Sighting in for the range where you normally shoot 90% of your game is not arbitrary.
Sighting in at 100, 150, 200, etc. is very arbitrary. I�ve never shot any game at an increment of 50 or 100 yards. Such sight-ins work very well at the range, though, when shooting at the chosen zero range. No problem though � whatever range one sights in at is equally arbitrary.
Setting sights for a maximum 3 inch rise is a good method for
having a flat shooting rifle out to X yards. After that, you are back to holding over. I do like the Burris BP reticle, which have on 2 rifles, with zero set at 200 yards.
There are several different right ways for different people and hunting situations. And there are several wrong ways that people read about in a magazine article or an Internet forum, that will not work for them at all.
A sight setting for a .30-30 and one load is easy.
A single sight setting that will work for a .270 or .30-06 at 25 to 400 yards with a wide range of bullet is a bit more complicated.
No, it really isn�t that tough if one works up the loads � my premium hunting loads all have at least one and often two practice loads that use inexpensive bullets and shoot to the same point of impact (or close enough). No matter, though � when I go hunting I only take one load per rifle and the rifle is MPBR zeroed for a 6� diameter target for that load.
If you intend to take shots at 300 yards or more, but might have one at 100 yards or less, the surest thing to do is mount a fixed 6x or 10x power scope with target knobs, sight it in for 200 yards, and learn how many clicks to move it to hit dead on at any range.
Once again I disagree. This year I hunted with my .300WM and a .30-06. Both were MPBR zeroed for a max rise of 3� (6� diameter target). Both sat on 4.5x although the scopes were a Burris 3-9x BP (.300WM) and a Burris 4.5-15x BP (.30-06). I have no use for a fixed 10x for close range work (0-200 yards).
Nor, with a max bullet rise of 3� and a Ballistic Plex reticle, do I have any need to twiddle and fiddle with knobs. I know where the first crossover point and point of maximum rise are for every hunting load I use, plus I carry a small printout of the ballistics when hunting (mostly for windage at longer ranges). The last trip to the range I checked the .300 at 100 yards and 300 yards, then got first round hits at 500 and 600 yards. The .30-06 also gave me a first round hit at 500 and I didn�t try 600. No twiddle and fiddle, just Burris Ballistic Plex reticles and knowing the loads. Fast and easy.
