223 zero question

[Shanghai McCoy]

So, now that I have the rifle I will need to check the sights and all I have available is a 100 yard range. OK, it's the back "yard" but I'm only safely set up to do 100 yards...
Is there a "ball park" zero that I should adjust for with 55 grain bullets? I'll try other weights and brands as time and ammo and weather will allow but for now am going with the 55 grain Federal FMJ and some Hornady JSP.

 

[someguy2800]

Whats your intended use? I zero most of guns at 100 yards and sometimes 1-2 inches high at 100 depending on the rifle and if I'm using a scope with a holdover reticle.

 

[RussellC]

Typically, and this will vary depending on charge and barrel, but the general 55 grain rule is if you are on at 50 yards, you will usually be a few inches high at 100 yards, back on around 250-300. This is a very loose estimate and will vary. I usually get on target at 25, then zero at 50. Then zero at 100 from there, then go back to 50 to see where I am. Just the way I like it, many may not. I had rather hold at 50 and on at 100.

If I had 300-500 yards to shoot I might feel differently. Again, this is a very loose rule and my zero preference for .223...Most may like on at 50 and adjust for 100 and beyond. My close to home shooting ranges are 100 yards max.

Russellc

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Whats your intended use? I zero most of guns at 100 yards and sometimes 1-2 inches high at 100 depending on the rifle and if I'm using a scope with a holdover reticle.

Varmints, coyotes most likely, and just shooting it for fun.

 

[jmr40]

I zero all of my center fire rifles at 100 yards. I don't care where you live or what you hunt the vast majority of shots are under 200 yards. With most cartridges a 100 yard zero means you're bullet is never more than 1/2" above or below your line of sight between about 50 yards and about 130 yards and around 2" low at 200 yards. No thinking, just point and shoot at the ranges most likely to be encountered

Some guys like to zero 2-3" high at 100 yards. This makes it possible to have less hold over at longer ranges, but it also means that at around 150-200 yards you could be 4-6" HIGH and easily shoot over an animal. It just ain't natural to have to remember to hold low. And you'll still be 6-7" low at 300 yards with a +2 or +3" 100 yard zero vs 9-10" low with a 100 yard zero. If I can figure out how to compensate for being 6" low, I can figure out how to compensate for being 10" low. And it is a lot more natural to remember to aim 10" high than 6" low. Beyond 300 yards all cartridges drop enough that you need to be using a range finder and using a modern scope with dials or dots on the reticle anyway. Unless at a target range where you already know the exact distance to targets.

Once you get zeroed at 100 yards shoot at longer distances when you get a chance to verify your drops But out to about 500 yards the difference between most all modern cartridges firing pointed bullets is pretty darn close. Within 2-3" drop with most all of them. You can look up ballistics from most manufacturers and get a pretty good idea how much bullet drop you can expect at longer ranges.

 

[someguy2800]

For what your intended use is I would probably zero an inch high at 100 yards which should put you about 2 inches low at 200 and a foot low at 300 depending on your sight height, and barrel length. It will be within an inch of zero at 50 yards.

 

[VoodooMountain]

I keep my 223 bolt action about 1.5 inches high at 100 which should put me safely into the kill zone of a coyote out to 200-225 yards without thinking with a 55 vmax.

If I were going for smaller vermin I would be sure to check exactly where my bullet was hitting at 100 and 200 rather than relying on paper ballistics .

 

[entropy]

I agree with RussellC, though I zero at 50, because I shoot 'em at about that distance, sometimes less.

 

[Bartojc]

Depends on how you want to use it. I like the 50 yard Zero here because of the trajectory of the 55gr .223. With 50 yards you are on at 50, about 1.5" high at 100, on again between 200 and 225, and about 5.7" low at 300. This for me is essentially point and fire out to 250 no thinking.

With a 100 yard zero your drop is over 5" at 250 and almost a foot at 300.

-Jeff

 

[GunnyUSMC]

With all my ARs I start off with B.Z.O. Battle Sight Zero. Sight in at 25 yards. Impact should be three inches low, with three shots that can be covered with a dime. Now this is a Battle sight setting that keep you in the kill zone from 25 to 300 yards when hunting men. But it is also a great starting point for sighting in an AR. After getting B.Z.O on my rifle, I then sight in at 100 yards..

I have copies of military B.Z.O. targets if you would like some.

 

[z7]

You can get a rough estimate of the effects if you use some of the online ballistic programs. Ballistic ae tells me for my ar15 using a 55g fmjbt (hornady) and a 50 yd zero I never get more that 1.5” high and am only 4” low at 250, so my point blank range on most targets is 250 yds

A 100 yd zero means I drop 5” low at 225yds,

Not a huge difference, but it doesn’t take anything away to have a 50yd zero for me.

 

[RussellC]

As you can see, a lot of this is preference. Zero at 25, try all your shooting distances. Then 50 and do the same, then at 100 and do it again. You will find your preference eventually. I know this is a .223 question, but I do zero my 300 Black Out AR at 50 yards, but .223 I prefer the 100 yard zero. I do have one AR, carbine length with a Lucid red dot I keep zeroed at 50 yards.

Russellc

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

With all my ARs I start off with B.Z.O. Battle Sight Zero. Sight in at 25 yards. Impact should be three inches low, with three shots that can be covered with a dime. Now this is a Battle sight setting that keep you in the kill zone from 25 to 300 yards when hunting men. But it is also a great starting point for sighting in an AR. After getting B.Z.O on my rifle, I then sight in at 100 yards..

I have copies of military B.Z.O. targets if you would like some.

Thanks for the offer Gunny but I've probably got a couple lifetimes worth of targets to use up here.

 

[Everready73]

For an Ar type rifle i zero at 50 yards with a RDS and 100 with a magnified optic. Hunting rifles are 100 yards

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I'll see how it goes at 50 to start and then check at 100. The scope that came with it is a Nikon with that circle reticule so that will take a little getting used to.

 

[Art Eatman]

.223, .243, '30-'06: I've always sighted in for about two inches high at 100 yards, which pretty-much zeros at 200. About five inches low for the first two at 300; about six inches low for the '06.

I used the .223 on a prairie dog shoot, with a buddy checking distances with his laser. My sight-in worked quite well to the 300 yards of the longest shots.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

OK, perhaps not the best day, (39 damp degrees and a SE breeze ), but I got it zero'd at 100 yards with the Hornady 55 grain soft point. Which it really seems to like. Used the Federal 55 grain fmj also but was not impressed with the accuracy and the fact that I had a dud round. But then, I don't plan on using the fmj stuff much anyway.
No problems with the Hornady ammo. It shot higher than the Fed fmj so I'm guessing it's loaded to a higher velocity as a hunting round.
It was fun, despite the cold, to try out the new rifle and scope. I think I'm gonna like it...

 

[Klint Beastwood]

other zeroing schemes, there are going to be two points were the bullet crosses the line of sight; the near-zero and the far-zero. For the near-zero, the bullet will cross the line of sight while traveling upwards towards the apogee or “maximum ordinate,” its highest point of travel. For the far-zero, the bullet will cross the line of sight while traveling downward from the maximum ordinate.

 

[bluzman]

Typically, and this will vary depending on charge and barrel, but the general 55 grain rule is if you are on at 50 yards, you will usually be a few inches high at 100 yards, back on around 250-300. This is a very loose estimate and will vary. I usually get on target at 25, then zero at 50. Then zero at 100 from there, then go back to 50 to see where I am. Just the way I like it, many may not. I had rather hold at 50 and on at 100.

That's pretty much my process, too.

 

[JeffG]

^^^^ Good advice.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Oh, meant to mention,with the fmj on at 50 yards the 55sp was 1/1 1/2" high. At 100 yards the sp was 4" high so that's why I dialed it down to poa. I'll check it at 50 again when I get the chance. And some more of that Hornady ammo...

 

[Archie]

So, now that I have the rifle I will need to check the sights and all I have available is a 100 yard range. OK, it's the back "yard" but I'm only safely set up to do 100 yards...
Is there a "ball park" zero that I should adjust for with 55 grain bullets? I'll try other weights and brands as time and ammo and weather will allow but for now am going with the 55 grain Federal FMJ and some Hornady JSP.

McCoy, decide first how big your target will be and how far away you want to shoot such.
Find a trajectory program on line. Enter the particulars for your rifle and ammo and it will describe the trajectory for you. Then decide just what you want.

When you decide on the maximum range, the program should tell you the rise or fall of the bullet at 100 yards. Sight it at 100 yards for that deviation. It will be good for a specified rise or drop out the maximum.

After that, it's a matter of watching the sights and operating the trigger properly.

By the way, when I was but a humble but lovable Rifleman in the Marine Corps, we sighted rifles in - dead on - at 25 yards. That sight setting would impact a human torso out to close to 300 yards. I have a feeling your target will be more compact than a human torso, you'll have to adjust.

 

[RussellC]

Oh, meant to mention,with the fmj on at 50 yards the 55sp was 1/1 1/2" high. At 100 yards the sp was 4" high so that's why I dialed it down to poa. I'll check it at 50 again when I get the chance. And some more of that Hornady ammo...

You are about where I like it. If you are on again at 100, you will be just a little low at 50. You may prefer on at 50 and then adjust for your other distances. If a little high at 50, (you say you were 1-1 1/2) then your 4 inches high at 100 is about right. Had you been spot on at 50 you likely would be about 2 1/2 high at 100. Now that you are back on at 100, you will be a touch low at 50...but this is an approximate of course. Your preference is where you like to be spot on and where you prefer to make adjustments. That will be a little different from person to person. On at 50 is likely a good place to start.

Remember, when you shoot something lighter, say 40 grains or something heavier, say 69 grains or above, things change again....

Russellc

 

[horsey300]

Oh, meant to mention,with the fmj on at 50 yards the 55sp was 1/1 1/2" high. At 100 yards the sp was 4" high so that's why I dialed it down to poa. I'll check it at 50 again when I get the chance. And some more of that Hornady ammo...

Depending on the scope you're using, this might be helpful, I zeroed my 50gr screamers 1 MIL high at 100 yds. With my mildot scope, anything between 75-250 yds gets popped on the first dot above the cross hairs, at 25-50& 300 yds, the cross hairs are dead on. Many varmints have fallen to this madness rather quickly.

 

[RussellC]

This exactly what I was referring to. Here is someone who has all their preferences worked out, and notes what bullet weight this preference works with!

Russellc