What yardage to zero a 50BMG rifle at?

[Harve Curry]

Getting some time where I'll be able to shoot this winter. I've had it set up and only shot it twice to get the feel of it. It's a single shot with the match grade German barrel. The muzzle brake is local custom made and seems to work fine. The recoil is heavy but manageable, don't hurt, just seems to push longer then other big rifles I've shot.

Scope is a Burris Black Diamond 8x32x50 , ballistic mil-dot side focus parralax, and target knobs. 5 dots above the cross hair and 5 below.

Ammo will be surplus stuff for now.
(On a side note I learned something about long term stored ammo. The copper bullet can "cold weld" itself to the brass case causing high pressure.
A effective treatment is to press the bullet in slightly and break this sticking/weld.)

I forgot to mention it's common to see game at long range around here. With good optics I see coyotes, deer, elk, antelope miles out there.

Thanks for sharing any info and tips about shooting this neat cartridge.

 

[JShirley]

Are you actually planning on hunting game with this? I suppose a FMJ on larger game or pests might work...

I think your zero will likely depend on whether you plan on punching paper or live
targets.

 

[Roudy]

Bullet drop curve

Harve,
I think I'd start with a ballistic curve of the 50 BMG to see how the bullet drops over distance first. As a swag I think 500 yds, 750 yds, and 1000 yds. You might even try further but you would probably need a more powerful scope.

 

[pyrotechnic]

What distances do you plan on shooting it at? If you don't plan on shooting anything within 500 yds I would zero, for 500 and then use your target turrets to dail in your dope for further shots, or use the mil dots to holdover. Even if you think you might engage anything under 500 you can easily use your mildots to hold under.
As for needing a more powerful scope to shoot past 1000 yds, I have a straight 10 power on my .308 and have no problem seeing a 1MOA target at 1000 yds. Now hitting it, is a completely different story Even at a mere10 power you can really get screwed up by mirage.

Regards,
Maarten

 

[pyrotechnic]

You should be able to find out alot about distance shooting here www.snipershide.com

Maarten

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Do you have the scope mounted? What base? Most bases intended for long range rifles have 15 to 30 MOA of cant built into them to help shooters adjust for long range shots. If this is the case with your rifle then depending on the amount of adjustment possible with your scope, it may be difficult to zero at the shorter ranges. What is the farthest possible safe range you have access to shoot at? As a general rule I tend to sight my rifles in for half the range I intend to become profecient with them too. My 7mm Mag is sighted in at 250 yards. My .22s are usually about 50 yards. My AK and SKSs run about 200 yards. If I was shooting a .50 I think I would sight it in for the most common range first and then as I got used to the rifle and stockpiled some ammo, I would sight it in for 3 or 4 different ranges until I could graph the trajectory accurately and develop a range card for it. Then all you'd have to do is range your target with the MilDot and adjust elevation appropriately to aim dead on. Or at least that is how it works in theory. There will hopefully be an AR-50 in the family by this spring sometime and then I can begin to see how it works in practice.

 

[CDignition]

Zero at 100 yards...regardless of what distance youre going to shoot at..then go out an figure out your come ups...

 

[SpookyPistolero]

"Zero at 100 yards...regardless of what distance youre going to shoot at..then go out an figure out your come ups.."

.50 BMG actually doesn't even finish stabilizing at 100 yrds. Something like 500 is a little more to the point. Knowing the intended ranges and use will make the difference.

 

[pyrotechnic]

I think CDignition meant to make sure to be on the mark at 100 before slinging lead at longer distances. Zeroing at longer ranges can be frustrating enough even with a good 100 yd zero.

Maarten

 

[adaman04]

25 yards.

I think either 100 or 200 would be about right. Some say 300 is better but I think it matters more about knowing bullet drop, etc. at different ranges than what distance you actual zero at. Good luck!

 

[CDignition]

all you need to do is dial in bullet drop with a 100 yard zero.....

 

[Zak Smith]

Zero a precision rifle at the the closest range which is convenient, but not closer than 100 yards to ensure you can "see" that the POI is close to the POA. Some inclined bases will increase the minimum zero distance.

Then dial elevation.

Longer zeros are fine from a ballistic point of view, but as a practical matter, it's much easier to find a 100 yard range to recheck your zero than a 500 yard range.

Furthermore, when you dial elevation, you are effectively changing the "zero". So there's no reason why you can't confirm zero at 100 or 200, and then dial back up to your regular 500 yard zero.

You can also do this in reverse. For example, if you only have a target at say 330 yards, zero on that, then readjust the knob cap so it corresponds to your 330 yard dope. When you dial it back to 0, it'll be at 100 again (if you run a 100 yard zero).

 

[taliv]

what CDignition said. zero at 100 yrds and get come ups.
i don't understand how the distance at which a bullet stabilizes is relevant.

think two or three times before taking pot shots at game 500+ yrds away. be responsible.


there is another method you can use though, which is to zero for point blank range. e.g. figure out how big your most frequent target is (elephants or 12" square paper or whatever) and how far the bullet goes before it drops that distance, to basically determine how far away your target is before you need to adjust your sights to keep from missing. obvious disadvantages to this method are that it takes the fun out of using your mildots, and your hits won't be centered on the target anymore, which leaves little margin for error.

 

[RaySendero]

Here's how I would start:

First, work up a to zero at 300 yards. Second, put scope through clicks right, up, left, down, and return to zero - STOP and rethink entire project if scope wont return to zeros!

Third, shoot and measure height at 100, 200 and drop at 400 and 500. Then compare your numbers to calculated balistic trajectory. You will need to measure the scope height over the center of bore and use this measurement for balistics calculations. You may have to adjust muzzle velocity or BC to make the calculated trajectory fit the actual measurements you've shot!

Once you have a good "fit" on the calculated balistics make yourself a table that converts the scope clicks to MOAs out to farther distances. Then shoot out to farther distances and see what you can do. Only limit I aware you will run into with a 50 BMG is that zeros farther that 700 to 800 yards may require an elevated (angled) scope mount - You'll know when this happen as you'll run out of scope adjustment.


PS: Please keep shots on game to within your capability. Here's an example of someone who didn't shooting at a whitetail at 710 meters:

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/619104082/m/960109673
You wil probably need to register to open thread above.

 

[Jim Watson]

What's it FOR?
If for target shooting at known ranges, get a starting zero at some distance and establish your trajectory and calculated come-ups for the ranges of interest. Shoot and adjust to correct for actual ballistics. The best way is to work your way out in manageable increments. If you are on at 200, the difference between calculated and actual adjustments for 300 is not going to be enough to cause a complete miss.

If for some sort of unknown range activity, first as above, get sight settings for a variety of ranges. Then in the field you have to determine the range, by rangefinder or mil-dot calculation and adjust or hold for it. A .50 is not a laser beam and has substantial drop at ranges it has plenty of power for.

I don't think "hunting" at extreme long range is sporting, no matter how powerful the round. Too many (additional) ways for a bullet to go astray and wound or miss way out there.

 

[Harve Curry]

I'll only be shooting paper to see if the rifle and me proves out. I won't be shooting at any elk or deer although I mentioned how far out I can see them around here. Personally I have killed deer out to a measured 625 yards with a .308. Nowadays I mostly hunt close range with an antique Spencer or 1881 Marlin, I spot them from far away and sneak up in my socks to within 50 yards or less.
This is just something different.

BTT:
The mounts are made by Burris, came with the scope. I'll check on the details some of you mentioned.
thanks,
Bill

 

[50 Shooter]

What kind of .50 did you get?

The best info for .50's can be found at www.biggerhammer.net and I will warn you that it's nothing like THR. BH can be heavily infested by trolls at times but if you don't feed them they usually just go away. When BH shines, it SHINES! The info that flows there is second to none and the regulars will gladly help out.

You should also take a trip over to www.fcsa.org and get signed up as a new member. The FCSA puts out VHP (Very High Power) magazine, buying some older issue will help you out. I have copies from the last few years, the info contained in their magazine is also second to none. Plus it comes in handy to keep the magazine if you're looking for info on other .50 stuff.

 

[GREYGHOSTt]

You may be disapointed in the burris in this application. IIRC it only has 39 inches of vertical adjustment.