Philosophical rambling No 1 here – sighting in distance

[ceruleanblue]

As a rifleman, I’m wondering why we sight in at 100yds. There are some statistics out there that probably support this distance. I believe there are two kinds of shooters: The IPSC type short-distance shooters that simulate distance by a reduced target size, and then, those like me, that shoot much farther out. The hunter at 250-300 yards. The ELR type that plays at 700-1300, and the loco that enjoys that ping way way out there. So, for the latter types, doesn’t 200 or 300 yds. make more sense as a sight in distance? It doesn’t have to be topic specific because this thread starts with the word “philosophical” jejeje. Do interject your thoughts, experiences or recommendations, so we can all grow from the interaction.

 

[acudaowner]

 

[ceruleanblue]

I swear I watched intently.

 

[_Windrider_]

As a rifleman, I’m wondering why we sight in at 100yds. There are some statistics out there that probably support this distance. I believe there are two kinds of shooters: The IPSC type short-distance shooters that simulate distance by a reduced target size, and then, those like me, that shoot much farther out. The hunter at 250-300 yards. The ELR type that plays at 700-1300, and the loco that enjoys that ping way way out there. So, for the latter types, doesn’t 200 or 300 yds. make more sense as a sight in distance? It doesn’t have to be topic specific because this thread starts with the word “philosophical” jejeje. Do interject your thoughts, experiences or recommendations, so we can all grow from the interaction.

We use 100 yds because any other distance we dial up on the scope. If you zero for 500 but need to take a shot at 200 you have to hold under or hope you have enough turret to dial under enough (which wouldn’t even be possible with a zero stop if used). If you plan on taking longer shots, zero at 100, dial in the dope for 600 and then you can quickly holdover for longer shots and dial down for closer ones.

unless the gun is strictly a 2000 yd plus gun and because of the setup you can’t zero at 100, we’ve beaten this to death.

 

[Dthomas3523]

.......shit.

 

[theLBC]

for one thing, the public range lets us hang paper at 100 yards.

 

[BullGear]

I rarely sight my rifles at 100 yards. My hunting rifles are all sighted in at 50 yards. That's about the longest shot I get because I hunt in dense woods most of the time. My range toys are usually sighted in at 200 yards.

 

[ceruleanblue]

We use 100 yds because any other distance we dial up on the scope. If you zero for 500 but need to take a shot at 200 you have to hold under or hope you have enough turret to dial under enough (which wouldn’t even be possible with a zero stop if used). If you plan on taking longer shots, zero at 100, dial in the dope for 600 and then you can quickly holdover for longer shots and dial down for closer ones.

unless the gun is strictly a 2000 yd plus gun and because of the setup you can’t zero at 100, we’ve beaten this to death.

Thank you for enlightening me. Makes absolute sense!

 

[ceruleanblue]

I rarely sight my rifles at 100 yards. My hunting rifles are all sighted in at 50 yards. That's about the longest shot I get because I hunt in dense woods most of the time. My range toys are usually sighted in at 200 yards.

I shoot at 250 most of the time but I realize that in order to uprange a sight in at 100 makes sense. Thanks!

 

[308pirate]

No one ever brings up in these discussions the fact that type of scope being zeroed has a significant bearing on the distance that you use to zero it.

What @TacticalDillhole explained is spot on for a scope that has turrets that are meant to be easily adjusted for windage and elevation and can be reliably set back to zero again.

What he explained is not necessarily ideal when zeroing scopes that have turrets meant to be used to zero the scope and then be left alone. With these kinds of scopes, the type of reticle they have (with or without drop stadia lines) and the max point blank range that your ammo can reach also makes a difference in what distance is used to zero for best results.

 

[Austan]

As a mental exercise, I thought about what percentage of my scoped firearms are zeroed at 100 yards. It's probably 10%.
The intended use of the firearm combined with the reticle are the determining factors of the zero distance as has been mentioned already.

 

[_Windrider_]

No one ever brings up in these discussions the fact that type of scope being zeroed has a significant bearing on the distance that you use to zero it.

What @TacticalDillhole explained is spot on for a scope that has turrets that are meant to be easily adjusted for windage and elevation and can be reliably set back to zero again.

What he explained is not necessarily ideal when zeroing scopes that have turrets meant to be used to zero the scope and then be left alone. With these kinds of scopes, the type of reticle they have (with or without drop stadia lines) and the max point blank range that your ammo can reach also makes a difference in what distance is used to zero for best results.

yes, i was only thinking in terms of adjustable turrets, not simple duplex reticles and/or capped turrets.

 

[308pirate]

yes, i was only thinking in terms of adjustable turrets, not simple duplex reticles and/or capped turrets.

That assumption is why threads like this typically end up in a trainwreck involving a bunch of crabmeat and a football game.

 

[_Windrider_]

That assumption is why threads like this typically end up in a trainwreck involving a bunch of crabmeat and a football game.

Says the guy who is usually driving the train

 

[salks]

At 100 yards environmentals such as wind have little to no effect gives you a good starting point. Unless you have a mil scope then you have to zero at 91.44 meters.

 

[_Windrider_]

At 100 yards environmentals such as wind have little to no effect gives you a good starting point. Unless you have a mil scope then you have to zero at 91.44 meters.

We just went off the rails

 

[HousePlant]

Because, unless you're a rare few, every single range is at 100 yards.

And at 100 yards wind has a negligible effect (except maybe on 22LR and the like).

And you don't need a $3,000 second observational optic atop a $500 carbon fiber tripod to observe your target.

And because most any respectable scope (especially on a 20MOA rail) will get to 1,200 yards via the dial with a 100 yard zero so... why complicate?

What baffles me is why so few actively find and patronize places where they can develop a DOPE for their rifle out to their intended max yardage.

 

[Lowlight]

Oh My God

I have to log off today, I can' t tell if that is a joke or not... it might be, so in that case, ok, semi funny, if not E-Blah, I picked the wrong day to read the interwebs

 

[BullGear]

This too shall pass......

 

[Dthomas3523]

I’m gonna reiterate my previous post.

......shit

 

[Jack Master]

Links to other threads
Zeroing not at 100?
100 or 200yd Zero - Read post #7 here!!
100yd Zero?
Zero at 300yds
What's your Zero
Zeroing my optic

Just a couple examples of how often this it typed about. Search function works pretty well.

 

[Near miss]

At 100 yards environmentals such as wind have little to no effect gives you a good starting point. Unless you have a mil scope then you have to zero at 91.44 meters.

I take my elevation error of 1.22% out of that, I lose the true zero but it gets me even closer at longer ranges.

 

[ceruleanblue]

No one ever brings up in these discussions the fact that type of scope being zeroed has a significant bearing on the distance that you use to zero it.

What @TacticalDillhole explained is spot on for a scope that has turrets that are meant to be easily adjusted for windage and elevation and can be reliably set back to zero again.

What he explained is not necessarily ideal when zeroing scopes that have turrets meant to be used to zero the scope and then be left alone. With these kinds of scopes, the type of reticle they have (with or without drop stadia lines) and the max point blank range that your ammo can reach also makes a difference in what distance is used to zero for best results.

Yes. I have several scopes that have no dead stop. I think dead stops are a recent thing (last 4 years at most - or am I wrong). I realized this when returning a scope to dead stop only to realize it kept going! No dead stop. Now I have to sight in again!

 

[ceruleanblue]

Because, unless you're a rare few, every single range is at 100 yards.

And at 100 yards wind has a negligible effect (except maybe on 22LR and the like).

And you don't need a $3,000 second observational optic atop a $500 carbon fiber tripod to observe your target.

And because most any respectable scope (especially on a 20MOA rail) will get to 1,200 yards via the dial with a 100 yard zero so... why complicate?

What baffles me is why so few actively find and patronize places where they can develop a DOPE for their rifle out to their intended max yardage.

The useful long ranges are a bit far away. I have a 270 meter one near but further than that I'll have to drive about 100 km to get to one. This makes it tougher as I suspect it does for many. Thanks for chiming in!

 

[seanh]

This too shall pass......

 

[orkan]

Not being able to tell the trolls from the serious posters has become a serious dilemma of mine lately.

 

[Lowlight]

I can't tell either and I am supposed to know better

 

[BullGear]

I can't tell either and I am supposed to know better

Nah, you can go with your gut, but even then, there's so many imbedded in this forum, it would be impossible to flush them all out into the opening.

 

[orkan]

Nah, you can go with your gut, but even then, there's so many imbedded in this forum, it would be impossible to flush them all out into the opening.

I've basically had to go with the assumption that anyone that joined post-scout... is a troll. lol

 

[ceruleanblue]

Links to other threads
Zeroing not at 100?
100 or 200yd Zero - Read post #7 here!!
100yd Zero?
Zero at 300yds
What's your Zero
Zeroing my optic

Just a couple examples of how often this it typed about. Search function works pretty well.

I feel bad that I asked the question! Next time I'll search before I post, Sorry.

 

[308pirate]

I feel bad that I asked the question! Next time I'll search before I post, Sorry.

A better way to search here is to use duckduckgo or some other search engine and type keywords like "snipershide" "zero", etc. You'll get much better results.

BTW, I'd kill to have access to a range that goes past 300 meters within a 100 km drive. So the fact that you have to drive roughly an hour to get to shoot longer distances should not be a problem.

I have to drive 240 km to get to a place where I can shoot as far as my rifle can reach.

 

[Steel head]

A better way to search here is to use duckduckgo or some other search engine and type keywords like "snipershide" "zero", etc. You'll get much better results.

BTW, I'd kill to have access to a range that goes past 300 meters within a 100 km drive. So the fact that you have to drive roughly an hour to get to shoot longer distances should not be a problem.

I have to drive 240 km to get to a place where I can shoot as far as my rifle can reach.

That is how I do searches.

 

[Deleted member 113831]

I REALLY hate to agree w/ @308pirate , but he hit it on the head.

Type of scope and shooting situation dictate. All my precision rifles with dialable scopes are zeroed for 100 yards for reasons already stated by others: All adjustments (whether closer or farther) are up, Environmental conditions don't affect zero (with the exception of light), 100's of yards are the increments we work in... so 100 is the base increment.

Hunting rifles with lightweight hunting scopes (Like Leupold VX-3) w/duplex reticles get a 50/200 zero to make better use of Maximum Point Blank Range.

Same goes for mechanically sighted carbines, red dots and low power prism scopes.

Low Power Variables get the 100yd zero because most often that is how those reticles and turrets were designed to work.

 

[ceruleanblue]

That is how I do searches.

I live 10min from to a country club with 500 meters for rifle and 16 IPSC range bays. And the staff that sets up the courses of fire is on the club payroll. Yep some things are nice. But we have no covid vaccines and no oxygen for the sick, so it's a tradeoff. Life is a tradeoff. I'll try and post some pictures.

 

[Steel head]

I live 10min from to a country club with 500 meters for rifle and 16 IPSC range bays. And the staff that sets up the courses of fire is on the club payroll. Yep some things are nice. But we have no covid vaccines and no oxygen for the sick, so it's a tradeoff. Life is a tradeoff. I'll try and post some pictures.

I live within an hour of multiple locations with steel out to 2 miles and I never wear a mask and poop a lot in the woods.

 

[larry meyer]

As a rifleman, I’m wondering why we sight in at 100yds. There are some statistics out there that probably support this distance. I believe there are two kinds of shooters: The IPSC type short-distance shooters that simulate distance by a reduced target size, and then, those like me, that shoot much farther out. The hunter at 250-300 yards. The ELR type that plays at 700-1300, and the loco that enjoys that ping way way out there. So, for the latter types, doesn’t 200 or 300 yds. make more sense as a sight in distance? It doesn’t have to be topic specific because this thread starts with the word “philosophical” jejeje. Do interject your thoughts, experiences or recommendations, so we can all grow from the interaction.

Interjection & thoughts. Interesting reading so far. I have only recently shot NRL22, & have a lot to learn. I did learn that I need to dial most accurately the hardest to hit target & be able to hold others if necessary. (time constraints). I do hunt, & shoot rodents in the alfalfa fields, & barn yards. I shoot 22 air rifle, 22lr, 17WSM, 204 & 25-06 for this. All of these are sighted for Max-Point-Blank-Range, (Battle 0), then am able to hold for wind & elevation for greater ranges. For instance, 25-06 for 2"target, (size of Rock Chucks head) w/90gr. load, is set for, near 0=39yd, far 0=166yd & Max PBR=191yd. Dope card (& memorized) for holds. I shoot this in a very target rich environment. Ranchers are very thankful for the assistance w/eradication of very destructive animals. I hope this is of value for the above question.

 

[ceruleanblue]

Interjection & thoughts. Interesting reading so far. I have only recently shot NRL22, & have a lot to learn. I did learn that I need to dial most accurately the hardest to hit target & be able to hold others if necessary. (time constraints). I do hunt, & shoot rodents in the alfalfa fields, & barn yards. I shoot 22 air rifle, 22lr, 17WSM, 204 & 25-06 for this. All of these are sighted for Max-Point-Blank-Range, (Battle 0), then am able to hold for wind & elevation for greater ranges. For instance, 25-06 for 2"target, (size of Rock Chucks head) w/90gr. load, is set for, near 0=39yd, far 0=166yd & Max PBR=191yd. Dope card (& memorized) for holds. I shoot this in a very target rich environment. Ranchers are very thankful for the assistance w/eradication of very destructive animals. I hope this is of value for the above question.

Interesting. Thank you for another way of seeing this. -Migs