The 26 Yard Hunting Zero.

[cshold]

http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/ ... nting-zero

[Old Savage]

Everything I have Is zeroed 2.5 to 3 in high at 100 yds. I will say you should shoot different loads at 200 and 300 yds also if you can. We found quite a variance in performance with the best at 100 not necessarily the best at 200 or 300 depending on the bullet.

[Grizz]

I have a chart from a gun mag way back that lists point-blank range for about a hundred or so calibers and bullet combinations with terminal velocities and energy for those ranges. Published in the 80s I suppose. Remember those?

Until I read this article, I thought it was standard operating procedure and everyone does it this way. No?

Point-blank range works with hunting hand guns too, but in a compressed scale. I still used 25 yards for elevation when sighting in.

[AJMD429]

You just have to emphasize to people NOT to sight in at 25-26 yards, then ASSUME they will be ok way out there. A 1/4" error at 25 yards in where the impact is translates into a 2" error at 200 yards, and I'm betting few shooters get even that close to their 'real' trajectory. In addition, a 1/4" error in how high the sights are will double the above error, so be sure to measure sight height and group center very precisely; you will need very tiny cloverleaf-type groups at 25 yards for this to work, too.

However, it IS a quick way to get 'on paper' if you take into account sight height (very critical - low mounted sights decrease the point-blank range you have to work with). Then like Old Savage says, you can sight in at 100 yards to be 2.5" high or whatever. When you have a 1/4" error on paper at 100 yards, it is only a 1/2" error at 200 yards. Then ideally, get somewhere that you can shoot 300 or 400 yards. Once you are 'on' (say 3" low at 300 yards) out there, then that small error is practically eliminated as you march back to the closer distances. 1/4" off at 300 yards is 1/16" off at 75 yards.

[FWiedner]

I've always heard the old stories about how a 25yd zero will translate to being 'on' at 100yds.

IME, it's a LOOSE rule of thumb to get on paper and will result in 'minute-of-deer' at 100yds. As Doc AJ pointed out, it's really dependent on the trajectory of the specific round. Works OK with the .30-06.

I don't know that I'd bet a once in lifetime shot on it unless it was a matter of (my) life or death.

Personally, I never leave the range when sighting in without a group of 'X's' at a known selected range or a solid group at a proven MPB.

[Carlsen Highway]

The writer of that article sounds young to me.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Every gun (even those of the same caliber) is a rule unto itself as to the impact point if sighted dead on at 25-26 yards. The only way to know what yours will do is to shoot it at different distances and find out.

[CowboyTutt]

Best learning experience I ever, ever had was at the Friends of Billy Dixon Range in CO years ago. We (my best friend and I) were the first to visit it from the general public. We spent the first day shooting loads from 100 yards to 800 yards or so and charting site settings at these different ranges and recording data. It was the best shooting experience of my life for sure! Regards, -Tutt

[Shrapnel]

This is a good graph that shows what the writer was writing about. He needs to go back to school and take up a different vocation, writing truthfully about guns isn't working for him...

[PriseDeFer]

This one has been around for awhile: http://www.modeerhunter.com/stories/zero.aspx

It was handy to be able to zero a couple of 30/30's in the back yard. Make sure to measure your sight height above the bore axis and enter that in your ballistics calculator (if'n yer usin' one).

[cshold]

This one has been around for awhile: http://www.modeerhunter.com/stories/zero.aspx

It was handy to be able to zero a couple of 30/30's in the back yard. Make sure to measure your sight height above the bore axis and enter that in your ballistics calculator (if'n yer usin' one).

Good read

[Griff]

Over the years, and with quite a few .30-30s, I've found this trajectory chart to be fairly accurate.

[Canuck Bob]

Lately I put the bottom of the group on the front sight or slightly above. My levers are sighted this way for 100 paces, my 22s at 50 paces, and air rifles 20 paces.

[Blaine]

This is a good graph that shows what the writer was writing about. He needs to go back to school and take up a different vocation, writing truthfully about guns isn't working for him...

Stephen Hawking could not have done better....

[sore shoulder]

25M zero is how we do it at work. I use it at home also on every rifle to get in the ballpark, then move to the 100 and set it where I want it for the specific rifle. Playing around with various rifles and a ballistics calculator it's interesting how often a 25M zero results in being within a 1/2" or so of a 100 yard zero. Things change at a much different rate after that based on cartridge and BC, so often the 100 yard zero will be changed, but the 25/100 so far has been fairly consistent. If all I had time to do was a 25M zero I would be fairly confident of getting a hit at 100 and 200.