Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting New England Deer Hunters. Do you zero at 100 yards? 150 yards? 200 yards?

Hell, long range isn't hunting, it's shooting. What fun is that?

My primary tracking/still hunting rig is a .35 remington (7600 carbine). It has an older fixed 1.5x with a post reticle.
I zero at 100 knowing that the vast majority of shots that rifle takes will be much closer. I cave never had an issue.

I zero @ 100 whether scope or peep, then it's hold on fur for any distance I care to shoot. Most times it's under 100 but I know if I miss, it's not the gun.

I hunt NE, Alabama, Montana. I'm using a .308 with 150 Accubonds at 2856fps 95% of the time. I site in at 25 yards, but check at 100, 200 and 300. Turns out A 25yd site in is pretty convenient, as a 25 yard zero for that bullet and fps is PBR on a 6" target out to 280yds.

PBR
Range Elevation
(yd) (in)
0 -1.50
25 -0.01
50 +1.19
75 +2.11
100 +2.72
125 +3.02
150 +3.00
175 +2.64
200 +1.93
225 +0.85
250 -0.60
275 -2.46
300 -4.73

I'm in the North Central Green Mountains of Vermont. I zero both of my Remington 7600's (factory carbine in .30-06 and .358 Winchester with 20" Krieger barrel) for 50 yds. The .30-06 carbine wears a Leupold 1.5-5x and the .358 a Leupold 2-7x. Shooting factory Remington 180 gr RN Core-lokts in the .30-06 and Hornady 200 gr Interlock in the .358. My eyes can't do peep sights anymore. I've only harvested 1 buck at over 100 yards as the opportunities are usually in fairly close for my style of tracking & still hunting. I know both well enough to reach out to 200 yards if necessary.

Dead on at 250...........Means point black from muzzle to there.

My experience as well, in this same Northern New England area 260Remguy is familiar with, although I don't hunt down in the Connecticut River Valley where those big beautiful corn fields are. More like the heavily wooded Green Mountains of the North East Kingdom of Vermont a few miles to the West. In fact, it's more like under 40 yards for me.

IMO, the rifles and sights are "horses for courses", because in their purest forms there are two basic variations:

1) Still hunting ("Benoit style"......although not nearly as diligent or successful as the Benoits!!!!) Peep sites mounted close to bore. Big ghost ring (remove aperture after sighting in). I zero in at 25 yards. This is the one to carry after a "tracking snow" lands.

2) Stand hunting. Usually overlooking a field with maximum potential shot distance of 300 yards. Something with a scope sighted 2" inch high at 100 yards. This will be minute of deer for any shot.

That said, because of the lay of the land where I hunt, its mostly a walk and sit hybrid approach, for which I prefer a short rifle with a low powered variable like a 1x4 set at the lowest possible setting. Zero'd at 100 yards.

The 3 best local hunters I know use a 760 in .30-06, a Savage 99 in .303 savage, and a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. All use a 3x9 of some flavor - nothing fancy. The Savage guy is a 25 yard sight in. Not sure of the sight-in distance for the others, but certainly not over 100 yds. This is short range country.

Hope this helps.

I cannot believe I’m not reading about 2 pound scopes with turrets and Christmas tree reticles.

Here in northern Michigan, I sight in dead on at 50yrds I'd guess most of my shots are 30 to 60 yrds. I gave up hunting power lines as there's a guy sitting every 100 yards.

1.5” high at 100 yds is a sweet spot ballistically for many cartridges.

I also like the 150 yard zero. Sort of depends on your scope height but it's maybe 3/4" high at 100, or maybe an inch. Keeps you within about 3/4" high/low out to 175 yards. It's only happened once that I'm sure about bt I did have a situation in the ADK brush/timber where I definitely would have missed if I'd been zeroed for max PBR or even 200 yards.

Out west I zero for 200/250, depending.

200 yd zero is point and shoot for 99% of what I’ll be doing.

I always heard you Yankees just grabbed a Rem 760 and blasted away. No?

I am fortunate to hunt several NE states and my rifles are all sighted in to be dead on @ 75yards. (30-30, 35Rem, 308 Win, 30-06, 35 Whelen, 45-70, muzzleloaders and shotguns)

If I lived out west I would zero for 200. My 223’s, 243’s and 25-06’s are sighted in this way.

Good luck and have fun! Tom

I lived and hunted in Maine for 17 years. My pumps, semi's or levers used for still hunting were sighted dead on at 100 yds. My bolt rifles used for sitting powerlines, open ridges and clearcuts were sighted in for 300 yds.

I killed deer every year.

Not in New England but in Mississippi shots are also close in thick cover. I zero my rifle 1.5” high at 100 yards so that from muzzle to 200 yards I’m at +/- 1.5” from point of aim. Given that I’m not bench steady shooting free hand this has worked with no problems for over 40 years. In that time I’ve had one legitimate 200 yard shot which I took and shot buck through white throat patch. Yes most of my shots are less than 60 yards but if a longer shot is available I simply aim and shoot without worrying about holdover.

This in the Adirondacks.

MI hardwoods and ag field edges. Sight in dead on at 100, adjust for all else longer. Longest area really is about 305 yards end to end.

A nice thing about a reliable dialing scope is the zero can be whatever I want whenever I want.

That seems to get forgotten. +1