I have my Remington .30-06 rifle sighted in for 100 yards since most all of my shots are always at this distance or less. Several years ago I shot at a buck at 200 or so yards (actually 233 yards) with a 150 grain bullet and missed him even though I aimed at the top of his shoulder. I fired again aiming just over the top and nothing fazed him. One of the two shots hit the bottom right edge or so of his shoulder as was evidenced by seeing him limping several weeks later. I was very nervous with buck fever. Where should I have held the scope on him considering the distance and grain of bullet? Where can I find a good ballistics chart? Thanks.

Your hold should have been about right with 5 to 6 inches of drop at 233 yards.

There are several Ballistic calculators available. One of the easier to use is the Hornady one
http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator

I would hold just at the top of the back, behind the shoulder.

One sure fire way to know what the bullet is doing is to setup a target at that spot during the off season and shoot then. No buck fever, steady rest, ect. You will know for sure then.

200 yard zero solves all problems. You'll be plus or minus 2 inches out almost 250 yards.

I prefer to set deer rifles with a mid range zero like 200; it makes it a little high at 100 to a little low at 250-300;

Also Burris has a neat Ballistic reticle that doesn't cost any more, is not obtrusive with your view in the scope, and works well at known ranges.

Now that I've hunted a little more over the years, I now think all deer rifles should be sighted at 200yards. It seems much easier to adjust 200 sight in to shoot 100 than the other way around.

That is why it is a good idea to run the tragectory tables for your specific ammo and print it to study (some folks tape it to the side of the butt stock for quick reference)

Here's a very rough rule of thumb:

1. If you sight your high-powered rifle 2" high at 100 yds, it will be approx "on" at 200 yds.

2. If you sight your rifle 3" high at 100 yds, it will be roughly on at 300 yds.

Scenario #1 is good for most Texas hunting. Scenario #2 is best for hunting mulies and antelope out west.

Obviously, comparing the ballistics of disparate cartridges like the .257 Weatherby to the .30-06 will reveal some differences, but generally speaking, sighting your rifle this way will allow the hunter to simply hold dead on at any practical shooting distance.

Thus, no need to hold low or high on the animal.

I'm with QB and Sigg. I've got my .25-06 and .308 2 to 2.5 inches high at 100 yards. Keeps in in the kill zone out to 300 yards (basically).

yessir, however my WT hunting resembles shots needed for hunting out West so 3-3.5" @ 100 are how my "big" guns are sighted in. The rifles I tend to use more at night for hogs are set up like scenario 1.

A 150 grain bullet should be running about 2850 to 3000 fps. At 233 yards, that bullet will drop about 5", depending on the exact speed and BC of the bullet. This is why it is important to know the trajectory of your specific ammo in your rifle. I feel sorry for the deer. It sounds like anything more than 100 yards is too far for you too shoot. Practice at distances further than 100 yards, and this will help.

The regular factory load for the 150 grain spitzer bullet in the .30-06 has a muzzle velocity (MV) of 2,910 fps with muzzle energy (ME) of 2,820 ft. lbs. At 200 yards the figures are 2,342 fps and 1,827 ft. lbs. Zero this load so that the maximum bullet rise (mid-range trajectory) is 3 inches, and the average spitzer bullet will not fall 3 inches below the line of sight until it reaches 285 yards. Any load with a maximum point blank range (MPBR) of 285 yards can take a lot of game. This is the flattest shooting of the standard .30-06 big game loads, and probably the best choice for medium size deer, antelope, goats, and sheep.

site your rifle in at 1 1/2" high at 100yrds.
hold your cross hairs center of kill zone "shoulder" pull the trigger out to 285 yrds.

Thanks everyone for your input. I will resight my rifle as suggested to 2" high at 100 yards.

The only thing I disagree with when going with MPBR as calculated above, is that you have not factored in accuracy of the rifle and shooter. Assuming the rifle will shoot MOA with the load in question and that buck fever and shooting in field conditions only cost another MOA and at 285 you are in serious danger of wounding a deer. Effective Point Blank Range is gonna be back closer to 200 to 225 yards. Playing devils advocate: ballistically you are 3" low already, your MOA rifle has you almost another 1.5" low, plus nearly another 1.5" for buck fever and poor rest and there you are damn near 6" low, and we have not even started on wind. The cards may not fall that poorly, and depending on point of aim 6" might still get the job done, but the margins are getting pretty slim. You can spend to win to get a more accurate rifle, and practice helps with shooter errors, but they should always be factored in. I still sight most of my rifles in for ballistic MPBR, but I limit my shooting to what I feel my EPBR is for that rifle.

Just my

-ww

I think you may misunderstand the intention of my posting. While I see your point, all factors should be taken in to consideration when hunting and people need to use common sense, however it is always best to sight your gun in on known factors and practice with your weapon. Whether or not the original poster has buck fever a poor rest or the capability to shoot the gun at any yardage is not the question she posed. She asked about sighting in the rifle and where to hold the cross hairs. I did not advocate she shoot a deer at 285 yards. I was merely pointing out the capability of a 30/06 with a 150 grain bullet. The poster just wanted the most out of her hunting experience by having the rifle she currently has sighted in. It is up to each individual to take responsibility for their own actions. While I seem to have taken it for granted that she would be, your posting seems to take for granted the opposite.

It's not enough to just shoot high at 100y. Take the time to practice shooting at 200y and beyond. It will improve your skills and confidence tremendously.

I think we are in agreement. Google keeps these threads alive for snippets to be taken out of context forever and I just wanted the facts a bit more clearly laid out. Also, I have a horrible habit of typing "you" without making it clear if it is the reader in general or the person being responded to, and in this case I started one way and went another. I was not trying to disagree with you so much as inform those that might read about MBPR and think "oh, I do this and I am cool to XXX yards, and I can hold high and take it to ZZZ!" I actually had someone show me battle sight zero on an saiga and proceed to tell me that they were ready for deer and hogs out to 300 yards not too long ago. I was so dumbfounded I had to go get my old log books and graphically explain the difference between the kill zone on a deer sized animal and the torso on a dog or b-mod target. He kept saying, but that is not what the guy behind the counter said. Ugh... After deer season I am gonna have to invest in some pie plates and take him out to a big pasture.

-ww

I have missed very few deer in the last 25 years of hunting and have never had a buck that I couldn't find except this one, which fortunately wasn't mortally wounded. I killed him the next year.

If I don't feel confident in my ability or a good shot doesn't present itself, I don't take the shot. My longest shot prior to this was 180 yards and I made a good hit, as well as 200 yards on a coyote and 250 yards on a hog.

Sounds more like a case of buck fever with that buck on round 1, happy results for huntress in round 2. Congrats on getting him the next year

I am impressed to see someone who is actually interested in getting the most out of their weapon and improving overall capability by research. After 42 years of hunting and practicing with shooting it is refreshing that you asked. I hope you get the most out of your hunting experience and your weapon.

Thank you. My gun has always been very reliable and I wouldn't trade it for anything else. I was pretty floored when I missed that buck two out of three shots, so I thought I had better ask the question about sighting in. Although I had a good rest, I had a pretty bad case of buck fever and that must of have been what threw the shots off. The one thing that I do need to change about my rifle is the trigger pull. It has always been quite hard to pull and it takes a lot of pressure to get to fire. This, coupled with buck fever, probably worked against me. I have promised myself that I am taking it to a gunsmith to lighten the pull before next season. Luckily almost all the deer come to within 100 yards of me and long shots are just not necessary.

Not all triggers are adjustable. My go to gun has always been my 1917 Enfield 30-06. It has a long, stiff, trigger pull. As I aged(I'm now 69) I developed a flinch. It didn't happen on my Grandsons 222. Practice didn't seem to help so I installed a Timney trigger and adjusted it to about a 2.5 pound pull. That cured a lot of problems. One problem nothing cures is buck fever. It happens.