at what distance should i sight in my rifle, im shooting .308win, i dont how many grains im going to shoot yet

How far do you normally shoot?

50 yard zero.

1" high at 100

the longest distance i would shoot is probably 150 yrds....i have it now zeroed at 25 yrds dead on......would that work?

25 yards is how you properly sight-in a hunting rifle.

Get it perfectly zeroed at 100 yards. No 25 won't work very well in the long run.

BS, Sight your rifle at a controlled 25 yards and check it at any other distance you prefer.
Perfectly zero at 100 yards is an extreme waste of MPBR unless you are using a laser beam.

Hunting Rifle Sight-In Philosophy

Ammo is expensive and every time I blink wrong its magnified by four at 100 yards.

I always sight-in a hunting rifle at TWENTY FIVE YARDS, KNOW my BALLISTICS, & PRACTICE

Sighting at 25 yards minimizes shooter error so its easy to diagnose problems or discern between equipment, environment, or shooter technique (bad habits?).

Bore sighting should get the first shot on the paper. At 25 yards, you probably won't need to bore sight.

Use the Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR), which for hunting purposes, is the distance at which the bullet rises and falls about 3 inches above and below the line of sight.

Since I don't sight-in a rifle past 25 yards, I usually stick with 1/4" high at 25 yards in the same hole. Then I check my impact at 50yards or whatever distance I choose just to see if my ballistic calculations are correct. A little reverse calculating, can tell me if my figures are correct Then I do some tweaking of the figures if needed. If you don't do anything else, 1/4" high at 25 yards will make you "hold on" deer capable out to at least 250 yards with most popular calibers with velocities above 2500fps.

Most advertised velocities are measured from a 24" barrel. The accepted rule of thumb for velocity loss per inch is as follows:

For rifles with muzzle velocities in the 1000-2000 fps range, the change in velocity for each 1" change in barrel length is 5 fps.
For rifles with muzzle velocities in the 2001-2500 fps range, the change in velocity for each 1" change in barrel length is 10 fps.
For rifles with muzzle velocities in the 2501-3000 fps range, the change in velocity for each 1" change in barrel length is 20 fps.
For rifles with muzzle velocities in the 3001-3500 fps range, the change in velocity for each 1" change in barrel length is 30 fps.
For rifles with muzzle velocities in the 3501-4000 fps range, the change in velocity for each 1" change in barrel length is 40 fps.

Once you get your ammo selection squared away and estimate your velocity loss, fiddle with this web-site a bit and hit the firing range.

http://www.handloads.com/calc/



Sighting at 25 yards works.

I don't know if this is common but the point of impact with my 270 is the same at 25 yards and 100 yards. What you may gain from actually sighting it at 100 yards is that small inaccuracies at 25 yards will be magnified at 100 yards. If you're shooting 1/4" right at 25, it could be considerably more at 100.

Where I hunt, I've made shots ranging from 50 feet to 364 yards. I sight 2" high at 100. I can aim "center mass" from 0 out to 350.

Wow, throwing the BS flag on me.

Do you load your own? What's your closest scoped rifle hit? What's your farthest scoped rifle hit? Have you chronoed your own loads or just rely on published data?

Yes I load my own. This year my closest hit was on a .07" dot at 7 yards (July). My farthest hit was on 18" steel at 1000 yards (2 weeks ago). My load data is a G1 BC of .585 and is 2800 fps MV that I chronoed and two ballistic calculators have matched field dope.

I don't need to worry about shooter error at 100 yards, if the rifle will put them in one hole, so can I. I bore sight at 100 yards and will have it done in 3 rounds.

I didn't throw the flag on your way. Everyone has their procedure, so don't call BS on my way.

^^This is right also^^

Might be what I'd do if I had a duplex reticle and could afford minute of vitals instead of sub MOA.

That would work fine if you knew positively your velocity is on if not your drop could be a good bit off. Without a chronograph or real world target practice you are just guessing which the game animal deserves more than a stab in the dark.

Fireman, given your skill you haven't asked the question presented by the OP and I doubt seriously you ever will. You said "I" don't need to worry about error at 100 yards. good for you but the OP considering the question presented, very well might.

Pepe, follow whatever advice you want but if your not that experienced or comfortable with your outfit, 25 yards can help you become a better shooter.

The information presented is accurate enough that you can spend your money on a good scope instead of a Chrono or Bore sighting!

What question is needed? He's going to be sighting in a scoped .308. I've shot some variation of that setup more rounds than I remember. If he's fine duplex, BDC, MOA or Mil I would zero at 100 hunting rifle or compeition rifle. They all get 100 in my safe.

But I do see the value in a 200 yard zero if one is limited in their optics and their possible shot could be beyond that 200 yard zero.

Fireman, he might not have the skill to shoot 100 yards yet. Wouldn't it suck for him to waste ammo and keep readjusting his scope because of a bad habit?

You've seen it, I've seen it.

Sorry if the BS offended you, its beer talkin.

I think Fireman and Loco are both correct but they aren't talking about the same game. Loco is talking about a killing shot and Fireman is talking extreme accuracy. I have rifles set up for both and consider both to be equally important.

I have one rifle that once I got it down to one hole 5 shot groups, I started working on standard deviation. That doesn't make it any more accurate really. It just feeds the obsession for perfection.

On the other hand, my 0 to 350 single point of aim for my hunting rifle is good enough to do the job. I'm not really concerned if I hit 2" above or 2" below my point of aim. He's dead either way.

I agree.

I was basing my assumption of his shooting purpose on three things:

The question of what yardage

Not knowing what grain bullets

Saying it was zero at 25 but not mentioning what grain bullets

And if he has that much shooter error at the gun range than it will be over exaggerated in the field.

It sure could be depending on all the conditions one could encounter

^^this^^

And if he's having that much trouble on paper what happens when the buck fever hits, the heart rate and BP get elevated and he's aiming at hide? This is what got me into what I enjoy so much. Practicing so much that I can make the hunting shot when it counts. Coyotes, deer, hogs what ever.

Johnny, I'm at the fire station right now so have a beer for me too! No worries.

all i got to say is i do some long range shooting from 500-1000yds and every rifle i zero i do @ 100yds. whether it be a .223 all the way to 300 win mag.

All I can say is WOW! Take a look at the chart below, and I think you will know my answer. This is for a 308 Win shooting a 150 grain bullet at 2750 fps with a scope height of 1.75" (which is a very common scope heigth). If you sight in dead-on at 25 yards, you will be 3.42" high at 100, and 4" high from 125 to 150 yards. Someone please explain this to me how a 25 yard zero is better than a 100 yard zero?

100 yard zero
Range Elev
(yards) (inches)
0 ---
25 -0.86
50 -0.26
75 0.03
100 0
125 -0.36
150 -1.07
175 -2.13
200 -3.56
You are within an inch of your point of aim from zero to 150 yards when zero'd at 100 yards.

25 yard zero
Range Elev
(yards) (inches)
0 ---
25 0
50 1.45
75 2.59
100 3.42
125 3.91
150 4.06
175 3.86
200 3.28

Anything other than dead on or 1" high @ 100 yds is just plain unAmerican

All I know is that I sure hate it when somebody does not practice, practice, practice....

A couple of years ago a guy on the lease shot at a 140-plus ten point at 50 yards and made a crappy shot and never recovered the deer. He said he fired a couple of rounds a couple of days before the season started "just to make sure it was still close," and of course, it wasn't.

Personally, if I'm going to hunt with a rifle, then I'm going to shoot a lot before I go after a deer. Heck, I went last Friday and burned up about 25 rounds just getting some trigger time.