For those sighting in a deer rifle this week

I just usually find a rock at ABOUT 200 yards at 11:45 Friday morning.  I shoot, if I hit 2 ft to the right, I just hold 2 feet to the left.

I may go out to the Casselton range this week with a video camera just to capture some good comedy.....

Horsager Said:
Nearly every hunter I know has intentions of getting their rifle sighted in well before season so as to avoid the last week rush at the range.  But, life throws everyone a curve now and then and sometimes it just doesn't happen so just a couple reminders to help folks speed up the process should they find themselves @ the range this week.

If your riflescope's adjustment dial says something like "1/4" @ 100yds" which is the vast majority of today's riflescopes, that means 4 clicks move the bullet or point of impact 1". 

If you're starting @ 25yds, it's 16 clicks to move 1".

@ 200yds it's 2 clicks to move point of impact 1".

For the vast majority of what most folks consider "Deer" caliber rifles something between 1.25" and 1.75" high @ 100yds will put you pretty much dead on @ 200yds.

Good luck and shoot straight.

horsager, got a good question for ya. it came up yesterday at work. i have always been told that for the most part, whatever you group at 25 yards you should group at 100. i have been sighting my rifle in this way for a few years and it seems to work. at 25 yards its easy to hold steady. i shoot 3 rounds, if i like the grouping but not the elevation or windage, i adjust. shoot 3 more to double check. if i like it, i go out to 100 and its for the most part good.

now, i don't claim to be an olympic sharp shooter or anything. for me, if i can hit an ice cream pail at 300 yards, i consider that good. to me, thats enough to kill my deer. i wish i had the time and patience that some on this site do. im lucky to even get out and hunt at all.

is there any truth to this?

Hey Clay - I wish I'd read your post before yesterday!   I resighted in my favorite rifles and didn't remember that 4 X 4 is  ??what did you say??  19??    LOL
I think I'll just use the Jiffy method, except I haven't found a big enough rock!
Is a quarter covered 3 shot group  1 1/2 inches high at 100 yards good enough?  
I get pretty spoiled here with my own range in the back yard!   
On the first shot yesterday a doe and a nice buck rocketed out of the brush across the road and almost got run down by a garbage truck!   Unfortunately a disabled young man came out to bowhunt later in the day and I felt bad about moving out the deer!   To make matters even worse I walked over to the barn to get my truck and walked right past his stand before I realized he was there!    Dang anyway!    I'll stay out of there from now on.....

Dead on @ 25yds will get you close @ 100 but a lot of how close depends on your rifle, how high your scope rings are, and even how much down angle you're shooting @ 25yds vs. 100yds.  Everything you're off @ 25yds is magnified 4x @ 100yds.  So, if you're 2" right or high @ 25yds, you're 8" right or high @ 100yds.

I rarely take more than 2 shots @ 25yds when doing initial scope sight in.  1 shot to see where I am and then make the corrections necessary.  2nd shot to verify I'm close to dead on then move out to 100yds and begin fine tuning.

catmechanic Said:

Horsager Said:
Nearly every hunter I know has intentions of getting their rifle sighted in well before season so as to avoid the last week rush at the range.  But, life throws everyone a curve now and then and sometimes it just doesn't happen so just a couple reminders to help folks speed up the process should they find themselves @ the range this week.

If your riflescope's adjustment dial says something like "1/4" @ 100yds" which is the vast majority of today's riflescopes, that means 4 clicks move the bullet or point of impact 1". 

If you're starting @ 25yds, it's 16 clicks to move 1".

@ 200yds it's 2 clicks to move point of impact 1".

For the vast majority of what most folks consider "Deer" caliber rifles something between 1.25" and 1.75" high @ 100yds will put you pretty much dead on @ 200yds.

Good luck and shoot straight.

horsager, got a good question for ya. it came up yesterday at work. i have always been told that for the most part, whatever you group at 25 yards you should group at 100. i have been sighting my rifle in this way for a few years and it seems to work. at 25 yards its easy to hold steady. i shoot 3 rounds, if i like the grouping but not the elevation or windage, i adjust. shoot 3 more to double check. if i like it, i go out to 100 and its for the most part good.

now, i don't claim to be an olympic sharp shooter or anything. for me, if i can hit an ice cream pail at 300 yards, i consider that good. to me, thats enough to kill my deer. i wish i had the time and patience that some on this site do. im lucky to even get out and hunt at all.

is there any truth to this?

For the most part if you're dead on at 25 yards you'll be 3 to 4 inches high at 100 (with most "deer" calibers).  Starting close just makes it easier it hit papper.  

Horsager Said:
Dead on @ 25yds will get you close @ 100 but a lot of how close depends on your rifle, how high your scope rings are, and even how much down angle you're shooting @ 25yds vs. 100yds.  Everything you're off @ 25yds is magnified 4x @ 100yds.  So, if you're 2" right or high @ 25yds, you're 8" right or high @ 100yds.

I rarely take more than 2 shots @ 25yds when doing initial scope sight in.  1 shot to see where I am and then make the corrections necessary.  2nd shot to verify I'm close to dead on then move out to 100yds and begin fine tuning.

ok, so i will be shooting 2 guns this week. a 270 WSM with high rise mounts and a 3x9-40 burris with ballistic plex. the other is my GF's 243 with reg mounts and a cabelas 3x12-40.

so, here's a couple more for ya. i have a buddy with a 270 WSM like mine. told him to try his at 25 yd then at 100. he said it shot higher at 100 than at 25. any truth to that? had one guy say that the bullet is climbing all the way out to 100 yd. had another say that its dropping as soon as it leaves the barrel.

another is this. lets say i set my scope at 4x. get the gun where i want it. then turn it up to 9x. how much does this throw the shot off. or does it do anything at all?

Catmechanic, a ballistics calculator is your friend.

www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

Generally speaking, no, POI is not the same at 25 yards as at 100.

With my 243, if I want to be dead on at 100 yards my bullet will be about an inch low at 25 yards.

catmechanic Said:
ok, so i will be shooting 2 guns this week. a 270 WSM with high rise mounts and a 3x9-40 burris with ballistic plex. the other is my GF's 243 with reg mounts and a cabelas 3x12-40.

so, here's a couple more for ya. i have a buddy with a 270 WSM like mine. told him to try his at 25 yd then at 100. he said it shot higher at 100 than at 25. any truth to that? had one guy say that the bullet is climbing all the way out to 100 yd. had another say that its dropping as soon as it leaves the barrel.

another is this. lets say i set my scope at 4x. get the gun where i want it. then turn it up to 9x. how much does this throw the shot off. or does it do anything at all?

The rifle shooting higher @ 100 than @ 25 is expected as the line of sight and line of the bore haven't intersected yet.  Same reason one guy says the bullet it climbing and the other says it's dropping right away.  Technically the dropping right away guy is right in theory.  That said, your scope is 1.5" or so above the line of your barrel and what you're sighting in is the place where the bullet crosses the line, and it'll cross that line twice.  Once on the way up and once on the way down.  The bullet doesn't actually rise, your rifle is very slightly angled upwards so that it shoots where the 1.5" higher scope is "looking".

Adjusting the power ring on your scope should not effect point of impact, if it does, your scope needs to go in for repair.  The erector tube that adjusts your point of impact and your power ring that adds or reduces magnification are two seperate mechanical processes within the scope case.

I hate the rage this time of year. Went out there last week, casleton. Kinda funny in a stupid kinda way. I was starting out with a new rifle. so i was there awhile. one guy was trying to start at 100 and his rounds were hitting the 25 yard stop. took him 5 rounds to realize this. I ended up with 2 shots in my target from a smaller caliber then mine. one guy started shooting before anyone said the range was clear, made everyone jump pretty good. When i left there was 6 people waiting and the last thing I heard as i walked away was  (  Bang Bang from a semi auto followed by OWWW, son of a bitch, get me a bandaid will ya?)  I never even looked back. That 200 hundred yard white rock in the feild sounds like a good idea.

Horsager Said:

catmechanic Said:
ok, so i will be shooting 2 guns this week. a 270 WSM with high rise mounts and a 3x9-40 burris with ballistic plex. the other is my GF's 243 with reg mounts and a cabelas 3x12-40.

so, here's a couple more for ya. i have a buddy with a 270 WSM like mine. told him to try his at 25 yd then at 100. he said it shot higher at 100 than at 25. any truth to that? had one guy say that the bullet is climbing all the way out to 100 yd. had another say that its dropping as soon as it leaves the barrel.

another is this. lets say i set my scope at 4x. get the gun where i want it. then turn it up to 9x. how much does this throw the shot off. or does it do anything at all?

The rifle shooting higher @ 100 than @ 25 is expected as the line of sight and line of the bore haven't intersected yet.  Same reason one guy says the bullet it climbing and the other says it's dropping right away.  Technically the dropping right away guy is right in theory.  That said, your scope is 1.5" or so above the line of your barrel and what you're sighting in is the place where the bullet crosses the line, and it'll cross that line twice.  Once on the way up and once on the way down.  The bullet doesn't actually rise, your rifle is very slightly angled upwards so that it shoots where the 1.5" higher scope is "looking".

Adjusting the power ring on your scope should not effect point of impact, if it does, your scope needs to go in for repair.  The erector tube that adjusts your point of impact and your power ring that adds or reduces magnification are two seperate mechanical processes within the scope case.

since i have high rise mounts, should i take a straight edge and have somebody hold 0 at the center of the barrel. then look through my crosshairs to see how much higher i am?

i was pretty sure the bullet didn't rise, but that it was the elevation of the barrel like you said.

so, i can crank my scope up to 9 power and shoot the same as i did at 4 power? sweet. i think the reason it could shoot different for some is because at 9 power, yeah, you can see better, but its also harder to hold steady on the object at a distance.

If you're running high-rise (see thru?) mounts I'd start out @ 1" low @ 25yds.

Agreed, a guy's gotta find a balance between seeing the target close up vs. how much wiggling one can see through the scope.  Though turning the scope down doesn't decrease the amount of wiggling, just the amount you are able to perceive.

horsager,
with that said, what power do you put your scope on when shooting say 200 yards? (for sighting in)

Horsager Said:
If you're running high-rise (see thru?) mounts I'd start out @ 1" low @ 25yds.

Agreed, a guy's gotta find a balance between seeing the target close up vs. how much wiggling one can see through the scope.  Though turning the scope down doesn't decrease the amount of wiggling, just the amount you are able to perceive.

mine aren't see through but they are a high rise. bought it at sportsmans warehouse about 4 or 5 years ago. they told me i would be better off with the taller mount since i wouldn't have to duck down as much. and since my vanguard didn't come with open sights, they said to just get the solid high rise mounts.

bowhunter_24 Said:
horsager,
with that said, what power do you put your scope on when shooting say 200 yards? (for sighting in)

I have a very good front rest/rear sandbag setup I use for rifle league in the summer, I also use this setup for sighting in and therefore sight in on whatever the highest power setting is on the scope I'm using.

Pretty subjective question actually, just gotta shoot @ whatever magnification suits you.  I've a pard who sights in his 2-7 Leupold on 2x because that's where he carries it mostly, whatever works.

BX2 Said:
I hate the rage this time of year. Went out there last week, casleton. Kinda funny in a stupid kinda way. I was starting out with a new rifle.

BX2 your part of the rage with that new rifle.   I stay away from the range this time of year.  I think most people understand the 1/4" vs clicks at 100yds.  

What bothers me at the range is time wasted and lack of organization of the individuals shooting.  Add that along with the pistola and ak people its nuts.   

Dont forget about the Adventure shooting sports - two ranges - they keep the pistola people seperate.   I cant remember the number of tables but they have quite a few.   More organized and its amazing what a small fee does to keep the riff raff out.