Zeroing

[verminer]

Help everyone is telling me different distances so can anyone tell me what is the best distance to zero a 243, 80yds,100yds, or more. It will be used for Fox and occasional deer , i havent tried to zero mine yet but i plan to try it at 100yds and then see how much drop off there is at 200/250. unless somebody on here already knows the answer. i will be using 100gn Federal Classic Soft point.

Thanks for looking

[ABOLT]

1 inch high at 100 yds thats what mine set at

[verminer]

what is the maximum distance you can shoot out to before it starts to drop off

[steve_b_wales]

Mine is set at 1inch high at 100 yards too. With the right weather conditions, the bullet should be very near the where you aim at 200 yards.

[WeihrauchPower]

I zero at 100yds like most people I know. I think you'll find that 200yds is a lot further than you think and shooting accurately at a small target like the kill zone of a fox isn't that easy. I've found most people can group quite well at the range at 100 yds then at 200yds they're spread has tripled raher than doubled. Shooting a distances past 180yds you'll need to be using a bipod and or be shooting prone depending on what your shooting off of. 300 yds is a very long way and should only be attemptd by pros or those that have proven to themselves at the range if you ar shooting at live animals.

You will also find that you need a top end rifle running proven ammunition to get good groups at 300yds.

[WeihrauchPower]

Here's a ballistics chart. http://www.gunsandammomag.com/ballistics/243_winchester.html

 

Federal Soft Point Zeroed 1.5" High at 100 yds will drop 6.8" at 300yds, -19.8" @ 400yds and -39.9" @500yds.

 

I'd go 1" high at 100yds though, mst shots ar taken between 50-120 yds when hunting.

So the round is capable out to 300yds and further if you were to do some serious testing and dialed in for each shot. The chart doesn't take into consideration the spread of the group at that distance. Typical long range rounds for distances exceeding 300yds start with the .308 and head up from there. I hope this helps.

[gixer1]

I personally zero my 243 as per the federal ammo box, bang on at 100yards and with the 80g rounds I am using they have a drop of 2.2" at 200 yards and 8.8" at 300 yards.... I have found at 200 yards the drop is commonly more like 1.5"

 

Regards,

 

Garry.

[Graham M]

Zero the rifle dead on at 185 yds and you will have a point-blank setting for a 3inch aiming mark all the way out to 250yds.

In other words you will be safe in the knowledge that you can aim into a 3inch killing zone from 50yds out to 250yds without worrying about hold over/under.

Any further than that and you will need to think about drop of bullet, but it will still be only a couple of inches @ 300yds.

G.M.

[casts_by_fly]

For most standard hunting rounds in the 2700-3000fps range, you'll have roughly the same ballistics out to 300 yards. For the most part, the first 250-300 yards of a bullet's path are dictated by muzzle velocity more than ballistic coefficient. Similarly, you'll find that most common mid weight rifles (from 6mm to 8mm) are shooting in the 2700-3000 fps range. So its really an easy matter of determining how far out you can accurately shoot and how big of a target you want to hit. You can use MPBR as a good tool if you don't want to hold over. Pick the diameter of your vital zone. In this case let's use fox since it is the smallest. You've got about a 4" diameter spot (maybe a little bigger) to hit on the front end of the fox. If you choose 2" as your max rise and drop, then you have a 4" 'tube' to shoot down. Th question becomes at what point do I zero such that the highest point of the bullets rise is 2" above the line of sight. Then, at what distance does the bullet drop 2" below the line of sight. That will give you the max range that you can hold dead center in the vitals and still make a kill shot. This is what ballistics calculators are for (and the backs of reloading manuals).

 

For your case, a 100gr PSPBT at 2900 fps will be ~2" high at 100 and you'll be 2" low at 250. That's a pretty good way to maximize your range without having to think about holdover. If you zero at 100, you'll be 7" low at that same 250 yards. On a fox, that's a miss. On a deer it is close to a miss or a low hit.

 

Personally, that's how I would set up a 243 for a new shooter. Then, it is your responsibility to know that you are able to shoot at that distance. My 30-06 has always been sighted 2" high at 100. On whitetails, that means holding dead on out to 250 yards. At 300 you hold level with the top of their back and at 400 you are half the distance between the top of their head and the top of their back over their back. It has worked for me for quite a number of years. My dad (shooting the same loads) is sighted 4.5" high at 100 and holds center of body out beyond 300. Out at 400 he is top of the back. We've both killed deer a long way out

 

Thanks,

Rick