30-30 Sight in range

100yrds

i 2nd varminterror, 100 yards...

With optics I'd zero at 100 yards. With irons 50.

a good distinction there.

On a 100yd range, with aperture sights and 150gr bullets, I like to centerpunch a 1" dot at 25yds. Then run it to 100yds... 6o'clock hold... bust a clay bird. Trajectory's well within the kill zone and good for longer if you can see that far in your area. In most of my area, 200yds is a long shot.

I better add, however, that your rifle may act a little different to mine. The part that matters is that you understand your particular rifle's trajectory.

jmr40 said:

With optics I'd zero at 100 yards. With irons 50.

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This.

The farthest I could see a deer from my current stand is 50 yards so that’s where my Marlin 30-30 with irons is. For more open country I have a .280 with 3-9 scope that shoots 1” high at 100 yds

OP asked about a scoped 30-30.

jmr40 said:

With optics I'd zero at 100 yards. With irons 50.

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No. Sight in at 100 yards. If you zero at 100 yards, you will be 1/2" high at 50 yards and 1" low at 125 yards with a 170 grain load.
Regardless of the sights used, the small amount of rise and drop out to 125 yards won't make any difference.

You should be able to make a decent hit out to 100 yards with open sights if you practice.

I’ll zero an inch and a half high at 100 yds with both my .30-30 and .35 Remington rifles, that puts me just about dead on (or maybe 1/2” low depending on the load) right around 150 yds.

150yds is about as far as I personally would want to push hunting with my lever guns, I have others in the stable better suited for longer range uses.

Stay safe!

No. Sight in at 100 yards. If you zero at 100 yards, you will be 1/2" high at 50 yards and 1" low at 125 yards with a 170 grain load.

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So with a 50 yard zero I'll be 1" low at 100 and about 2" low at 125 with a rifle that is a 3-4 MOA gun shooting irons. If I miss a deer the difference in zero isn't why.

Here is why I zero at 50 with 30-30 iron sights. The factory sights are pretty coarse and aren't accurate enough to get a true zero at 100 yards. If the rifle is capable of 1" groups at 100, then a 100 yard zero makes sense, and that is doable with optics. Maybe even with good quality peep sights and a better front sight. But a 1 MOA 30-30 is pretty rare. Even with optics 2 MOA is about average. And with the coarse factory iron sights 3-4" at 100 is better than average. With a rifle shooting 3-4" groups how do you know exactly where your zero is when it only changes by 1" at that range compared a 50 yard zero

I'm in the sight in at 100 crowd. Up close you are more accurate, do being half an inch of POA isn't a big deal. 100 is a long shot in the woods. I've only shot half a dozen deer past 100 yards because they generally come in closer.

50 yards with XS Ghost Ring Sights on my Winchester 94.
100 yards with factory iron sights on my Marlin.
I ditched the scope on the Marlin but I also sighted it in at 100 yards.

Varminterror said:

OP asked about a scoped 30-30.

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Back when I had dealings with a scoped bolt action .30-30, I'd use the 6o'clock hold and bust a clay bird at 100yds, basically same as with irons on the levergun.

You do realize OP asked about both scope and irons, don't you?

It is unwise to hunt dear. They can be very nasty indeed when on the defensive and very, very expensive once on offense.

50 to 100 yards should be a perfect zero for a 30-30 lever gun; your run of the mill deer is nothing but a big squirrel, not a very bright animal and very easy to kill. After many years of hunting and taking many deer, it feels almost like cheating to kill a deer with any rifle - the hardest part of deer hunting with a rifle is being in a spot where a deer passes by.

I always hunted with a 30-30. I sighted mine in 2” high at 100

100 yards, irons or scope. That'll take you out as far as you'd want to go with a 30-30 on game without too much drop.

IdaD said:

100 yards, irons or scope. That'll take you out as far as you'd want to go with a 30-30 on game without too much drop.

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........... That's what I do........ My Marlin 30-30 isn't usually hunting anyplace where it would have to shoot much over 100 yds.. And I also familiarize myself with it at 25 & 50 yds. also; using what ever weight bullet I plan to hunt with in the coming season. Last year it was 150 gr. handloads.... next season I might give the 170 gr. handloads a whirl.... Just get familiar with whatever you plan to use before hunting. Oh: and it's wearing a 1-4x 20mm Leupold scope.

LRDGCO said:

It is unwise to hunt dear. They can be very nasty indeed when on the defensive and very, very expensive once on offense.

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Nastier than a cougar returning home to her den in the wee hours after Saturday midnight, when fatigued and in heat.

Bfh_auto said:

I'm in the sight in at 100 crowd. Up close you are more accurate, do being half an inch of POA isn't a big deal. 100 is a long shot in the woods. I've only shot half a dozen deer past 100 yards because they generally come in closer.

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While iron sight group size from the bench may average around 4" at 100 yards, it's usually significantly tighter at 50 yards.
So, when you know the trajectory in advance you can sight in the center of your group 1/2" to 1" high at 50 yards quite well, and know that your elevation will be correct at 100 yards, even if the group size is larger. Then you only need to refine the windage a bit.

For my old eyes a bullseye target at 100 yards is useless, so I simply use an 8 1/2" X 11" piece of copy paper on a contrasting background (not black) so that I can clearly see this white rectangle. I center the bead on this rectangle (It covers the lower half of the paper but I can still see the top) and shoot my 100 yard group. This works quite well and your group size will depend on the rifle, your iron sight experience, trigger control, and eyesight.

Younger shooters may be surprised at how tight a group that they can shoot. As a younger man I sighted in a brand new unfired Polish Mosin carbine (in the cosmoline, 1950s, and made to commercial standards) and shot 2" groups from the bench at 100 yards. All that it needed was a slight tap on the front sight to adjust the windage.

MPBR(3") (+/- 1.5") for the load.

e.g.

170 gr. Cor-Lokt at 2200 fps and iron sights:

Near Zero:18 yards
Far Zero: 135 yards
Maximum PBR: 158 yards
Sight-in at 100yds: 1.28" high




GR

My Glenfield 30-30 carbine is zeroed for 150 yards. Best way to achieve this is to zero the scope so that your bullets group about 2 inches above the line of sight at 100 yards. In other words, your cross hairs are centered on the bulls eye but your bullets are striking 2 inches above the bulls eye. I've hunted in several western states for mulies and never had to shoot farther than about 150 yards or even less. It is a myth that a hunter needs a 270 for mule deer hunting. 30-30 is a keeper!

TR