Drop question

af_newbie

af_newbie

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I was wondering how hunters "calculate" the drop required.

Say I have a .308, 180gr, and a deer shows up at, oh, say 250-300 yrds.
My rifle is sighted at 100yrds, duplex reticle.

Do you guys use rangefinders? scope-rangefinder combos?

Are most hunters going by the "feel"?

How is it done?

Thanks.
 
PRACTICE,PRACTICE,PRACTICE. Go out to a safe shooting area or a range. Try shooting at different ranges. If your sighted in at 100yds, hold in the middle of a target at 200yds,300yds,400yds. See how much you drop. The more you practice, the better you'll become at judgeing ranges. Also, on most factory loads, the approx. drop will be on the box.
 
I personally use a range card - taped in some place handy on the rifle. On it are various elevation scope setpoints ie 100Meters = 0 min, 200Meters=1.5 min etc. Use range finder(preferred) or accurately estimate range to target. Split the minutes accordingly if the distance falls between your setpoints eg 150 Meters will be approx .75 min elevation. Adjust scope (easy and quick if you have external adjustments) and aim dead on. No need to concern yourself with hold over as its all been pre figured out using your setpoints. This is a much more precise way of shooting than estimating hold over and fairly quick to do once practiced. I usually leave my default setting on 100 meters as I find I usually have more time to adjust if the game is out further. Hope this isn't too confusing.
 
Sight your rifle so that it strikes about 2"-2 1/2" high at 100, and you won't have to worry about range to 275yds, or so. Check the ballistics tables for your ammunition. The biggest challenge is accurately estimating the range. Generally speaking, a 250-300yd shot is a long one indeed for most hunting. If you hunt in the same area regularly, it wouldn't do any harm to work out distances.
 
Most guys zero their rifle for a standard 200 yards/metres, not 100 yards unless you're hunting in very heavy brush where close-in shots are the norm. With that zero and the .308 you're pretty well covered out to 300 yards without having to hold over excessively.

Best thing for you to do is to study your ballistic tables, especially for the load that you're using. Calculate the number of inches drop you can expect and then practice under real world conditions.

Most hunters are extremely poor judges of distance, unless they've practised range estimation extensively. I'm assuming you're a new hunter. As such, I'd suggest you limit your shooting to 200 yards or less, until you've got sufficient trigger time booked to allow you to cleanly kill at longer ranges.

Practice as much as possible and use real world hunting/shooting positions, and don't simply shoot from a bench or rest. You won't find one in the woods when you're taking aim at that trophy class deer or caribou!
 
if a deer looks like he is within 200 yards there is no need to rangefind it. past that, a guy usually has time to use the rangefinder. I use a Bushnell Elite 1500 ACR, its awesome
 
I've sighted my rifles to shoot high approx. 3 to 3.5" high at 100 yards. Then I used my ballistic software to print my drop chart. I then print a small version with big letter to the inside of my stock (100, 200, 300, 350, 400 yards etc.) Then like someone else mentioned, practise alot at extended ranges. Today, I just purchased a Leupold RX III range finder with the True Ballistic Range feature. Looks interesting and I'll change my zero to suit the rangefinder feature. I also agree with TB that there shouldn't be any use for a rangefinder below 200 or even 300 yards, probably not enough time to use it either.
 
A couple guys above have said it but let me explain it in a different way.

As you probably know the bullet leaves your barrel that is pointed slightly up so it travels up in an arc and then down. If you sight a .308 in to be a bit 2 to 3 inches high at 100 yards, then it is right on at about 27 yards, and goes high at 100 and at some point starts dropping down and is right on again somewhere out past 200 yards and then is 6 or 8 inches low at 300 yards (all these distances are ball park and you can get the exact distances from a balistics chart).

So if the "kill zone" on a deer's chest is about a 13 inch circle, if you aim right in the middle of its chest you might be a little bit high IN THE KILL ZONE or a little bit low IN THE KILL ZONE if the deer is at 50 yards, 100 yards, 150 yards, 248 yards, 300 yards. You always aim in the middle of the chest and never worry about aiming high or low or anywhere but the middle.

Robin down under
 
When I find a good spot while scouting, I pace off how many steps it takes to each land mark ( I know how many paces equal 100 yrds for myself). If I find a lot of good spots, I write it down so as to jog my memory. I'm zeroed for 200 yards. Check the federal ammunition ballistic chart to find out the bullet drop ( if you use their ammo). For me, a shot at 300 yrds is about 8 inches low, 400 yards and I'm about 20 inches low :)eek: ). No 400 yrd shots for me. But at 300 yrds I aim for the white patch on a whitetails throat (if its facing me) and hit 'em through the neck. A broadside shot, I aim at the top of the back and put a 180gr hunk of lead through the boiler room!!!:dancingbanana:
 
Hi,

Same here, I ajust 2" high at 100yds and don't worry about moving the scope higher or lower, I aim directly at the vitals and it's good for up to 300yds without needing to compensate and still hit the kill zone as Duffy mentionned.

I would beleive that it's a common practice to do so with many caliber .308, 30-06, 270 and with flatter shooting caliber, ajust one inch over at 100yds and it should still be in the vitals at 300 :) . Having said that, I know hunters that ajust bulleye at 100 and compensate themself if the shot is longer.

To finish, practice, practice and practice again, get comfortable with your rifle and you'll find it rewarding to "know your rifle" when the time comes to pull the trigger :dancingbanana: .

Good luck
 
I use multi-reticle scopes and I also use a Bushnell ARC rangfinder... just like my hero Todbartell!... it has all the ballistics for all the loads built into the device. You hit the button and it tells you everthing, distance, angle and holdover for whatever cartridge/load you are using.
 
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