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Been asked a million times - zero distance?

Vodoun daVinci

Old Salt
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Dec 17, 2017
    2,568
    3,692
    Any reason to zero a rifle chambered in 6.5 CM at any other range than 100 yards? Zero at 100 yards and DOPE everything after that?

    VooDoo
     
    all my rifles are zeroed at 100 and i know where they hit after that. except for my one 3 gun rifle that has a bdc reticle and vortex says to zero at 200 for the bdc reticle to come 'close' to where it actually hits at 300 - 600yds.

    for hunting rifles, some use 'maximum point blank range' as their zero point. so if an animal's kill zone is let's say 4", you zero at a distance where if you aim dead on, you won't be worse than 2" high or 2" low. you should take your rifle's accuracy into account in this equation.
     
    I too zero all my rifles a 100 yards. The exception will be the .375 CT when I finally settle on how I want it set up. The only reason I will zero the 375 at other then 100 yards is I had a long talk with Blaine Fields who wrote FFS software. He explained that with the height of my scope over the center of the chamber the true zero would most likely be closer to 200 yards then 100 yards.
     
    I typically zero at 300. Three minutes up is 400 yds. and four minutes down is 100. Technically, that is a 100 yd. zero, I've just kept it dialed up to 300. Without dialing down you can use hold-unders for 100 and 200.

    The reason I use 300 is the 6.5 Creed is moving fast enough, it makes for a solid point blank zero. So, unless you are shooting really small stuff in a precision situation where you want a crosshair or stadia line aligned with something on the target, it isn't necessary. If necessary, then dial down to those points where your rifle hits at 100 and 200.

    That said, one reason many use the 100 yd. zero is because "typically" the height of the scope over the rifle is the same as the bullet drop @ 100 (m or yd.) And, if you've ever heard the explanation that "everything is 'up' from there" meaning the bullet does not cross the line of sight. It meets the line of sight @ 100 and all holds or dials are 'up' beyond 100 yds. No hold-unders.

    I use 300 to get on and hit. The hold unders are easy and if I need to dial I know where the shorter ranges are. It's just a choice of a matter of speed when getting out there first.
     
    100 yards,

    Everything is up from 100 including shots inside 100.

    After you have a solid 100-yard zero you can dial any range you want and use it as a PBR zero, etc.

    I need to relisten to the Every Day Sniper podcast episode were you describe sighting in at 300 yards and dialing back the range to fine tune the zero. Do you remember what episode that was?
     
    I need to relisten to the Every Day Sniper podcast episode were you describe sighting in at 300 yards and dialing back the range to fine tune the zero. Do you remember what episode that was?
    I don’t know what was discussed in that episode, but your true zero would take into account any offset at your 100 yards zero.

    This is most common when you’re in between clicks etc
     
    I don’t know what was discussed in that episode, but your true zero would take into account any offset at your 100 yards zero.

    This is most common when you’re in between clicks etc
    From what I remember, it was a way to quickly zero a rifle to 100 yards with a minimal round count. The idea was if you're close at 300 yards, you're going to have a easier time fine tuning at 100 yards. I'm new to all of this, so forgive my retardation if I'm off.
     
    We have a large plate at 300 yards, we paint an X on it and adjust to center within 2 rounds, then dial back to 100 and it's pretty darn close to perfect

    I don't recall which episode but it would be one of the Alaska ones as we do it there. We get a lot of new shooters who are also new to scopes that dial elevation coming from the hunting world. Many of the scopes we see on the hunting setups are very old and outdated, so when we switch them to a more modern scope we go slow to teach them.

    With a big plate at 300 and a berm around it, we can easily get a scope on target in seconds and then move right back to the very busy board at 100, voila we are done.
     
    I really like that approach. Coming from a hunting background with at best mediocre gear, I think I'd really benefit from taking a class like the one you (@Lowlight ) hosted in Alaska. thanks for the reply