has anyone heard that you should zero your rifle to the bottom left if you have left hand rifling in the barrel. I have a class that I am working on and the other instructor says to zero this way. I have never heard of this and wonder if its true. Doesn't seem so but who knows ?
Zeroing Rifle to bottom left
- Thread starter paladinFL
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nettlle
Contributing Member
Bottom left of what?
JackSprat
Member
My Father would always say "That's good enough" if we were lining up a scoped rifle,and it was just a little to the left.He had the therory that a right handed shooter had a natural tendancy to pull a little to the right,I think part of it was him being a little tight with ammo.He did not reload.
I would think you would then hit the bottom left of your target , why would you want to do that ?
Isn't the majority of rifles right twist ? if so then you should zero your right twist to hit bottom right of target ?
are you sure this guy is not messing with you as in " For $200 I can fix your muffler bearings and you will be good as new"
I myself zero my rifle to point of aim
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i can't imagine any way to parse that so that it makes sense. either you've misunderstood him, or you should prob vet your instructors a little better
redbullitt
Member
I suppose this would be to compensate for the barrel twist spinning the bullet to the side at long long range? For all practical purposes I see absolutely no reason i would ever do this and I just cannot see this being a helpful way of setting up the rifle for how I shoot.
As was said, maybe something is misunderstood, or you are simply getting a bit of info that is not quite something you should be doing lol.
I would simply zero the rifle, match poi and poa at 100 yards ( or whatever zero you want).
As was said, maybe something is misunderstood, or you are simply getting a bit of info that is not quite something you should be doing lol.
I would simply zero the rifle, match poi and poa at 100 yards ( or whatever zero you want).
Are you also an instructor of this class or a student?
Is this a class dealing with rapid fire semi autos? thats the only reason i could see, as some tend to pull right?
Klint Beastwood
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I've always been told to time the break for that reason.
TN Outlaw
Member
Of course you should zero low and left.....if you want to hit low and left 
Maybe he is talking about for long range spin drift, but i just adjust my scope for that. A crosswind could make up the difference and then some so poa to poi is what ive always done.
Wait...maybe thats why i suck so bad
I may need to try that.
Maybe he is talking about for long range spin drift, but i just adjust my scope for that. A crosswind could make up the difference and then some so poa to poi is what ive always done.
Wait...maybe thats why i suck so bad
I may need to try that.
ontarget
Member
When POA is equal to POI with no wind and that POI is where you want it to be, that is your zero. Most of us zero on the center of the bull.
Legionnaire
Contributing Member
I don't understand what "zero your rifle to the bottom left" means. I understand "zero" to mean that point of aim and point of impact are identical at a given distance.
You do want to know where a cold bore shot will impact relative to zero (and my .308's cold bore is .5 MOA low and left at 100), but that's a different thing.
You do want to know where a cold bore shot will impact relative to zero (and my .308's cold bore is .5 MOA low and left at 100), but that's a different thing.
The OP said he is working on a class with another instructor, sounds more like the OP and another are going to offer some sort of class to others?
Unless the OP returns to clear the water on this I think we're shooting in the dark here,
Unless the OP returns to clear the water on this I think we're shooting in the dark here,
Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
I've always sighted in my rifles such that the center of the group is on the vertical centerline of the bullseye. The height of the center of the group above the horizontal centerline for me has always been two inches at 100 yards, but that's for my hunting use. That has worked well for me since 1950; I learned from my father's experience.
d2wing
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I a NRA certified and trained instructor. I do not agree. You should sight in your rifle to the point you aim to hit. If you aim to low left the further out you shoot, the more off target you will be. The only exception would be full auto. even then it is not a good idea. I was an Army expert on the M-60. My guess is neither of you has taken a certified course and are shooting in the dark.
imashooter
Member
Zero your weapon as it should be. Dot the X. Tell the instructor you aimed low/left and nailed it. Thank him in a slobbering manner.
The question is missing some key components like "at what distance/for what distance". But even then he's still wrong. The only time I could see that being even remotely similar is if you change from one cartridge with a specific bullet and weight with a certain powder charge, to the same cartridge with the same bullet, but a higher powder charge. But even then, the spin is wrong for what he is claiming.
When I was trring to find my accurate load for my 444 I used 300gr Sierra FP's and H4198. Varied the charge by 2gr (neither were at max). Unfortunately for me, I didn't label the base of the cartridges. I just figured I'd remember how I put them in the box. Turned out I was wrong. So I fired a round. Adjusted W&E, and fired another round. Low left. Adjusted W&E again and fired, high right. Took me a couple rounds (and some four letter words) to figure out what had happened. It wasn't anything mechanical like my scope bases being lose or my scope internals having failed. I simply wasn't feeding the same charged rounds each time. When I figured it out, I zeroed POA/POI to the higher charged rounds. Got great groups. Could cover them with a quarter at 100 yards. And my lighter charged rounds were hitting about 3.5-4" low and left with the same POA.
So here is my question for the other instructor:
If a bullet slows down as soon as it leaves the barrel, and gravity immediately begins to take hold, why would you ever "zero" a rifle to miss low?
When I was trring to find my accurate load for my 444 I used 300gr Sierra FP's and H4198. Varied the charge by 2gr (neither were at max). Unfortunately for me, I didn't label the base of the cartridges. I just figured I'd remember how I put them in the box. Turned out I was wrong. So I fired a round. Adjusted W&E, and fired another round. Low left. Adjusted W&E again and fired, high right. Took me a couple rounds (and some four letter words) to figure out what had happened. It wasn't anything mechanical like my scope bases being lose or my scope internals having failed. I simply wasn't feeding the same charged rounds each time. When I figured it out, I zeroed POA/POI to the higher charged rounds. Got great groups. Could cover them with a quarter at 100 yards. And my lighter charged rounds were hitting about 3.5-4" low and left with the same POA.
So here is my question for the other instructor:
If a bullet slows down as soon as it leaves the barrel, and gravity immediately begins to take hold, why would you ever "zero" a rifle to miss low?
FL-NC
Member
Zero for pint of aim/point of impact. Period. Unless you are zeroing at the distance where spin drift comes into play (you aren't- we're talking HUNDREDS of meters away, exact distances dependent upon caliber/rifle/load). People with twists going the other way don't zero bottom right.
entropy
Member
I call drive-by. Oh, and I zero so POA=POI at my intended range, or else point blank.
.308 Norma
Member
Yeppers.
cdb1
Member
Right hand bullets should be used in barrels with left hand rifling twist and vice versa. They counteract each other. Issue resolved. This thread can be closed by the moderators.
Heh I was about to til you said that.
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