What distance to start dialing

[Coopsdaddy]

What yardage do you start dialing and what yardage do you consider long range (hunting).

 

[hereinaz]

I zero at 100, then when hunting I may dial on elevation for maximum point blank zero if I am carrying my rifle and may have a quick pull up and shoot shot I can take in a field position standing or sitting.

Here is dope for a rifle. I will dial on .6 mil so I am 2 inches low at 300 and 2.16 inches high at 100. I then know I will hit vitals holding center. I can share an inch low or an inch high depending on distance to compensate at the extremes.

If I shoot further than that, I dial the full DOPE or back the turret to zero and holdover with my reticle.

Long range is where you have to specifically compensate for range to target and environmental conditions or you will miss. That’s how I define it. Cause the number changes depending on the cartridge. 200 is long range for a .22 or. 700 is long range for some big big magnums.

 

[Geewhiz]

I zero at 200 so I will dial for anything over that if given the time. I’d rather dial than hold over using the reticle.

I consider long range when you have to start knowing a bit more about what you’re doing. Seams like any joe blow out there can hold a bit over and lob bullets well enough to take an animal out to 3-400. Beyond that, other factors start to hold a lot more weight. Obviously different to everyone but in my mind longer ranges start around the 500 mark.

 

[packer58]

For me and my setup the short answer would be 350 yrds +/- depending on the situation. I do sight my rifles in for MPBR.

 

[IdahoHntr]

I dialed for a bear at 250 this spring because I had the time to. I would dial for any shot that gave me time to dial. If you trust your scope, I don’t see why you wouldn’t?

If there isn’t time then I am all prepared to shoot without dialing. I too zero at 100 then walk around with my rifle at a MPBR setting that allows me to shoot to 300 without much thought. Have killed many animals without dialing that way. Most of my shot opportunities are 300 and in with some urgency needed to make it happen.

 

[Kurts86]

I’ve dialed as close as 180 yards with a 100 yard zero because I had time to do it. I think it was also the first time hunting with an exposed turret so I just wanted to use it.

Generally I dial to a 200 yard zero so at 250 yards or so I start to dial.

 

[Lawnboi]

Anything over my zero given the time. And if I don’t have the time I’ll hold it.

I can’t understand why anyone would do anything other than put that bullet exactly where you want.

 

[Reburn]

At what yardage do you dial?

Will shortly have my first “dial” scope. In a hunting situation at what point do you dial? At 300 yards when it is a short hold over? This is based on elk. Appreciate any insights and experience.

rokslide.com

 

[hereinaz]

A year ago I had some inconsistencies in parallax settings at 20 degrees with my NXS scope.

Not sure I understand. What are the inconsistencies?

 

[S-3 ranch]

Start dialing + 400 , LDH is 500+
wind is the X factor on LDH and imo is blame for a majority of mistakes and misses
.270 win 130 Norma or 140 game getter out of a m70 featherweight

 

[hereinaz]

Start dialing + 400 , LDH is 500+
wind is the X factor on LDH and imo is blame for a majority of mistakes and misses
.270 win 130 Norma or 140 game getter out of a m70 featherweight

If the majority of people I meet at the range is anything to compare, then they are missing because of lots of other simple things besides wind.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I am a fan of FFP reticle hold out to 400. Beyond that it's a dial. And long is 650.

 

[Macintosh]

I figure I dial anywhere past point blank range when I have time, and hold when I dont. I am not precise enough holding over with my hunting rifles to take shots at deer more than about 300-350 yards without dialing. Very few shots Ive taken beyond point blank with a 100-yard zero were at all rushed so dialing has never been a problem.
To me, “long range hunting” is anything long-enough that a relatively small error ranging, or an error in estimating wind, or bad data input (elevation, etc) is somewhat likely to cause a miss or a wounded animal.

 

[Dmoua]

I dial for everything beyond my zero which is 100 yards. When shooting an animal at distance, they don’t even know you’re there so no reason not to.

 

[WKR]

Dial for 300 plus. I think 400 and beyond is long range

 

[Rich M]

If you are asking when it is worth the effort, figure out your point blank/dead hold range.

3006, 150 gr, 2900 fps, zeroed at 275 or 300 and i could hold on hair out to like 350/360 and slight holdover to 400 yds. After that i’d want help - hash marks or dialing.

 

[Macintosh]

If you are asking when it is worth the effort, figure out your point blank/dead hold range.

3006, 150 gr, 2900 fps, zeroed at 275 or 300 and i could hold on hair out to like 350/360 and slight holdover to 400 yds. After that i’d want help - hash marks or dialing.

Where do you hold for the (for me far more common, even hunting in open areas of the west) 100-ish yard shots? I know the pros/cons and can see a 200 yard zero if youre trying to avoid dialing, but a 275-300 zero seems like it would create more problems than it would solve—at least for me. I only have a 168gr 3006 load in my solver but that would put the vast majority of my hunting shots 3 to almost 4 mils (30-40 clicks or more than 1 foot at 100 yards) off from my zero. Are most of your shots that long? Or is this a hypothetical?

Edit: dumbass me forgot the guns I checked are in moa, not mil…so please disregard ^^ and see the below explanation.

 

[Rich M]

Where do you hold for the (for me far more common, even hunting in open areas of the west) 100-ish yard shots? I know the pros/cons and can see a 200 yard zero if youre trying to avoid dialing, but a 275-300 zero seems like it would create more problems than it would solve—at least for me. I only have a 168gr 3006 load in my solver but that would put the vast majority of my hunting shots 3 to almost 4 mils (30-40 clicks or more than 1 foot at 100 yards) off from my zero. Are most of your shots that long? Or is this a hypothetical?

I did the dead hold exercise in preparation for a 2017 WY antelope hunt and reaffirmed it for a 2019 CO Muley hunt. Shot my 2 antelope offhand at 25 yds (yes it was awesome having a herd that close and looking the other way - I could see their eyelashes) and prone at 350 yds - held on hair both times - on spine for the 350 yd shot and hit at heart level. The muley was 220 yards so no issues there.

For deer hunting local I rarely go past 100 yds but like to be able and ready if necessary. Last year was 40 yards.

Where i shoot has a 250 yard max range - I do 99% of my shooting at 200-250 yards, very rarely shoot 100. 100 yards does not challenge me and 3 of my hunting rifles shoot an inch at 250 yards. Anyway - set a 350 yard max shot for myself on those travel trips - figured if can hit a quarter at 250, should be able to hit a pie plate at 350.

Was trying to keep myself to a 4-ish inch rise/fall for most of it - holding dead center of lungs out to 300, spine at 350. This way I could shoot to 350 yards without thinking. Yeah, have to hold a little higher at 350 but not for anything closer. Used this calculator and was able to test it successfully out to 250 as "close enough". https://shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php

150 gr Sierra Pro Hunter, 2,900 fps.
Zero at 275 yds=

050 yds +1.7 inches
100 yds +3.74
150 yds +4.52
200 yds +3.9
250 yds +1.7
300 yds - 2.2
350 yds - 8
400 yds -16 inches

When I was learning, it was back in the 70s and dialing scopes were not common. Rangefinders were not common. Our guns and scopes were set-it and forget-it. There is no reason to learn dialing when it won't do much for me. I do have a couple BDC type scopes but really haven't used em cause I'm stuck at 250 yards...

If you are gonna dial, they say 100 yds is the best spot to start - I can't help beyond that. The clicks on my scopes are like 1/4 inch at 100 yds - can see how you get a bunch of "clicks" and 12+ inches worth between 100 and 300 yd zeros.

You can start at 100 and dial to 250 and leave it there for most hunting, then dial it further if you need to shoot 350 or 400 yards. Seems like a happy middle. ???

 

[TaperPin]

What yardage do you start dialing and what yardage do you consider long range (hunting).

What makes sense to me as the fastest, most efficient and effective long range strategy is to zero at 300 yards. For most flat shooting rifles the hold on a deer sized animal is 1/3 up at 100 and 200, 3/4 up at 350, just over the back for 400 and half the chest depth over its back for 450.

I like the idea of point blank range, but its not a small thing to purposely plan on impacts being 3” or 4” off center. Up close, holding 1/3 up from the bottom of chest is so ingrained it’s automatic - point blank doesn’t save time or effort - it just makes it easier to mis.

Long range has a natural starting point when common shooting techniques begin to fall apart. Way back when gas had lead and range finders hadn’t been invented, a relative came along on an antelope hunt. I figured the buck was close to 400 and it turned out to be about 450 - the little 100 gr partition clipped a leg and went just inside the sternum down low. A game warden was watching the whole thing from a mile away and commented on what a long shot it was for a girl with a feartherweight .243 and 6x scope.

That 50 yard error almost ment a mis on a really good first antelope. If the buck had been 475, or the wind was really blowing it could have been a clean mis. This is why 350 to 400 yards is tricky for the average hunter and a good place to start ranging everything and making adjustments.

 

[Macintosh]

@Rich M , that makes much more sense now that I checked, thanks. I just checked myself—my 3006 and wifes 7-08, which is what I checked when I posted, are in moa, the only guns in the house that arent in mil. looked at dope chart and saw “3.9” at 400 yards and didnt notice it was moa! 3.9mils is 39 clicks, equal to 39cm at 100m….and yes, only 4” if its 3.9moa. My bad, I just think in mils at this point. need to edit my post above. That still seems like an excessive zero distance given Id need to hold quite a long way from where I want to hit at my normal ranges, but Im sure it works.