how do YOU sight in a rifle

[grumpyvette]

how do you sight in your rifles,

Ive always started by finding an accurate load with a decent bullet design thats throws tight and consistent 5 shot groups, once Ive found the most accurate load, I
chronograph that load, and get the velocity out of my rifle,
i then use
a ballistic calculator

http://www.biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx

too find the 100 yard zero for a trajectory that allowed the bullets max rise to reach 3.5" above the cross hairs at any point in its trajectory.

then used a target similar to the one below, so I could use the orange dot as an aim point at 100 yards and have all the slugs impact the upper green dot, the only change is that I use 3/4" dots on a 1" grid pattern, with the dots placed to match my ballistic calculators info.


example target
http://mytargets.com/target104%20grid%2 ... 20high.pdf

heres an example

0 1.2
100 2.9
150 3.4
200 2.7
250 0.6
300 -3.0
350 -8.1
400 -14.9 14
450 -23.7 20
500 -34.4

as you can see in this case any shot taken should at least in theory hit within about 3" from the aim point out to about 300 yards, and holding with the horizontal cross hair on the back line, and the vertical cross hair in line with the rear of the front leg from most broadside angles will allow lung/heart hits out to slightly over 400 yards with some judgment and experience, but use of a range finder helps, as does keeping a laminated business card with the trajectory table taped to the rifle stock

 

[grumpyvette]

youll need a source of decent printable targets

heres some
just print the target , and sight in so your aiming at the lower x or dot and your bullets impact is 3"-or 3.5" higher,in the upper dot the area your bullets impact, will allow you to hold on the chest for a longer point blank range

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...le-to-accurately-shoot-up-or-down-hill.15229/

http://www.mytargets.com/

http://www.mytargets.com/target104%20gr ... 20high.pdf

viewtopic.php?f=97&t=4560&p=12166#p12166

http://www.chuckhawks.com/bullet_trajectory.htm

and it helps to know your rifles trajectory
http://www.hornady.com/cgi-bin/ball10.c ... =Calculate

a good deal of FLORIDA SWAMPS LOOK'S LIKE THESE pictures
typical palmetto thickets where 20 -40 yard shots are the normal range, and where some areas where use of a climbing tree stand offer's you a big advantage

WATCH THIS VIDEO

yes, its always rather puzzled me that many guys want to carry a 4-6 lb rifle and chamber it in a cartridge that limits recoil significantly ,
yet they ignore physics and don,t grasp the concept that .
you can easily calculate both the cartridge recoil potential and down range retained energy.
a rifle is a tool, you should select the best tool for the job at hand, not the select the smaller and easy to carry tool ,
that may not get the job done when its used.

recoil
http://www.shooterscalculator.com/recoil-calculator.php

http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmrecoil-5.1.cgi

trajectory
http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

https://www.hornady.com/team-hornady...alculators/#!/

theres no free lunch! but you can significantly reduce felt recoil
use of a PAST recoil shoulder pad , a rifle stock recoil pad, and proper use of a sling and bi-pod , and high quality optics ,goes a long way toward reducing the potential problem.
use of a properly designed muzzle brake, butt stock recoil pad, shooting pad sewn into the shoulder of your vest or parka a decent sling and a bi-pod all help both accuracy and reduce felt recoil.
and one factor that can,t be ignored is the need for rather consistent & repetitive practice from field positions
if you only pick that rifle out of your gun safe the weekend before the season opens you can reasonably expect your skill and familiarity to be rather pathetic,
compared to a guy that visits the local range at least every 30-45 days during the year.
use the calculators but keep in mind most game is shot at well under 300 yards so you don,t require a fire breathing magnum,
what you do require is consistent repetitive accuracy of shot placement and a knowledge of the games anatomy,
and your being in the physical condition to be in the right location at the correct time to make use of any opportunity you get.
,

http://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/i ... 0094310010

• 

HB25CS 25C Model S -13.5-27" Swivel Bipod
no thats not my rifle but its damn near its clone
Ive used a 340 wby or 375 H&H carbine on most hunts for decades,
I used a stiff load of H4831 and a 250 hornady sighted in 3.5" high at 100 yards ,in the 340 wby for decades
never had any reason to change

my late hunting partner used a browning BLR in caliber 358 win loaded with a 250 grain Speer bullet ,
over 44 grains of IMR 4064 and a 215 fed primer for 4 decades
he had a 2x7x Leopold scope, similar to this picture
he constantly jokingly referred to my rifles as CANNONs, but both of us were very content with the results we got over decades

sighted in at 3.5" high at 100 yards, this put the bullet impact almost dead on at 200 yards,
and about 11" low at 300 yards he never failed to kill any elk he shot
a 358 win is certainly not a magnum and recoil is tolerable for most people