Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting At what distance would you zero your .270? .30-06?

Sighting in for the range where you normally shoot 90% of your game is not 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.

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.

200 yards

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.



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.



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.

The Ballistic Plex Reticle is calibrated for 9x on the 3-9x scope.

What ranges did the hash marks end up as zero ranges for you at 4.5x?

Why would you set the scope on 4.5x, especially if you are going to shoot at game at extreme ranges like 450 yards?

I have no use for a 10x scope inside 200 yards, either, (open sight range). That is why I suggested a 6x set at 200 yards.

But I said, if you plan to shoot at 300 or 400 yards (I have no need, but the thread is about 300 to 400 yards), that 10x is better. 10x works out well with Mil-Dot and target knobs incremented in radians to match. That is the reason US military snipers use that.

Turning the knobs on a 10x tactical scope is just as fast as using the BP reticle, faster than if you have to stop and use note cards or a separate range finder.

As several other posters have noted, it is easy to set up your .270 or .30-06 so you don't have to do anything more than hold on hair and shoot out to 300 yards, which covers 95% of ethical shots, anyway. Use a ballistic reticle or knobs for the other 5%.

CH, Actually you are saying the same thing,just in a differnt way. Using your MPBR, at some distance you are dead on,you just don't know what that distance is and you are satisfied that as long as your bullet strikes anywhere in the pie plate range you are satisfied.

You could do the same thing by knowing that particular distance that it is dead on, sight the rifle in and then know it will be within the pie plate at any range.As long as you can put all the bullets in a single hole, this is fine,but if one has a rifle that will only do 1 minute of accuracy,and the average hunting rifle will most likley do 1&1/2 minutes, things get dicey, as that 3" can float to 4-4.5 inches. Fine on paper, but goes out the window on the range or while hunting. However, from many of you past post, I understand that most if not all of your firearms do better than theaverage .

At some point in time,you have to select what range you shoot at to zero your rifle/ load combo to achieve MPBR.

I do the same thing,only I select 100yds and I am satisfied that my rifle/load combo will put the bullet in the kill zone from say 25 yds to 150 yds, only in a area smaller than a pie plate. Then I check my setting at 50, 100, 200, and 300 yds at the range. I tape those figures to my stock for reference should I ever need them, but so far I can't remember that I did. It's not arbitrary at all,just what is suitable for conditions that each person hunts in.

Not being argumentive here,just saying that maybe what we all are saying is the samething,only in differnt words.Obviously whatever setting we chose,an elk or deer is not going to run out to that particular distance and stop so one can shoot it.
I think it is more correct to say I sight dead on at 100,200 300yds etc than to say I sight in 3" high at 100 yds or? Which is what the original poster asked anyway.

fter decades of hunting Ive came to the conclusion that the easiest way to set mine up is to put her 2" high at 100 which is about dead on at 200 and at 300 Ill have right at 6" of holdover and to me it just dont get much simpler than that and be as I graduated from the School of KISS {keep it simple stupid}and with this simple theory anything I want to take out to 300 yards will be DRT and I seldom find myself in a position of shooting game over 300 anyway...........

A 270 Win firing a 130 grain bullet 3100 fps with a three inch maximum arc over line of sight will cross plane of sight at somewhere between 250 and 260 yards.

This will be dead on at around 35 yards, 3" high at roughly 145 yards, and 3" low around 305 yards.

At 500 and 600 yards I crank the scope up to 9x.


Because I often and in fact usually shoot at ranges under 200 yards. 4.5x allows a wider field of view for faster target acquisition and I can still hit game out to 400 without a problem. (Clay pigeons on the 400 yard berm are my favorite targets with my bolt guns, regardless of which one I�m using.)


So lasering and twiddling knobs is faster than lasering and using the integral BP hash marks? For me it is not. I�ve done both and use the BP for a reason.

When I get my 6.5-06AI humming I plan to get a scope with knobs � but I also plan to be taking shots (targets) at range to and hopefully past 1000. For those unknown and longer ranges I�ll also have to get a much better laser as mine isn�t much good past 750.



Hmmm, �hold on hair and shoot out to 300 yards�? With my .300 WM and a 180g MRX @ 2950fps MPBR zeroed for a max 3� rise, using a standard reticle with a high �hold on hair� keeps me in an elk�s kill zone out past 450 yards (at only -24�). With my .30-06 and a 168g TTSX @ 2901fps, the range is over 445 yards. Over 410 yards for my .308 Win with the same bullet running 2682fps. And right at 500 yards with my 7mm RM and a 140g TTSX running 3358fps. MPBRs (-3�) are 294 yards for the .300 WM, 290 yards for the .30-06, 268 yards for the .308 Win and 327 yards for the 7mm RM. 300 yards really isn�t very far for any of them.

My concern is not so much with the shots under 200 yards, which are easily handled with a maximum 3� rise, but with the longer shots. Using the Burris BP reticle and MPBR zeros for a max 3� bullet rise, I have no need to twiddle and fiddle at ranges out to 500 yards (.308 Win and .30-06s) or 600 yards (7mm RM and .300 WM). I don�t shoot beyond those ranges so except for prairie poodles and my .22-250, knobs are of little interest for my hunting purposes.

It depends...

My M7 in .358 is a dedicated, purpose-built rifle. It is zeroed at 100 yards. It would SUCK to zero that one 3.5" high at 100- for what I use it for.

My rifles with BDC reticles are zeroed such that the reticle works right. This is a nominal 200-yard zero, but it doesn't always work out exactly that way.

My rifles with turrets are zeroed at 100 yards for simplicity in terms of what my reference hash mark zeroes at. However, it's simple to click them up to a 200-yard zero in the field and I typically do just that.

Many ways to skin this particular cat...

Coyote Hunter, I just have to say it.

This thread is about setting a .270 or .30-06 for elk hunting with 300 to 400 yard shots possible.

Not a 450, 500, or 600 yard shots, not with a 7mm Rem Mag, or .300 Win Mag or anything else.

I don't mind saying that nobody has any business shooting AT big game at 500 and 600 yards, any more than do sky busting AT ducks at 80 yards. Not only would the conditions have to be perfect, the rifle would have to shoot better than 1 MOA, and the shooter would have to have almost a bench rest. Even then, in the 0.5 to .75 seconds it takes the bullet to arrive there, the animal could take one step and you've gut shot him.

500 and 600 yard shots are mostly, I hope, Internet BS.
Because it's a stunt. It's not hunting, it's a Hail Mary shot. It's slob hunting.

Please don't come back with how you are a better shot than I am, or better than everyone else here who doesn't pull such stunts, because that would just be more delusional BS.

Dead center 25 yards. Check it out. Practice.

You are right, at some distance I�m dead on with a MPBR zero for max 3� rise. That range is actually known, as I get it when I run the ballistics to determine how high to zero at 100 and 200 yards.


Again you are correct � my Marlins are reasonably accurate for leverguns but I�m happy if they keep things under 2�. My Remington M700 .30-06 has been something of a disappointment and groups of 1-1/4� are pretty typical. My Rugers tend to shoot much better (under 1� typical, often considerably less). I�ve posted various targets often enough that I won�t do so here. In fairness, I�m running the same loads through the Remington that I do my Ruger � the only load development was enough work-up to determine that doing so was safe. Working up specific loads for the Remington would probably help it.

One reason I stick with a max 3� rise is for the reason you mention � circular error on the part of the rifle and shooter, especially in field conditions. A 3� max rise with a 2� group size can result in over 4� of actual rise. Still, if the goal is to keep things in a 9� target area, life is good and windage is the major bugaboo.



Correct again. After chronoing the loads I calculate MPBR for a 6� diameter target. Those calculations also give me standard ballistic trajectory data, from which I note the +/- factor at ranges from 100 to 600 yards. From there I zero at 100 (+2.5�-2.8� is common) and check at greater.



There is no �right way� to zero in my opinion. Different people have different needs and different equipment can make a difference in what works best for them. I could say my Rem .30-06 is sighted 2.7" high at 100 or dead-on at 247 yards with my 168g TTSX loads. Either way describes the same trajectory.

Every rifle � regardless of how it has been zeroed - has a MPBR. That MPBR varies based on what the maximum acceptable drop is. In fact, MPBR zeroing is just a different way of looking at things.

My preference is to assume that for MPBR purposes, the maximum acceptable rise and maximum acceptable drop should be the same. For purposes of example, let�s use my .30-06/168g TTSX/2901fps load. We will also assume a 1.5� sight height, which is about right. If we assume maximum acceptable rise=maximum acceptable drop:

200yd zero: max rise=1.7� @ 120yds, -1.7� @ 233yds (MPBR)
247yd zero: max rise=3.0� @ 140yds, -3.0� @ 290yds (MPBR)

Some people, however, prefer to sight in at a fixed range and feel they are good to go for a drop of �X� inches, which is usually greater than the maximum rise. If we use my load again and assume a maximum acceptable drop of 3� and a zero at 200 yards:
200yd zero: max rise=1.7� @ 120yds, -3.0� @ 255yds (MPBR)

For zeroing purposes, I use a maximum acceptable rise and drop of 3� on both my leverguns and my bolt guns. I don�t worry about the actual zero range (although I am not unaware of what it is). Instead I am more concerned with the range at which the bullet drop is 3�, which is my MPBR range, as circular error combined with the +/-3� can result in an impact outside the desired target area (the proverbial pie plate). Inside MPBR range I just put the crosshairs on the target and squeeze. Even if I didn�t use MPBR�s where max rise=max drop=3�, I would still be concerned about the -3� range for the reason just cited. The difference is that if max rise equals the max drop I�m willing to put up with, I�ve also maximized the -3� MPBR range.

As shown above, the 247 yard zero, where max rise=max drop=3�, adds 45 yards to the usable range when compared to a 200 yard zero (290yds vs. 255yds). While this doesn�t sound like much, it is equivalent to an area greater than 11 football fields. Considering that I often hunt areas much smaller than a single football helps put that difference in perspective for me. That�s a pretty good gain considering the only �down side� is that the maximum acceptable rise equals the maximum acceptable drop rather than something less. I personally don�t consider that to be a �down side� at all.

As you noted above, if we add in shooter and rifle error, we still need to be concerned about the range at which the bullet is down 3� as anything greater and the bullet can drop out the bottom of the intended target area (the proverbial pie plate again). Assuming a 8-9� diameter target and a 2� circular error for the shooter/rifle/load, a 200 yard zero would result in all hits occurring on the bottom 3/4 of the target while using a zero where max rise=max drop would also allow hits on the upper 1/4 of the target area as well.

Again, individual needs vary. If I was hunting primarily in areas where visibility and rangers were extremely limited I�d probably use a low-mounted scope or peep and zero for a max rise of 1� or less. With my .30-06/168g TTSX load, Since my hunting usually involves sage country at some point in each hunt - and often a lot of it - I go for the longer MPBRs allowed by using max rise=max drop zero calculations.

Like you, I am not trying to be argumentative, just trying to explain why I do what I do.

I zero my mulie and elk rifles at 200 yards dead on target! My 2 big bores are zeroed in at 75 yards center, on target. My long range rifle is zeroed in dead on target at 300 yards......7mm mag using a 160 grn. Accubond bullet.

Full size trajectory chart.

What application is that a screen shot of?

One I wrote myself.
Its an Excel app

me too

That's an excellent solution. Simple and elegant.

Huh? My 3� max rise zeroing give me -3� MPBRs past 300 yards with several rifles and loads. Even with my Ballistic Plex reticles I don�t use the extra hashes until about 400 yards.




BDC reticles give you more than two sight settings. Having two loads and trying to switch between them is way more hassle than I want to deal with.



With the highest BC Hornady 140g bullet (the SST @ .495) at 3000fps, a 325 yard zero will give you a mid-range trajectory of about +5.6� at 180 yards. Thanks, but no thanks.

When I first got out of the military in 1970 I was all caught up in the 3" high at 100 yds theory, after a few years I figured out that I was always either shooting over big game or hitting them in the spine. I think a 3" high zero is fine if you are shooting antelope or some other animal on flat ground, the problem here in the west is, you're almost always shooting at a steep uphill or downhill angle. Very seldom does anyone miss low, they always shoot over, at least thats been my experience in 50 years of shooting game.
I call it the old 30/30 syndrome, that is, hold center & then elevate a few inches for drop (not needed) & slip one over the top, happens everytime!

Dick