too easy to be significantly off and make a bad shot. So my drop chart starts with a 100 yard zero and past 300 I'm going to adjust my scope via the turrets before I shoot.

 

[Amishman44]

I'll concur with the 300m zero on a bolt-action .308. It'll easily hold those numbers and, if shorter, shoot slightly lower. I'd zero a .30-06 at that range as well...but both will hold 3+x that!

I zero my 10/22 at 75m and then hold slightly higher at 100-120m (pretty much maximum range for accuracy)...and my Savage bolt-action .22 mag at 100m ...and hold slightly higher for longer ranges up to 150m.

I like a 5.56 at 200-250m...sometimes getting up around 300m...but not often.

 

[Cerberus]

I zero .308 at 300, as I also do with .223

 

[42769vette]

I zero most everything at 200yds. The reason I do it is I only like to hold 1 direction. I don't like holding under ever for any reason.

That said there really is no wrong answer, zero the gun, learn the dope, practice, practice, practice.

Some folks sight in for MPBR, but that's more of a hunting thing, and I personally don't think it makes sense then. Thats not saying it cant be done, its just not for me.

Bottom line is dont turn a mole hill into a mountain.

 

[indyjohn]

100 yd zero on all my guns (50 yd for the rimfires). For me, this practice comes from competition. The shortest distance I compete at is 100 yds. You begin to memorize the "come up" (number of clicks in elevation) from 200 to 300 and 300 to 600 and that is very useful when you're hurrying to set up for the next stage of the match in 2 minutes. Then, it becomes a natural process in any circumstances you find yourself shooting in.

Like Alan says, keep it simple, pick a method and practice it over and over and over.

 

[sloughfoot]

100 yd zero on all my guns (50 yd for the rimfires). For me, this practice comes from competition. The shortest distance I compete at is 100 yds. You begin to memorize the "come up" (number of clicks in elevation) from 200 to 300 and 300 to 600 and that is very useful when you're hurrying to set up for the next stage of the match in 2 minutes. Then, it becomes a natural process in any circumstances you find yourself shooting in.

Like Alan says, keep it simple, pick a method and practice it over and over and over.

And keep a data book.

 

[palerider0485]

most the time just 100 because thats all my range goes to

 

[chipsher]

100 yd zero. I find it unnatural to aim under a target at closer ranges and at longer distances i usually over estimate the range and shoot over the target anyway.

 

[Tombs]

As long as you have enough turret adjustment in your scope for the maximum ranges you'll be shooting, you should just zero to 100 meters.

If you don't have enough adjustment range, you may want to consider a 20moa base.

There's very little reason to zero your rifle at anything besides 100 meters. The exception would be red dot sights, or a dedicated hunting rifle that you won't be cranking turrets on.

For a red dot I'd advise 50m and for capped turrets I'd recommend 200m.

 

[hrearden]

For centerfire that is for hunting or something I may be shooting at different ranges with, I go 200. This is because you can make a guaranteed vital shot on most any medium game out to about 300 and not have to adjust your point of aim (You can if you have practiced and know where it hits). This is particularly good for iron sighted rifles in 308 and such. Plus, you can do preliminary boresighting and getting "on paper" at 25 yards and you should also be on paper at 200.

 

[Cerberus]

For centerfire that is for hunting or something I may be shooting at different ranges with, I go 200. This is because you can make a guaranteed vital shot on most any medium game out to about 300 and not have to adjust your point of aim (You can if you have practiced and know where it hits). This is particularly good for iron sighted rifles in 308 and such. Plus, you can do preliminary boresighting and getting "on paper" at 25 yards and you should also be on paper at 200.

A 200 yd zero will be way out of the vital zone (- 9") with my 168gr .308 loading at 2650 FPS @ 300 yds. However my 300 yd zero will be just over 6" high at 170 yds. So I find it very easy to memorize to hold at 6 o'clock from 70-200 yds, which is the farthest I would try a shot on a deer sized animal under normal field conditions. I target shoot at 300 yds so 300 yd zeros are what I use on both my .308 and .223. And besides the AR irons are designed for 300 meter zeros.

 

[stephen87]

And keep a data book.

Care to elaborate? As someone who is getting ready to zero a rifle, most likely at 100yds, I'm looing for all the tips I can get.

 

[VinceU1]

I've usually sighted everything at 250yds, it just seemed to work better for my hunging needs. That usually equated to 3-5" high at 100yds.
As to why a data book? Well, to keep track of how many rounds you've put through that barrel, to track how it's shooting because barrels will shift POI depending on humidity and temp and track how fast the bullet is leaving the barrel. Also, in a data book, you should be making notes as to what the group looks like, i.e., stringing vertically and/or horizontally as this will indicate possible problems with bedding, loose screws, sight problems, ammo problems, the nut pulling the trigger etc.

 

[rvb]

Lots of variables....
what type of shooting are you doing? what caliber? do you want to work well with a certain scope reticle? max range you expect to shoot, and so on....

I use both. In fact, on my 3-gun rifle I have a 100 yd zero, but also know how many clicks to adjust to a 200 or 300 yd zero if one or the other makes sense for a particular stage. I have printups of ballistic tables for each. eg, if a stage is going to have all close targets, I may switch to a 300 yd zero so I have to worry less about hold over. My irons/dots on home defense ARs have 200 yd zeros. My pistol-cal carbine has a 75 yd zero. My handgun w/ the red-dot (competition gun) has a 10 yd zero. You have to make the decision based on your application, gear, and personal preferences.

There are lots of ballistics calculators available online, and cheap/free apps for phones/tablet. Run the numbers and make your decision based on your needs and what the bullet is doing. Then make your own table based on actual shooting of your load/gun (don't assume the tables will be perfect for your setup/environment).

2.) I'm going to be shooting a .308 Win Bolt gun for longer range bench/target shooting. What would anyone recommend as a good zero distance and why?

For that application, just zero at whatever distance you'll normally be shooting. If you usually shoot at 100, why zero at 200? etc.

2c.

-rvb

 

[indyjohn]

Care to elaborate? As someone who is getting ready to zero a rifle, most likely at 100yds, I'm looing for all the tips I can get.

This is what he's talking about. Highpower competition shooters document elevation, windage, weather conditions at the time of firing. Now the 'gun books' on this page may be more in line with what you're looking for.

Data Books & Tools | Creedmoor Sports

 

[JettaKnight]

Some light reading on the topic:
What is “Maximum Point Blank Range” Hunting?
Ultra-Long Range Rifles
Rifle Trajectory Table

Now you know "point blank range" doesn't mean "very close range".

 

[dross]

Depends on the rifle. I zero my AR for 50 yards, which means I'll be 2 inches or less above or below out to 220 yards or so at my altitude. On my precision shooting AR, I zero to 200 and use the scope adjustments for different ranges. For a hunting rifle, I'm going to use MPBR. The max I'll shoot is the farthest I can be with the horizontal scope line on the animal's back.

 

[sloughfoot]

This is what he's talking about. Highpower competition shooters document elevation, windage, weather conditions at the time of firing. Now the 'gun books' on this page may be more in line with what you're looking for.

Data Books & Tools | Creedmoor Sports

^^^^^This. Plus record the details on the ammo you are using. and the results on target.

Here is another place I like to send new rifle shooters. The emphasis is on Highpower competition but just about everything crosses over and helps explain other types of rifle shooting. And reloading for rifles of all kinds.

Always be brutally honest with yourself regarding the quality of your hold for the shooting session. Make lots of notes, you don't know starting out what is important.

Look around this site, especially the Links, Articles, and Books.....JarHeadTop.com