25 yard zero for a deer rifle.

[j1]

If your target bleeds it surely deserves respect. If you can't do it right wait till you can.

 

[redneck2]

If you can't do it right wait till you can.

Sure glad there are lots of gurus here that do things perfectly every time.........

He just asked a simple, honest question

 

[Vern Humphrey]

According to my copy of Ballistic Explorer, if you zero the Federal 150 grain load at 25 yards, you will be dead on again at 135 yards, and only 1.5 inches high at mid-range. This looks like a perfect zero for the .30-30.

If you want to use a different load, post it here and I'll run it thorough Ballistic Computer, but it probably won't be different enough to matter.

 

[Sam1911]

If your target bleeds it surely deserves respect. If you can't do it right wait till you can.

A solid 25 or 50 yd. zero done right and knowledgeably will put your bullet into the vitals of any deer that steps into view within normal hunting range for a .30-30. (Call that about 200 yds.)

If you miss or wound a deer within those ranges it WON'T be because your rifle wasn't zeroed adequately.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

With a 25 yard zero, you'll be down 6 inches at 200 yards.

 

[Sunray]

"...A 25 yard zero is better than no zero..." Absolutely. Don't trust ballistics calculators though. I don't know any programmers who have ever touched a firearm. Too many variables anyway.
Anyway, sight in high at 25 and check it at 100 when you get to wherever you're hunting.
And stay in school.

 

[Sam1911]

With a 25 yard zero, you'll be down 6 inches at 200 yards.

Right -- depending on the load.

Knowing that approximate dope, a competent shooter can engage a deer with confidence at least that far out even if he's stuck with "only" having zeroed at 25 or 50 yds.

 

[cammogunner]

all these very specific answers are great i am learning quite a bit! and by the way i am shooting 160 grain bullets they are those new levergun rounds from hornady if that helps.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

It appears the load makes less difference than we might think. With a 25 yard zero, the Hornady LeveRevolution still crosses the line of sight at almost exactly 100 yards and is about 2.5 inches high at 150.

Of course, every rifle is a law into itself, so if you get a chance, try it on paper at 100 and 150 yards. But I think you'll find it within an inch or so of the calculated trajectory.

 

[22250Rem]

Not sure if this helps but I set up my Marlin 30-30 load to hit 2-3" high at 50 yds. and that puts it right on at 100 yds.. However;..... That's with a 170 gr. Speer Flat Point handload at a little over 2000 fps. Never checked it at 25 yards but even with the Hornady Leverevolution ammo I'd bet that if it were just a little high at 50 it'd be real close (minute of deer), at 100 anyway . Beyond 100 yds. with my 30-30 I know nothing because when I hunt areas where a shot beyond 100 yds. is a possibility I've got other good shooting rifles that are better suited for reaching out. My 30-30 is strictly for the thick woods; it's a great woods cartridge and I'll admit that the longest shots I've ever made with it was at sheets of paper 100 yards away. If your hunting area doesn't involve much open space and you'll probably shoot 100 yds or less then try some of the "old school" 150 and 170 Gr. factory loads with those "old fashioned" flat point bullets. Within their range limitations they still work real well on deer and have been doing so for over 100 years now.

 

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Absolutely it's fine - PROVIDED you limit your shots to 40 yards or less - that extra 15 yards is about all you can say with certainty will be in the kill zone of a deer, with a 25 yard zero, since the bullet is rising rapidly in this general range (just before and after the "first zero"). Don't take long shots. I just zero'ed my .30-30 levergun, which is a backup to a couple of main deer rifles, at 50 yards yesterday, 1.5" high. Figure I'm good to about 70 yards.

 

[jrdolall]

If you are dead on at 25 yards (and I mean dead on) then you will be a few inches low at 150 with a 30-30. For ME the 150 yard range is about as far as I want to shoot at a deer with a 30-30. I know it will kill a deer dead at that range but I have other guns I use when I have a 150+ shot.
I remember back in the 70's I missed a deer at 30 yards right at dark and the only place I could sight in before the next morning was about 30-35 yards. It took me 6-7 shots to hit a small dot at that range and I killed a deer the next day at 100+ yards but that was a 30-06.

 

[bhk]

I have found that during 50 years of sighting in rifles that the 25 yard zero can only get you 'close' and that 'close' may not cut in on a 150 yard deer. The fly in the ointment is the height of the scope above the bore. Most charts are developed with the scope center being 1.5 inches above the bore (not the AR15 charts). Most scope crosshairs are not 1.5 inches above the bore (most seem to be higher). If you are using iron sights, then your line of sight is much lower that 1.5 inches above the bore. These variations throw all those tables out of wack, sometimes by a bunch.

A 25 yard zero will almost always get you on paper at 100 yards. I usually sight in a 25, then 50, and then move to 100. The adjustments I have to make in elevation at each change in yardage is often significant. On my longer range hunting rifles, I often fine tune sight ins at 200 yards.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

A 150gr RN .308" bullet @2200 fps will be dead on @100 yards if you sight in 1" high @25 yards. Since the kill zone on a deer is ~8" you should be fine with a 1" high sight in at 25 yards.

Good luck on your hunt and than you for asking our advice...

 

[wlewisiii]

Your question was NOT stupid. If you look at a trajectory chart, you will find the bullet crosses the line of sight twice. Once close to muzzle and again at a longer range. Your 30-30 will cross the first time at about 25 yards with a typical scope mounted in standard, as in low rings. Then crosses again at about 175 yards, dependent on initial muzzle velocity. If you are using iron sights, the first cross is at about 20 feet and the second is about 125 yards. If your hold at 25 yards was good, you will only be off maybe an inch on the side to side at 100 yards. That is minus wind drift, which only you at the time of the shot will know. My father sighted in his 38-55 at kitchen door to the woodshed every year, about 75 feet. Sometimes he would check by shooting at a "little rock" across the road to the orchard, maybe 100 yards. He killed more white tails than most anyone, and at that time deer were scarce in WV.

^^^^This.

As was also said, a 25 is better than nothing. You have done what you are able. Do the same on your hunt and you'll do alright.

 

[jimbeaux82]

Cammogunner,

most of the responses are assuming you have a scope on your rifle. Is that correct?

Another tip on sighting in with a scope is how much the "clicks" move point of impact (POI). Most scopes will say "1/4" at 100 yards". But if you are using distances other than 100 yards this will not be correct. So for 25 yards, it will take 4 times as many "clicks" to move POI. So if you need to move the POI at 100 yards a distance of 1", then you will have to use 4 clicks to do so. At 25 yards, to move POI 1" will require 16 clicks. At 50 yards, you will have to use 2X as many as 100 yards or 8 clicks. It is simple math, but it is a mistake that I see most people make at the range.

Good luck, and send us a picture when you kill that big buck.

Jimbeaux

 

[d2wing]

There should be a vertices line (invisible) from your bore to your line of sight. If you sight in at 25 yards the barrel is pointed up on that line (plane) and will cross that line going up, it will begin to fall, and cross that line somewhere usually in the range of 100 yards. Others here have more exact figures and as said it depends on things like scope height etc. if all is well you should be very close when the bullet crosses down range. The fly in the ointment is chanting. The sights not vertical o the bore. If your scope is offset you poa must be as well.

 

[ironworkerwill]

I don't know any programmers who have ever touched a firearm.

I do. One makes video games and the other two work for the government (another I used to be married to but she don't count).

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The fly in the ointment is chanting. The sights not vertical o the bore. If your scope is offset you poa must be as well.

That's true, but it's true regardless of the range at which you zero. If you cant the sight, the rifle will shoot to point of aim only with the same cant.

 

[denton]

You may or may not have time and resources to do a proper sight-in. If you can get it sighted in at 25 or 50 yards, that is probably minute of deer for most of the shot opportunities you will have. Most deer are taken under 75 yards, according to what I read.

The rule that if you are sighted in at 25 yards, you're good at 200 is to be taken with a very large grain of salt. For some rifles, it works pretty well, and with others, not so much.

On one of my rifles, the scope is mounted quite a bit above the centerline of the bore, more than the usual 1.5" that ballistic software defaults to. If I'm sighted in for 200 yards, my bullet first crosses the line of sight at about 75 yards, not 25. If I were sighted in at 25, my bullet would be about a foot high at 100 IIRC.

Muzzle velocity also matters. A 22-250 and a 30-30 are going to have very different trajectories.

There are plenty of free or nearly free ballistic calculators on the web. If you have a Droid phone, Strelok is cheap and will give you what you need.

Use the BC and MV of the actual bullet you will be using, and the actual center to center distance of your sights above the bore. Set your zero distance as 200 yards. Then, look at the trajectory table and see where your bullet should be at 25 and 50 yards. Adjust your sights so your bullets are where the program says they ought to be at those ranges, if those are your only two possibilities. You'll be close enough out to 200.

Good luck with your hunt! Send us pictures of your success.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I keep running these different cartridges through Ballistic Explorer, and it appears a 25 yard zero is fine for lower velocity cartridges, like the .30-30, .30-40 Krag, and so on. A 50 yard zero is great for a cartridge like the .22-250.

Interesting.

 

[HoosierQ]

I keep running these different cartridges through Ballistic Explorer, and it appears a 25 yard zero is fine for lower velocity cartridges, like the .30-30, .30-40 Krag, and so on. A 50 yard zero is great for a cartridge like the .22-250.

Interesting.

This is good to hear as I zeroed my .223 at 50 (irons) and my .243 (2 in high) at 100.

 

[Captcurt]

Simple Solution.

Any deer within acceptable 30-30 range would be dead with a 25 or 50 yard sight-in. Most of my deer are taken inside of 50 yards anyway. Best advice is to set up where your longest shot is at or near your sight-in range. You can always refuse the shot if you are in doubt.

 

[d2wing]

Vern, I am not sure we are on the same page. If a scope is canted you will be able to sight it in at a specific range, but for any other range it will be off. If the scope is tilted to the left, and you shoot with the scope vertical, the bore will be slightly left so the muzzle will be pointed up and to the right. The path of the bullet will be left of the target, the bullet will cross the vertical plane at the point it was sighted then continue to the right getting further from the line of sight. The other way if the scope is canted right. I hope this makes sense.

 

[Palehorseman]

hey guys i am going hunting this weeekend with my new 30-30 and had no time to go to the range so i went to my backyard range that i have but it is only 25 yards my question is with a 25 yard zero will i be able to hit a deer poa or close to poa at 150 yards?? i am really new to balistics and that sort of thing so this is most likely a stupid question but thanks for lookin into it

Back in 1956 army basic training we initially zeroed our M-1 rifles on a 1,000 inch range. IIRC, that is right at 28 yards and I was barely off center of bull at 100 yards.