New to sighting in rifles

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Rsmith1421

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I have a Remington .280 with a scope that is 1.25 inch from center with 140 grain bullets.

I also have a Mossberg 7mm-08 with a scope that is 1.5 inch from center with 140 grain bullets.

I received a half hour open shoot at a indoor range for xmas this year and it is a max of 25 yards. I live up in NW Wisconsin so deer hunting can range from 25 yards out to 300 max where I hunt. What would be the best way to get somewhat sighted in at 25 yards. I know once it gets warm I still need to shoot longer distance but to get it "technically" sighted in (i understand all the variables) but someone told me to sight both in at a 23 or 26 yard zero and that i should be dead on around 300? Not sure how all that works but on paper what should i be at 25 yards with these rifles in order to be close at 300?
 
For many cartridges, dead center at 25 yards will be around three inches high at 100 yards and within a couple of inches, horizontal.

Those are rough figures, so I would not trust a 25-yard sight-in to be righteous. I've always used it as a way to ensure that I can easily do my customary 2" high at 100 yards sight-in.

For most "deer cartridges", 2" high at 100 is right at dead on at 200 and about 5 or 6 inches low at 300. Call it two feet at 400 and four feet at 500.

My '06 tested for the four-foot number on my range at home.

Being off by 2" at 100 yards is 6" at 300--and is the difference between a heart shot and a gut shot.
 
Most big game rifles can be sighted in for around 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards for a maximum dead on hold for deer size animals, so Art's advice is quite sound. Jack O'Connor sighted in his rifles for three inches high, but I believe he held low in the chest. Unless we consciously hold low, most people instinctively hold in the middle of the chest.
 
For hunting I always zeroed my rifle (.243, .270 & .300 Win Mag) scopes at 2.75" high at 100 yards. It worked fine from 20 to 400+ yards on Pronghorns, Whitetail, Mule deer, Elk and small Black bear.

Edit: Also coyotes!
 
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"Sight in for 1/2 inch low at 25 yards. But I would still test at further ranges."

That should work fine if by " 1.25 inch from center" & "1.5 inch from center "
you mean the scope is that amount above boreline.
 
If 25 yards is all you have to work with for now I'd zero about it 1 low at that range. That should be close enough to hit a deer up to 100 yards away, but I'd feel better limiting it to closer to 50 yards. I wouldn't attempt a longer shot until I'd actually gotten to a range and shot at 200-300 yards. Very small errors in your zero at 25 yards won't show up, but are enough to either completely miss or wound a deer at ranges beyond 100 yards.

Once you do get a chance to shoot at longer ranges I'd strongly suggest a 100 yard zero. The concept of zeroing a rifle 2-4" above point of aim at 100 yards is an antiquated method that will cause more problems than it solves. With modern flat shooting rounds like your 7-08 a 100 yard zero will still allow a hit on game out to 300 yards without holding over the animal. At ranges over 300 yards all rounds start dropping fast enough that you'll need to start holding over and it is best done with a scope made for long range shooting with either multiple aiming points of adjustable turrets.
 
Your indoor range allow center fire rifles? 25 yards sounds like a hand gun range. Might be hand guns only. Best you find out.
You'll have to sight in both rifles according to the ballistics of the ammo you're using. Two to three inches or so high, at 100, is typical for most cartridges.
"...deer hunting can range from..." You sight in for the max distance but check and know where the thing shoots closer. Everything depends on the ammo you're using. For example, Hornady loads a 139 grain(close enough) GMX in the .280. Sighted in at 200, it's 1.5" low at the muzzle. 1.4" high at 100. Same weight in an SST is 1.5" low at the muzzle but 1.3" high at 100.
At 25 the bullet is still rising. Doesn't make a good distance to sight in a cf rifle.
 
Short answer,the general rule of 25 yds will get you reasonably close on the target.I would not consider it sighted in to hunt,but I'd be ready for the 100 yd target.

I'll offer you a tool to work with .If you know your velocity and your Ballistic Co-efficient you can plug the parameters into a ballistic software and play with the numbers.
This is one Hornady lets you use free.There are others.

With the software,you can decide for yourself what trajectory works for you.

http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator

Before a hunt,for myself,if my longer range zero is 250 or 300 yds,I shoot it for exact zero at 250 or 300 yds.

If I imagine my max acceptable range is 350 or 400 yds,I shoot at those ranges to verify.The software works real well,but I like to verify.
 
jmr,

A 7mm-08 sighted in dead on at 100 yards with a 140 grain bullet will strike 12 to 13 inches low at 300 yards, enough to cause a miss or bad hit on a deer. The same is true with most other cartridges. Sighting in high at 100 yards is not antiquated unless you are into laser range finders, ballistic reticules, or spinning elevation dials, should time permit. Holding at the top of the back is not holding dead on, it is a form of hold over where you want to hit. So is setting the rifle to shoot high, but does not require calculation within the limits of the average shooter. For hunting, to sight in dead on at 100 yards is to not take advantage of the flat shooting characteristics of cartridges such as the 7mm-08. Nothing is lost by setting the sights to shoot high as long as the mid-range trajectory does not exceed 3 inches.
 
If 25 yards is all you have to work with for now I'd zero about it 1 low at that range.
Click to expand...
Totally wrong given the scope height provided.

With modern flat shooting rounds like your 7-08 a 100 yard zero will still allow a hit on game out to 300 yards without holding over the animal.
Click to expand...
No. That ain't right.
 
I'd have to agree with mathteacher on this one.If you have a CDS or other dial-a-range ballistic knob,OK,just sight in to calibrate the knob and the rifle to work together.Same with a BDC reticle.

If you choose to twist knobs and use sniper-like long range technique,thats OK too,but nothing says 100 yds is a magic starting point.It might well be that 300 or 500or what suits you is the starting point.The knobs twist both directions.

But for many shooters,with hunting type knobs,the traditional approx. 2 in or 2.5 in high at 100 yds is a very practical sight in.
Depending on the cartridge/load,someplace around 150 yds,you will have a max midrange trajectory that may be 4 in or so high from your crosshairs.
At 200 you will be on,and at 300,7 or 8 in low.These are very rough guesses.They are about right for typical 2700 fps or so hunting loads.You can get accurate numbers from that Hornady software.

With a little practice,you'll be deadly to 300 yds with just a little fudging.
 
Nikon Spot On site allows you to enter different scope heights. I bought it for $5 on my phone, one of the few app I have.

I hunt in UP. For years I only sighted in at 25 yards. Most of my shots are 25-40. This year extended some shooting lanes to 100.

I don't like 2" high at 100. I like mine little lower, so I am flatter in the ranges I shoot. But in reality it probably doesn't matter, especially for lung/heart shots. Sometimes I take neck.

No matter what you do, you should know how high or low it is at what range. I started writing down in notebook. Used to put in box of shells.

As for sighting in, windage may be easier at short ranges. Doesn't guarantee it will be the same at further ranges. Need you rectile level.
 
I have range at my camp. I have it set up to hold 4 targets, 2 top and bottom. I put up all 4 or 3' paper I have left over from doing hard wood floors.

1 click is 1/4", but that is at 100 yards. 4 clicks for 1/4" at 25 yards. 2 clicks at 50.

Even though you should be able to do 50 clicks at once. prefer doing it twice usually.

I started writing down the clicks I made and where it was at. Probably over kill. Sometimes I find out it doesn't work out right. Maybe my scope is not level, or I am not holding it level. Want to work on that this year.


So you may want to get it sighted in at 25. Then runs calculations and decide how low you want it 25 for your ranges. The bullet is still going up at 25. Then go out in the woods, get a good rest and practice at 100?, and then whatever else.

Alot of people I know just sight in at 25-50, and call it good. Which it is for the woods of the UP. Farm country is different.
 
Dead center at 25 will serve you well for deer hunting. I'd still insist on a confirmation group at 100 before I pulled the trigger on an animal.
 
Sighting in

As Berserker mentioned, check out Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Program. It will let you enter your scope, cal.,ammo and thewhat you want to be your zero. Say you are shooting at 25 yards, enter the info of target distance, 25 yards and then zero of 100. It will then tell you where you need to have your POI in the 25 yard target for a 100 yard zero. If you can get to a 100 yard range to verify the impact that is helpful as well. I have had great success sighting in at 50 yards using Spot On for 100 and 200 yard zero's. Definitely saves time and ammo.

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sighting in rifle

Rsmith... Are you still there??? You got some good advice... did you have time to use it??? What are your results???

Larry
 
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