How far to zero .308?

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lidakang

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hi there, I know this is a very basic question. How far should I zero my 308 for hunting? It's my first bolt action, usage will be mostly for deers and black bears.

The range close to me has 25/50/100/200m.
 
use a 50 yard zero. I do. For hunting, a 50 yard shot, statistically, is more likely. At 50 yards, the shot will be quicker and so put the reticle on target and you are good to go. Then at 100 you will be 2 to 3 inches high, then the round comes back down to zero again at about 250-280 yards. For longer shots, that usually come with more time, you have the time to hold low and voila, you are good to go to 250-280ish yards making no adjustment to your turrets.

If you use a 100 yard zero, at 50, you will be 2 to 3 inches high.
 
Zero at 200 is a well established standard for 308.
Compensate for drop at 250 and beyond. Anything between you and 250 yards is not going to be far off the point of aim for deer hunting unless you want to pick a quarter off its shoulder.
 
I away sight in 1" to 1.5" high at 25 yards
I wouldn't get too concerned about 200 yard zero yet I still don't sight in that fare on a hunting rifle
 
If you hunt the same terrain all the time take that into consideration as well. Where I hunt the longest shot you are going to see is 100 yards, and for the few areas that do have that distance they are dirty shots. For the most part all of our shooting is 20-60 yards, therefore I sight my iron sighted .308 in at 50 yards and I only use it in the real tight spots where the scoped .270 would be more of a hindrance.
 
Your terrain and the yardage of typical shots will dictate the best zero for your rifle.

If the distances vary from zero to 300 yards or so, I would recommend zeroing for the MPBR (maximum point blank range) of your particular rifle/load. For deer I like to calculate based on a 6" vital... in other words zero at the distance where your bullet is never higher or lower than 3" from your line of sight.

For a standard .308 165 SP load @ 2700 fps from a 22" barrel the MPBR is 267 yards, the mid raange trajectory (highest point of the bullets flight) is at 128 yards (3" high)... so if you sight in at 100 yards, you zero your rifle to be 2.8" high... this way with a dead on hold, your POI (point of impact) will never be outside of a six inch circle (killzone) from zero to 267 yards.

There are many ways to tweak this with additional data, but given what you have listed, this will get you started.
 
Horse96 said:
use a 50 yard zero. I do. For hunting, a 50 yard shot, statistically, is more likely. At 50 yards, the shot will be quicker and so put the reticle on target and you are good to go. Then at 100 you will be 2 to 3 inches high, then the round comes back down to zero again at about 250-280 yards. For longer shots, that usually come with more time, you have the time to hold low and voila, you are good to go to 250-280ish yards making no adjustment to your turrets.

If you use a 100 yard zero, at 50, you will be 2 to 3 inches high.
Click to expand...

xx22
 
hoytcanon said:
Your terrain and the yardage of typical shots will dictate the best zero for your rifle.

If the distances vary from zero to 300 yards or so, I would recommend zeroing for the MPBR (maximum point blank range) of your particular rifle/load. For deer I like to calculate based on a 6" vital... in other words zero at the distance where your bullet is never higher or lower than 3" from your line of sight.

For a standard .308 165 SP load @ 2700 fps from a 22" barrel the MPBR is 267 yards, the mid raange trajectory (highest point of the bullets flight) is at 128 yards (3" high)... so if you sight in at 100 yards, you zero your rifle to be 2.8" high... this way with a dead on hold, your POI (point of impact) will never be outside of a six inch circle (killzone) from zero to 267 yards.

There are many ways to tweak this with additional data, but given what you have listed, this will get you started.
Click to expand...
I zero slightly shorter, but i'm using 180s and a 20 inch barrel- ie 250 and a savage 99- but my shots are all looong shots at bigger game than deer
 
1.5 @ 100m you will be holding onto fur all the way too 250m and at 300m a backline hold will bring home the Bacon.

that's the go for a hunting rifle to be used in the field.

it could be different for stand hunters.

WL
 
you also need to look at STANCE - IE HOW YOU'RE SHOOTING- I use every aid I can when I take my shot, and if i'm up on my legs with no rest , I won't take a shot past 200-225 - out of ethics- now if i'm hunkered down with the bipod down or on my pack, and SEATED- yea, I have a small seat that fits in the pack- with no wind, i'll stretch that out to 250-275-
 
hoytcanon said:
Your terrain and the yardage of typical shots will dictate the best zero for your rifle.

If the distances vary from zero to 300 yards or so, I would recommend zeroing for the MPBR (maximum point blank range) of your particular rifle/load. For deer I like to calculate based on a 6" vital... in other words zero at the distance where your bullet is never higher or lower than 3" from your line of sight.

For a standard .308 165 SP load @ 2700 fps from a 22" barrel the MPBR is 267 yards, the mid raange trajectory (highest point of the bullets flight) is at 128 yards (3" high)... so if you sight in at 100 yards, you zero your rifle to be 2.8" high... this way with a dead on hold, your POI (point of impact) will never be outside of a six inch circle (killzone) from zero to 267 yards.

There are many ways to tweak this with additional data, but given what you have listed, this will get you started.
Click to expand...

This is the way to do it, IMHO
 
You didn't mention what bullet weight you were using, but picking the median and using 165's, I would zero at 200 yds. That gives you point and shoot capability out to 250 yds, (4" low) and the bullet is no more than 2 1/2" high midrange. Past 250 and you're going to have to do some figuring for holdover. Do some actual shooting at longer distances to learn your trajectory.
 
Hoyt hit the nail on the head, this is the recommended method with all scope sighted rifles regardless of cartridge or trajectory. Determine a "vital zone" size for the game you intend to hunt, calculate your MPBR for that vital zone and cartridge and sight in accordingly. Or like most people you can just sight in 2.5" high (an average of 5 groups) and you're good to go with any cartridge between 2700-3000 fps.
 
hoytcanon said:
Your terrain and the yardage of typical shots will dictate the best zero for your rifle.

If the distances vary from zero to 300 yards or so, I would recommend zeroing for the MPBR (maximum point blank range) of your particular rifle/load. For deer I like to calculate based on a 6" vital... in other words zero at the distance where your bullet is never higher or lower than 3" from your line of sight.

For a standard .308 165 SP load @ 2700 fps from a 22" barrel the MPBR is 267 yards, the mid raange trajectory (highest point of the bullets flight) is at 128 yards (3" high)... so if you sight in at 100 yards, you zero your rifle to be 2.8" high... this way with a dead on hold, your POI (point of impact) will never be outside of a six inch circle (killzone) from zero to 267 yards.

There are many ways to tweak this with additional data, but given what you have listed, this will get you started.
Click to expand...

Bingo.. This is how we do it for bad guys as well with 7.62 and .556 with irons or red-dots.

Depending on situation I sometimes zero at 36 yard first intersection which will be on at 36 yards (and slightly low inside of that due to sight offset).
But it will stay inside of 5" all the way out to 300 yards and then drop 5 inches at 350 and drop about 13 inches at 400 yards. The hold-over at 400 being about a 1.5 feet so it's easy to make.

This is the extreme end of zeroing I use for irons, red-dot or duplex.
 
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