I am new to the .50 BMG caliber and am curious what the standard zero range is for the round. I have heard allot of different rumors as to the round not stabilizing until it passes 300m and am curious if there is any truth to this.
Rifle Scopes .50 BMG Zero Distance
- Thread starter cuzi.defense
- Start date
Whilst you would need something like "Doppler Radar" to view the bullet in flight to be certain of the "stability" aspect when it leaves the barrel - personally I cannot see how a bullet would be unstable initially and then stable later down the line. If it were unstable initially then the likelihood would be it would be inaccurate for the whole of its flight. Naturally you need the right twist rate in the barrel but for me a .50BMG should be able to group adequately at 100 yards if need be for a zero. I say need be because the damage these rounds do to a backstop at Range facilities if shot into a berm at 100 yards is considerable. The club Committee/Owners usually want you to zero these at longer ranges to take some of the "umph" out of the round before it impacts. Some zero them at 300 yards - some at 500 or 600 yards.
Some zero at 100 & 200. The amount of elevation your scope has left over for the distances your shooting plays into your zero preference also.
Sounds good. I was under the misconception I would have to start at 300m or more. Gotta love bench talk.
I am skeptical that the bullet would take 300 yards to settle down. Every bullet is wobbly (for the lack of a more scientific explanation) for a certain distance after leaving the muzzle, but has dampened the oscillation by 10 yards past the muzzle. That said, I have witnessed many .50 cal rifles that do not group real well until 300 yards or so. I do not know reason for sure, but there may be several factors. If the rifle is zeroed at 100 yards, the reticle is at or near the bottom of the travel of the erector, and perhaps this is a factor.
Personally, with the exception of my competition guns which stay zeroed at 1000 yards, I zero my tactical rifle at 100 yards. I use a 40-45 MOA scope base, and with a Nightforce NXS or S&B PMII, there is enough elevation to reach 1600-1800 yards by dialing. This is using standard military ammunition, Mk211, M8, M20, etc. With higher BC commercial bullets like the 750 AMAX or some of the solids, you will probably be able to reach 2000. This has been my personal experience over 20 years of shooting and competing with the "50." If you have any other questions, I would be happy to assist. Just shoot me a PM.
Scott
Personally, with the exception of my competition guns which stay zeroed at 1000 yards, I zero my tactical rifle at 100 yards. I use a 40-45 MOA scope base, and with a Nightforce NXS or S&B PMII, there is enough elevation to reach 1600-1800 yards by dialing. This is using standard military ammunition, Mk211, M8, M20, etc. With higher BC commercial bullets like the 750 AMAX or some of the solids, you will probably be able to reach 2000. This has been my personal experience over 20 years of shooting and competing with the "50." If you have any other questions, I would be happy to assist. Just shoot me a PM.
Scott
Thanks Scott, that does really help. I would be sure to e-mail you if I come across any more questions.
Sam
I'm not sure how this plays out whether you zero at 100 or 500 you will still be using the adjustment in your scope. You don't get more or less determined by zero range.
Correct, I should have indicated that a longer zero would best be taken with an angled scope base to relieve the scope adjustment.
.50 BMG Zero Distance
.... So, so many people, all wanting to know, and wanting to tell, at what range to 'zero' a rifle.
By 'zero', do you mean the range at which POI of the trajectory is at the crosshairs, or the range at which you slip the elevation dial to index at zero?
.... So, so many people, all wanting to know, and wanting to tell, at what range to 'zero' a rifle.
By 'zero', do you mean the range at which POI of the trajectory is at the crosshairs, or the range at which you slip the elevation dial to index at zero?
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I don't know much about 50 BMG, but I would recommend you purchase Bryan Litz's book Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting. It will tell you all you want to know about long range shooting, zero distance, etc.
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