Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Where do you zero your scope with a turret?

I'm curious as to where you all zero your rifle scope with an elevation turret.

I just bought a Leupold VX-3HD 4.5x14 40mm CDS for my 240 Wby using 70 grain bullets. I can zero this rifle at 250 yards and not go over 2" out to 250 and not below -2.5" out to 300. I'm -6" at 350 and -10.6 at 400. I haven't run the numbers past 400, but feel I would like to use the turret dial at 350 and beyond. This is pretty much a coyote rifle. Long shots are rare, but do occur occasionally.

I read that some people zero at 100 or 200 yards, but feel this would require fiddling with the turret too much past 250 or so and I don't feel like fiddling with a turret at those ranges.

If I was using a scope like this for varmint hunting I would have time to turn a turret, but feel it's different for a hunting rifle.

I haven't ordered the custom dial yet.
Thx,
Yaddio

I zero at 100 and set to 200 for hunting.

I considered that, but can't your turret be turned by hiking and rubbing on backpacks or whatever since it's not at the zero stop?

Set at 100 - dial all the rest.

Zero at 100 and use the CDS turret as it was intended.

I ALWAYS maximize the zero,to the chambering and it's projectile. I can't think of a single platform,upon which I've a 100yd zero,for any application. Hint.

I'd slooowwwwww the fhuqk down and start with real scope. Hint..............

I zero at 200 which means I seldom need to dial while hu ting most of my shot are from 100 to 250 with an occasional 300. This setting makes dialing unnecessary for most of my hunting

I zero every centerfire I hunt with @ 200 independent of animal or chambering. I never wonder WTF with any rifle I'm grabbing. Most of them have a Nightforce w/IHR reticle. The 3MOA plus-sign cross-hair gets me a good handle on where to hold out to 400. Then it depends on how much time I have as to where I dial or make a reasonably educated quick guess on hold.

I zero at 200 and dial from there

All my CDS scopes are 200 zero. This Include 6.5CM, 270 win, 30/06.
The 300 win mag doesn’t have CDS but still zeroed at 200.
223 AR, 76239 AR and bolt , 9.3 are at 100

I zero at 200, 225, 250 depending upon the trajectory of the cartridge / load. Then dial if required.

Like others, zero at 100 and dial up to a practical distance while hunting. I want a confident zero, without eyesight limitations or atmospheric influences (wind, mirage, etc). I want to eliminate error in my zero. That’s harder to do with more range. Get a capped turret if worried about one rotating, but honestly, with a good scope, inadvertent turret twisting just doesn’t happen.

I zero at 100

I zero for 300 yards with all my rifles. It works for my type of hunting from yotes to Elk and everything in-between. Never felt the need to twist knobs, just use Kentucky windage if I need to shoot further, so far everything I have ever shot has stopped moving when I hit it.

Interesting responses... I would think that if one was to zero at 100 and dial up to 200 or 250 while hunting that they'd have to be quite confident in the scopes ability to accurately dial up.

Has anyone experienced turrets inadvertently dialing up or down while hunting? Like out of the zero lock and rubbing to another setting?

I zero at 200 yards, don’t have a place I hunt past 300 yards.

Sounds like you bought a scope you have no confidence in.

Leupold CDS?

Don’t buy a junk scope. Which means don’t buy most of them, even expensive ones! As to your other question, no, that doesn’t happen. And all it takes is a quick glance to verify.