First time @ 100yard lane... Oh the disappointment :(

R

RubenX

New member
After last week success at the 50 yard lane, placing all shots inside a 2.5 inch circle, I thought I was ready for the big boy's lanes @ 100 yards. I fired 3 shots and they were off, but they were off consistently about 3 inches up & 3 inches to the left. I adjusted the scope and fired 2 more, right into the red circle:

ab57e5bb.png


Then I changed targets, fired and missed (went below red spot). Adjusted scope, fired and went a little high and to the left. Three more shots followed with more scope adjustments in between (left/right/up/down) and every shot took me further away from target:

1ac1a722.png


After the last shot on the 2nd group I tried to keep the rifle steady and move the cross-hairs back to the center by using the adjustment knobs. But at that yardage is not easy to keep the rifle steady with one hand while moving knobs with the other. I ended up moving back to the 50 yard lanes where I again got all shots inside a 3 inch circle. But I still feel defeated by the 100 yards and unsure if the problem is being a noob at adjusting the scope, being a noob at long range shooting or a combination of both.

Oh well... at least I hit the paper. Granted, it was a 12 x 18 splattering target but then again, 100 yards is kinda a long way :(

PS: I guess is easier to understand if I just tell you that I was trying to sight the rifle like the guy in this video:

Sight In Your Rifle in Two Shots - NSSF Shooting Sportscast
 
Last edited:
But at that yardage is not easy to keep the rifle steady with one hand while moving knobs with the other.
Click to expand...
Someone please explain it to him...I am too old and do not have the energy to explain it in enough detail that make sense to him. Evidently no one has explained how to zero a rifle to him. Anybody?
 
Haha, what's funny is that you're making this a big deal. Like it's a bad thing... I bet another day or two at 100 yards and you'll be in the red.

Kinda funny. Don't sweat it. I agree with flinching and crappy scope adjusting. Forget about adjusting every time. What I think you should do is take a 5 shot group. Try to get them in the same vacinity as each other. Then just adjust your scope. Without a rest, adjusting for every shot at that range is like trying to ride a unicycle with your hands while attempting to dodge rain while trying to pick fly **** out of pepper with socks on while not using your toes.

Just keep trying and you'll get it. Easily. :D
 
Dear RubenX, shooting 101, you do not chase the shots with your scope or you will look like an idiot. Shoot a group. Let the gun cool off with the bolt open, shoot another group, let the gun cool off, shoot another group. Do not adjust, do not change your point of aim, you are not shooting for bulls eyes but for a group.

3 groups of 3 shots each will let you know if you are shooting a group. measure the distance from the center of the group to your point of aim and make the appropriate adjustment. Shoot again, you will look like a shooting expert.

Put the caps on the scope when you are shooting and do not touch them again till you have a group.

Welcome to TFF, post again, post often, keep asking, making stupid mistakes is how we all learned. I could write a book but I refuse to admit to that much silliness in public.
 
Oh I see.... I have to shoot a group and use the center of the group to make adjustments... yes it makes a lot of sense now. I can't believe I didn't figured that one out at the range. Worst part is having to wait until next week then drive an hour and a half in Florida's Interstates to the closest 100 yard range. It sucks to be a noob. Now is when I envy those with 100+ acres backyards.
 
In the mean time you can download the army marksmanship manual. It has all you need to mo about the fundamentals of markmanship up to 300 yds or so.(not the sniper manual)

If you're allowed to shoot a bb gun in your community get one and practice on low power. It don't matter the range, just practice groups, triggering, breath control and all of that.

If you can't do an air rifle, then do airsoft guns, the triggers are crappy enough that you should improve when you get back on your rifle.

Trigger squeeze and flinch are probably the biggest issue for you.
 
Keep in mind also that if you had the 100 acre back yard, you wouldn't be shooting. You would be mowing. Thats what I keep telling myself anyway.
 
Before you get started, be sure you have plenty of ammo in your prefered bullet weight and style. For best consistancy you should pick up a hundred rounds from the same lot. If it's Winchester Silver Tip 150 grain, get a bunch of it all at once. If it's Remington Core-Lokt 180 grain PSP, get that. Maybe pick up a case or even two if you can afford it. By so doing you have done your best to eliminate any variation due to ammunition.

You might start by shooting three shot strings, then give it half an hour cool-down time. Bring some other guns to shoot while you wait. Sometimes I put a paper plate up (a 9" plate is about the same size as deer vitals) at 100 yards and see if I can punch holes in it with my Super Red Hawk standing up and shooting SA. I used to be able to do that five out of six shots but my eyes are the limiting factor now...

Once your rifle has cooled, shoot a second string and see where the shots hit. As long as your groupings are decent, you are getting an idea of how you need to adjust your scope. You can use the same target, just mark the first shots or put tape over them. If your groups are left and high, adjust the scope to bring the center of the group to point of aim. It's probably better to move it about 3/4 of what you think and then shoot another couple of strings to confirm point of impact(POI) vs. point of aim(POA). If POI is still off from POA then make another adjustment to bring them into alignmant. Unless you have a super accurate rifle you will not have just one ragged hole. You are looking to get the center of your group to coincide with your aiming point.

Once POI and POA match you can work on sighting your rifle to achieve what you want. If you plan on hunting with it and you expect to have shots of no more than 150 yards then you adjust the scope so that POI is maybe 1" high at 100 yards. For the best information consult the ballistics tables for your prefered load. Generally, lighter and more pointed bullets shoot flatter(have less drop over distance) than heavier or more round nosed bullets while rifles with longer barrels have higher muzzle velocity (MV) than rifles with shorter barrels and hence also shoot flatter.

I guess at this point we need to talk about Maximum Point Blank Range. As I recall, MPBR is defined as the range at which the bullet path is no more than 3" above or below line of sight. There are several factors that are in play here. As mentioned above, bullet trajectory will be a factor in MPBR. A flatter shooting round will have a longer MPBR, all other factors being equal.

Another factor is how high above the muzzle your scope is mounted. If your scope is mounted 3" above the muzzle (this is perhaps an extreme example) then the bullet starts out 3" below line of sight. It will rise and if you have your rifle/scope combination zeroed at 100 yards then bullet path will be exactly at line of sight at 100 yards. Depending on the load, the bullet may continue to rise even beyond 100 yards. As long as it does not rise more than 3" above LOS you are still within parameters for MPBR. The bullet will eventually travel far enough that it starts to drop. At some point it will again cross LOS and continue to drop below it. The distance where it again falls 3" below LOS is your MPBR.

You may ask why this is important to you. Well, if you know your MPBR you know the range at which the bullet is within 3" of your POA(LOS). You can hold dead on at anything within MPBR and still expect your shot to hit within 3" of POA. Now add your group size to that. If your groups are 1.5" at 100 yards you can farily reliably extrapolate that to a 3" group at 200 yards. This gives you a good idea on where your rounds will land on target.

http://www.remington.com/pages/news-and-resources/ballistics.aspx

I have linked above the Ballistics Calculator page from the Remington site. Let's use the Premier Scirocco Bonded load in 150 grain as an example. It is the third one down from the top. It has a MV of 2910 fps and at 500 yards it is down to 1934 fps. If you look at the lower two tables you will see ballistics information for both short range trajectory (150 yard zero) and long range trajectory (200 yard zero). Looking at the long range table you notice that at 250 yards this load is -2.9" so for this one MPBR is just over 250 yards when zeroed at 200 yards. There are several other loadings on this table with similar MPBRs. If you zero your rig at 200 yards with this loading, you can aim dead on at anything out to 250 yards and be reasonably certain of hitting your target.

BTW, most rifle shooters do not consider 100 yards to be "long range". It is a very common range to zero in at. Many will zero slightly high at 100 yards in order to simulate zero at a greater distancel. I think that this is due to a lot of places not having longer rifle ranges, though I know of a few that have 20 and even 300 yard ranges.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions you have.
 
Assuming you're using sandbags or some sort of good support such that the crosshairs are fairly close to centered without your touching the rifle:

Shoot the three-shot group. Feel free to pick up the rifle and adjust the appropriate number of clicks or friction-marks as necessary to move the group center.

By the time you've done this and are back in shooting position, heat is not a problem. Shoot three more times--etc., etc., etc.

For hunting, I've mostly used 150-grain bullets and I sight in for two inches high at 100 yards. This is right at dead on at 200 and about six inches low at 300. Once set, I never re-adjust the scope when out in the field.
 
Your rifle should shoot 1'' groups at 100 yards. Check scope mount screws & mount. Most of the time the rifle will shoot better than us. If mount, screws & scope are good , you just need more range time. Breathing , trigger control , don't rush the shot, cool down time & lots of dry firing between shots may show you were your problems are. Put the cross hair on your target squeese the trigger dry fire . when the firing pin fires watch the cross hairs where they end up, they should hardly move. I feel your problem is trigger control, just shoot more & have fun.Be SAFE
 
"then give it half an hour cool-down time"

Holy Cow, Daddy! You must have time to spare when you go to the range!

At this guys level of accuracy / newby-ness, barrel heat is far from the primary issue.

To the OP: also read up on correcting your scope for parallax errors.
 
What scope are you using? Check all rings and mounts to be sure all is tightened down. Cheap scopes can shift and make it impossible to hit bull. How long have you been shooting? Do you have a .22 that you have shot before? I ask these questions because a 30-06 can have pretty good recoil, which may induce very bad habits, such as flinching, which will cause all manner of negative outcomes. If I haven't picked up a rifle for a while, I will still catch myself, at times, flinching, especially if I'm shooting a substantial caliber. I just remind myself to relax, breathe ,and ever so slowly squeeze the trigger. As stated before, shoot groups and adjust, but if you are truly a noob, practice, practice, practice. Do that and you will find the 100yd target no problem at all, and your groups shrinking. Most of all, don't get discouraged. In shooting practice will make you better.
 
I think one thing that would probably help you more than anything is to find an experienced shooter to give you a little coaching at the range (not that you won't find great info here). You'll find that the most experienced shooters are almost always willing to help out a newb, so don't be embarassed to ask for help. The old guy two benches over shooting 1/4" groups didn't make it happen overnight! Keep after it and that 100 yard line will seem like childs play.
 
RubenX,

Where are you in Florida? I try to get to the range at least once per week. If you're near East Central, FL, let me know.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top