Where do you zero your .30-30?

[Guyon]

First off, I shoot 150 gr. Remington Express Core-Lokt. It's inexpensive, readily available, and plenty accurate/effective for my use on whitetail deer. Shot a doe in December with this round, and it did the job about as good as any could.

Here are two sets of ballistics from the Remington website for my chosen round:

50 yds / +0.2
100 yds / zero
150 yds / -2.4
200 yds / -7.6

100 yds / +1.6
150 yds / zero
200 yds / -4.3

The shots where I hunt are usually less than 50 yards, but still, in the past, I've put a decent group 1.5" high at 100 yards (basically a 150 yard zero) and called it good enough.

Taking one more hunting trip this year, and I've recently downsized my scope to a 1.4x20 Leupold VX-II. When I sight it in, I'm thinking about going to a 100 yard zero just because of the unlikelihood of ever taking a shot over 100 yards with this gun.

Where do you zero your .30-30?

 

[JohnKSa]

If you're only expecting shots of 150 yards or less, either of those zeros will work fine. I don't see any practical difference between them until you get out past 150 yards.

 

[newfalguy101]

I zero all my centerfire rifles at 100 yds and have been satisfied with the results thus far.

By the same token if you are happy with the 150 zero, why change?? I would expect you have a pretty good idea where it hits, so as thats what you have used, I see no reason to change.

 

[rangerruck]

if you zero a 3030 , with 150 grnrs at 150 yds, then your max pbr is out to about 225 yds, thats plenty . max pbr is : it you were to dhoot down a pipe from the muzzle of your rifle , how big woudl the diamter of the tube have to be to kill the animal you watn without having to hold over on the animal, on the other end of your pipe?? for deer , a good vitals shot is about the size of a dinner plate, or 8 inches diameter. so about 4 inches high when the bullet drifts up from the muzzle, to about 4 inches low , below the aim of the muzzle, will give you that 8 inch dinner plate size target you are trying to hit, without having to elevate your rifle at all.

 

[Guyon]

if you zero a 3030 , with 150 grnrs at 150 yds, then your max pbr is out to about 225 yds, thats plenty . max pbr is : it you were to dhoot down a pipe from the muzzle of your rifle , how big woudl the diamter of the tube have to be to kill the animal you watn without having to hold over on the animal, on the other end of your pipe?? for deer , a good vitals shot is about the size of a dinner plate, or 8 inches diameter. so about 4 inches high when the bullet drifts up from the muzzle, to about 4 inches low , below the aim of the muzzle, will give you that 8 inch dinner plate size target you are trying to hit, without having to elevate your rifle at all.

I just read a good article online about this notion of PRB (point blank range) or PBZ (point blank zero), actually. It's an Outdoor Life article titled "The Perfect Zero." Link: http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/shooting/article/0,19912,1121726,00.html Until today, PBR had an entirely different meaning for me.

 

[mustanger98]

I read that same article on PBZ and like the idea. But, since I have access to a straight 100yd range, that's where I put it dead on to. Longest shot I'm liable to make right here is 150yds or so, so I figure that's plenty. I like the CoreLokts too.

BTW, my .30-30's sight system is a Lyman #2 tang-mounted aperture and the factory original gold bead. I practically live with this rifle as my emmidiate go-to. It works quite well for me.

 

[Grayrock]

Have you seen the ballistics for the new LeverEvolution ammo from Hornady?

http://www.hornady.com/story.php?s=198


Velocity (fps)/Energy (ft/lb) Trajectory Tables
ammo - Evolution muzzle 100 yds 200 yds 300 yds muzzle 100 yds 200 yds 300 yds
30-30 Win. 160gr. 2400/2046 2150/1643 1916/1304 1699/1025 -1.7 3.0 0.2 -12.1

 

[glockcrazyjerry]

I know this will be a dumb question but is this new ammo only for the new rifles or can i use it in my old lever actions ?

 

[mustanger98]

It's for all of 'em. Marlin did bring out a 336 with a longer barrel though that they're saying will take advantage of some aspect of the new ammo, but I don't know that it'll do anything the old ones won't do.

 

[MCgunner]

I zero mine at the gun range....


Only one I have is a 12" contender in the caliber. I set it about 3" high at 100 and it's dead on at 200 with a 150 grain Nosler Ballistic tip. I ain't shootin' over 200 with it and this sight in allows me just to hold dead on the deer to that range or a little farther.

 

[mustanger98]

I told my zero in a previous post above, but the first time I zeroed mine, it was about 65paces behind my house with the stock semi-buckhorn. I didn't figure to be shooting further with it at the time, but that was before I saw what it'll do.

 

[Chuck Dye]

I ran the Remington 150gr (catalog #R30301, muzzle velocity 2200fps, ballistic coefficient 0.193, all from Oehler’s ammo library) through the Oehler Ballistic Explorer. For a 6" vital zone (±3") the close zero is 20.5 yards, 100yd point of impact is 2.98" high, and max point blank range is 212.4yds. the numbers for the 8" (±4" ) vital zone are close zero at 18.1yds, 100yd P.O.I. 3.88" high, M.P.B.R. is 234.8yds. Both sets of numbers assume a 1.5" sight height typical of scopes. Take your bullet weight, B.C., and muzzle velocity to the define your own section of

http://www.norma.cc/htm_files/javapagee.htm

and play with the sliders. Use the calculated results as the jumping off point for your own tests.

 

[mustanger98]

Too bad that program don't allow you to punch in which rifle and sights you're thinking of. I wonder what the possibilities are for such a program...

 

[Guyon]

I zero mine at the gun range....

Figured some goof would come along and say "in my basement" or "in the Denny's parking lot."

 

[Roudy]

100 yards for me!

I zero ALL my rifles at 100 yards, and it has nothing to do with ballistics...here's why:

After many years shooting at rifle ranges I am more proficient at estimating 100 yards than I am at estimating 150 yds, 175 yds, 225 yds, etc. I beleive that, other than 'buck fever' the most common cause of misses in the hunting field is an erroneous estimate of the shooting distance. Without a range finder I can estimate 100 yards more accurately than other distances simply because of practice.

 

[MCgunner]

I zero ALL my rifles at 100 yards, and it has nothing to do with ballistics...here's why:

After many years shooting at rifle ranges I am more proficient at estimating 100 yards than I am at estimating 150 yds, 175 yds, 225 yds, etc. I believe that, other than 'buck fever' the most common cause of misses in the hunting field is an erroneous estimate of the shooting distance. Without a range finder I can estimate 100 yards more accurately than other distances simply because of practice.

I can judge ranges down a sendero or something pretty well, but the mountains, across canyons and such, really throw me off. I finally got a laser range finder. I carry it with me, zap a tree here, a fence post there, get an idea of ranges while I'm on the stand. I carry it with me in the field, too, when I'm spot and stalk hunting.

I wrote my own exterior ballistics program back in the 80s when I got my chronograph. I used to sit around and enter velocities and BCs into it to see what such and such caliber could do IF... It is an accurate program and I tailored it for my own desires, has a drop table program where you can specify a zero range and see the bullet's flight arch. Pretty neat. At first, it was for a Timex Sinclair little toy computer, remember those? Then I got really high tech and bought a Tandy Color three. I still have that computer, but haven't used it in forever. When I joined the rest of the world in the mid 90s with a PC, I found a freebie program and downloaded it off the net and it works good, though I haven't loaded it on my new computer. Was using windows 95 at the time. Not sure if it'll run on my new Windows XP computer. I have it saved on a friggin' floppy, I think, an this new computer doesn't have a floppy drive, so might be easier to google for another version and download it. I could burn it on my old computer to a disc and try to load it from that. But, I'm in no real bind for it, haven't used my chronograph in quite a while. I've pretty well settled on rifles and loads at this point.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

I zero ALL my rifles at 100 yards, and it has nothing to do with ballistics...here's why:

After many years shooting at rifle ranges I am more proficient at estimating 100 yards than I am at estimating 150 yds, 175 yds, 225 yds, etc. I beleive that, other than 'buck fever' the most common cause of misses in the hunting field is an erroneous estimate of the shooting distance. Without a range finder I can estimate 100 yards more accurately than other distances simply because of practice.

Yes, but there is no harm in giving yourself a little leeway in case, because of unfamiliar terrain, you thought it was 100 yards, but was actually closer to 150. Sighted to 150, if you are correct, you will be only an inch and a half high at 100 and, if you are wrong, you will be dead on. Cannot lose, so why bother sighting dead on at 100, which might put you low at 150 in case you underestimate the distance?

 

[rbernie]

Exactly. Three inches high @ 100 yards for a 150gr bullet moving at 2200fps puts you in the kill zone for just about anything out past 200 yards without having to adjust for range.

 

[Bwana John]

I have found that a 25 m zero works for almost all calibers.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

I thought that some of you might appreciate reading what the late great Jack O'Connor had to say on this matter specifically, viz.

In Spite of the fact that most shots at whitetail in wooded country are taken within 100 yards, it would still be foolish to sight in a deer rifle of the .30/30 class to put the bullet at point of aim at 100 yards. Instead, I believe, the iron sighted rifle of the .30/30 class should be sighted in to put the bullet 2 inches high at 100 yards. Then the bullet is on the nose at 150 yards, and about 5 inches low at 200. In that way, the occasional fairly long shot across a ravine is much easier to make. Let us suppose that our deer was 200 yards away. Our hunter held right in the middle of the deer's chest. The bullet would drop 5 inches and he would be apt to get his deer, although the shot, of course, would be on the low side. Suppose, on the other hand, that he had sighted his rifle in for 100 yards and forgot to hold high. Then at 200 yards the bullet would drop 9 inches and our hunter would miss the deer. No man can shoot offhand well enough to tell whether or not his rifle is shooting 2 inches high at 100 yards. When not one deer hunter in a thousand is enough of an offhand shot to keep all of his shots in a 12 inch circle at 100 yards, it is useless to worry about a 2 inch trajectory rise at that distance.

 

[Roudy]

Hawkeye....I concede that your logic of a 150 yard zero is better than zeroing at 100 yards. I will attempt to use a 150 yards zero in the future.....but you know how hard it is to change old habits.

Since my eyes are beginning to worsen maybe I'll just have to get closer.

Roudy

 

[longrifleman]

I set mine 1" high at 100 yds. and don't worry about holdover for most any distance I'll likely try with a .30-30. I set my '06 1.5 " high at 100 yds and don't worry out to 300yds., but would rarely see a 300 yds shot around here.

 

[Dr.Rob]

I use the 150-200 yard zero... ie 2 inches high at 100 yards. It's always worked for me though I use 170 gr bullets.