Interesting range results

[FlyingHigh]

so i took my 10/22 to the range last night. i sighted it for 25 yards. got it dead on. it'll shoot flat and accurate out to 50 yards. but after that, it drops like a rock. it's 6-8 inches low at 100yards. i found the rate it dropped very interesting. I was shooting the American Eagle stuff. Is that kind of drop normal? should i sight in for 50 yards in order to reduce that drop?

 

[art.h]

I don't know the ammunition your using but the range of drop will be consistant regardless the sight in distance and a given ammunition. Drop is a function of muzzle velocity + gravity + distance-- not point of aim-- the bullet crosses the sight line twice once going up and once going down and the trajectory remains the same.

 

[KDX]

Edit....the graphs didn't show up. Here's a link to the AE22 ammo on Federal's website.

 

[Eagleye]

FH; Sounds about normal to me. The drop of a 22LR is quite dramatic once you are out past 75 meters or so. I noted that the drop between 100 and 200 meters was in the area of 4½ feet!! If you are intending to shoot 100 yards/meters, then you should sight in at that distance. When we shoot 22RF Silhouette, we adjust for each range, [ 40m, 60m, 77m & 100m] and the figures are interesting, to say the least. Regards, Eagleye.

 

[FlyingHigh]

thanks for the info guys. i wasn't sure if i was crazy, a lousy shot or something was wrong with my rifle. i guess it's all ok now.

 

[cyclone]

thanks for the info guys. i wasn't sure if i was crazy, a lousy shot or something was wrong with my rifle. i guess it's all ok now.

Sometimes it hits home harder when, the things we know intuitively/through text-smarts, we see with our own eyes.

 

[horseman2]

For 22 Silhouette, High Velocity required 2, 2, and 3 minutes of elevation when going from 40 to 60 to 77 to 100. Standard velocity was roughly 2, 3, and 3 minutes.
Play around with a number of ranges out to 100 yards or metres.

 

[Farlsincharge]

Not sure what your needs are, but if you sight in at 50 your drop at 100 will decrease and you will only be about 1/2" high at 25.

 

[buffdog]

.22 Trajectory

.
You might want to check the Internet for "freeware" ballistics programs to download for your computer. Ammunition velocities are published, you can put in the scope height, zero range, elevation, temperature, and come up with a FAIRLY CLOSE ANSWER.

LEE had a program available, and I believe that POINT BLANK is still available for a free download. You have to put in a REALISTIC zero range for the cartridge you use, for example 50 yards for the .22 LR.

Coincidentally, I was just running one for my hunting partner before I came on this forum. He bought a new Savage Mark II BTVS and a 6-24 Tasco Varmint scope, which is a bit higher mounting than his older scope.

So, it was easy to enter the 1.8 inch scope height, and 1240 FPS velocity of the Federal 36 gr. HP, with a 50 yard zero.

This gave results at 0/-1.80, 10 yards/-.94, 20/-.31, 30/+.06/ 40/+.17, 50/0.00, 60/-0.46, 70/-1.22, 80/-2.29, 90/-3.69, 100/-5.42, 110/-7.47, 120/-9.90, 130/-12.70, 140/-15.88 and 150/-19.44 inches.

If you are shooting targets only, you would zero your rifle for a specific range, eg. 25 yards, 50 yards. If you are mostly shooting tin cans or hunting varmints, a 50 yard zero is more practical, as you have a bit of leeway for a target area.

We shoot Prairie Dogs for varmint hunting. They are about 9 inches high, and two inches wide. With a 50 yard zero, we can hold dead on a prairie dog out to about 100 yards, and be reasonably sure of a hit.

We also use mil-dot scopes. Thus a small trajectory chart taped to the rifle stock can help compensate for trajectory if you know the exact range (Laser range finders are invaluable for hunting P.D.s.)
.

 

[horseman2]

Why not check the STICKY for ballistics?

 

[FlyingHigh]

thanks buffdog, i'll dig around and see what i can find for the software program. that would really help.