Zeroing my optic (first time with bolt gun/scope)

[Naaman]

I will be heading out to the range tomorrow morning to zero my deer gun.

I've read that for .308, I should use a 200-yard zero. What I wonder about is being off paper on the initial shots and ways to mitigate the headache of trial and error with zeroing a featherweight barrel (letting it cool for a few minutes between shots, etc.)

My plan is to start at 50 yards, fire one shot, see if I'm on paper, then push to 100 and compare POA with POI vs the 50m, make necessary adjustemnts, then push to 200 and start shooting groups, making adjustments until my POA/POI coinscide.

Is there a better way to do it assuming I'll be doing this by myself?

 

[Shankoltd21]

This was posted somewhere else in the forum. I found it pretty helpful.

 

[Vodoun daVinci]

Zero at 100 yards....if you bore sight it at like 20 yards you'll be easily on paper at 50 or 100.

VooDoo

 

[Gee Kay]

here is another one with Ryan

 

[Dthomas3523]

Wherever you read a .308 needs a 200yd zero......stop reading there immediately.

Bore sight. Then shoot. Use reticle to measure and turrets to move POI the measured amount. Shoot again. Make any tweaks, done.

Zero at 100. Zero your turrets. If you then want to use 200 for a while, spin your turrets to your 200yd dope and leave it there as long as you need. When done, spin back to zero.

 

[I Spot 4U - "Eagle Eyes"]

DThomas3523 above is correct. 200 yards? (not trying to sound sarcastic) Another way, It would be beneficial for you to first figure out what your desired MPBR (Maximum Point Blank Range)based upon maximum distance you can see unobstructed in your hunting area. An MPBR Example: Your bullet will be dead on at X" amount of yards down range without making any adjustments to your scope (MPBR). And the bullet would be X" above up until your MPBR or X" below at a known distance beyond that MPBR.

*Lets say you are hunting in the deep woods after Whitetail deer and the maximum distance you can see unobstructed is only 100 yards in those woods. You really don't need to establish your "unobstructed distance" Zero at 200 yards or beyond that? A 100 yard zero is what you're after. Generally speaking +/- 3" at any given known distance, good fundamentals of shooting, shot placement, bullet penetration and expansion will put your whitetail deer on the ground.

Factory Ammunition and Reloading/making your own cartridges most manufaturers today have Ballistic Calculators on their web pages. There are even Phone apps that have Ballistic Calculators you can buy. Just fill in the blanks on their page. Caliber, bullet weight, velocity, elevation temperature, humidity, wind, increments, etc, etc. once you decide your desired MPBR "zero" you can make a print out of their calculations then go to the range and zero your rifle and confirm, make any corrections to your data/range card as needed.

 

[308pirate]

DThomas3523 above is correct. 200 yards? (not trying to sound sarcastic) Another way, It would be beneficial for you to first figure out what your desired MPBR (Maximum Point Blank Range)based upon maximum distance you can see unobstructed in your hunting area. An MPBR Example: Your bullet will be dead on at X" amount of yards down range without making any adjustments to your scope (MPBR). And the bullet would be X" above up until your MPBR or X" below at a known distance beyond that MPBR.

*Lets say you are hunting in the deep woods after Whitetail deer and the maximum distance you can see unobstructed is only 100 yards in those woods. You really don't need to establish your "unobstructed distance" Zero at 200 yards or beyond that? A 100 yard zero is what you're after. Generally speaking +/- 3" at any given known distance, good fundamentals of shooting, shot placement, bullet penetration and expansion will put your whitetail deer on the ground.

Factory Ammunition and Reloading/making your own cartridges most manufaturers today have Ballistic Calculators on their web pages. Just fill in the blanks on their page. Caliber, bullet weight, velocity, elevation temperature, humidity, wind, increments, etc, etc. once you decide your desired MPBR "zero" you can make a print out of their calculations then go to the range and zero your rifle and confirm, make any corrections to your data/range card as needed.

None of this MPBR bullshit applies to the types of scopes that are used for precision shooting

Leave that fudd bullshit out of here

 

[308pirate]

This was posted somewhere else in the forum. I found it pretty helpful.

Off topic but it makes my head hurt when I see new shooters with horrible form and technique and their "instructor" does nothing to fix it. See the old fudd at 00:03 and the girls with 22 pistols next to him.

 

[Crabcore]

Zero at 100 yards.

I also boresight at 100 yards. To make this easier, I use a large white target and put a 6" black shoot N see target on it. It needs to be large enough and have enough contrast to see it with the naked eye. Get the rifle set up on its bipod and use a large sturdy rear bag to hold the stock (like a gamechanger). You should be able to take the bolt out and get the rifle to sit there pointed at your target as viewed through the barrel with the bolt removed. Without disturbing the rifle, dial the scope turrets until your reticle is centered. I will double check this all a couple of times to make sure i didn't move the rifle.

Doing this, you should be withing a few inches of the center on the first shot. You should be able to zero in 5 shots, and then shoot a 5 shot group to refine the group the last little bit.

Good Luck! let us know how it goes.

 

[I Spot 4U - "Eagle Eyes"]

None of this MPBR bullshit applies to the types of scopes that are used for precision shooting

Leave that fudd bullshit out of here

Fudd Bullshit? don't think so...The Op was questioning about zeroing his "deer hunting" rifle. Not a PRS target rifle. What if the Op doesn't have a scope with target target turrets and wants to set his scope once and then forget it? You don't know his exact situation or equipment list, neither do I. All I offered was another way for something to consider. What the Op decides to do with the information is up to him. Don't you like to get as much information as you can before making an "Informed" decision? I sure do, I'd expect you do as well. Never mind its a rhetorical question.

 

[Naaman]

None of this MPBR bullshit applies to the types of scopes that are used for precision shooting

Leave that fudd bullshit out of here

I'm definitely planning a more tactical deer hunt, after all.

 

[Naaman]

Wherever you read a .308 needs a 200yd zero......stop reading there immediately.

Bore sight. Then shoot. Use reticle to measure and turrets to move POI the measured amount. Shoot again. Make any tweaks, done.

Zero at 100. Zero your turrets. If you then want to use 200 for a while, spin your turrets to your 200yd dope and leave it there as long as you need. When done, spin back to zero.

In other words, set up my rifle for precision shooting, then adjust the turrets ahead of time depending on anticipated application (such as a deer hunt, which is the first thing I intend to actually shoot with this gun). Am I understanding you right?

I've already started theorizing about a second bolt gun, which will be "mine" and this featherweight will become "hers."

 

[Naaman]

Fudd Bullshit? don't think so...The Op was questioning about zeroing his "deer hunting" rifle. Not a PRS target rifle. What if the Op doesn't have a scope with target target turrets and wants to set his scope once and then forget it? You don't know his exact situation or equipment list, neither do I. All I offered was another way for something to consider. What the Op decides to do with the information is up to him. Don't you like to get as much information as you can before making an "Informed" decision? I sure do, I'd expect you do as well. Never mind its a rhetorical question.

I certainly see the wisdom in MPBR. I expect that I will not be able to control the distance at which an opportunity to take a deer presents itself, and not having to estimate range (rather, just knowing that I'm within my MPBR) is definitely something I'm looking at.

You are absolutely right: the more info I have, the better off I feel. Understanding the different approaches lets me compare them, which (given the way my mind works), knowing one allows me deeper understanding of the other, once I know the limitations of each method.

In case it matters, the rifle is a M70 featherweight in .308 with a 3-18x44 FFP MilRad reticle.

 

[308pirate]

I certainly see the wisdom in MPBR. I expect that I will not be able to control the distance at which an opportunity to take a deer presents itself, and not having to estimate range (rather, just knowing that I'm within my MPBR) is definitely something I'm looking at.

You are absolutely right: the more info I have, the better off I feel. Understanding the different approaches lets me compare them, which (given the way my mind works), knowing one allows me deeper understanding of the other, once I know the limitations of each method.

In case it matters, the rifle is a M70 featherweight in .308 with a 3-18x44 FFP MilRad reticle.

Let me help you with the MPBR concept. For just about any standard short action cartridge based on the 308 Winchester case, a 250 yard yero will provide an MPBR (assuming an 4 inch target radius) of just over 300 yards. I wouldn't bother with MPBR unless your scope has capped turrets that are meant to zero the rifle and never touched again and a simple duplex reticle with no ballistic drop compensator.

 

[stello1001]

If the OP is new at this and is asking for help about zeroing, why are we introducing mpbr to him? It's not time for that now and may just confuse him. Instead, can't we just recommend him to zero at 100?


OP, you need to zero at 100 and not 200. Start anywhere from 30 to 50 yards trying to zero using your bore.

Take the bolt out and look down the bore at a red solo cup or something you can focus on.

Adjust your turrets until the reticle is on that red solo cup.

Shoot at that distance and correct your turrets in case you were slightly off.

Shoot again to confirm your correction.

Shoot at 100 yards then, and do corrections as needed, if needed.

Done!!!

 

[Aqua Mark]

Wherever you read a .308 needs a 200yd zero......stop reading there immediately.

Bore sight. Then shoot. Use reticle to measure and turrets to move POI the measured amount. Shoot again. Make any tweaks, done.

Zero at 100. Zero your turrets. If you then want to use 200 for a while, spin your turrets to your 200yd dope and leave it there as long as you need. When done, spin back to zero.

^^^This^^^
100 yd zero, bore sight on a paper plate or any object at 100. This will often alleviate the wind factor in a 200 yd zero. If you are in the field and want your zero at 200, just apply that dope to the turret in advance.

For example, my 308 has 100 yd zero, with a MIL reticle. So in the field, 100 yards is dead zero, and I can just hold or dial UP 0.6 MIL for 200 yd shot, or hold/dial UP 1.4MIL for 300 yard shot. OR if I put my 200 yard dope on the reticle before going in the field, then 200 yd is dead zero, 100 yard shot I hold UNDER 0.6MIL, and 300 yard shot I dial/hold OVER 0.8 MIL. You will have to verify YOUR ballistics of course for your results. (Don't forget the wind component).

MOA same deal, just different numbers.

 

[Naaman]

Let me help you with the MPBR concept. For just about any standard short action cartridge based on the 308 Winchester case, a 250 yard yero will provide an MPBR (assuming an 4 inch target radius) of just over 300 yards. I wouldn't bother with MPBR unless your scope has capped turrets that are meant to zero the rifle and never touched again and a simple duplex reticle with no ballistic drop compensator.

Thanks for the clarification.