Who Checks Their Zero?

[robby denning]

Ya, and on top of that.......I had the Illuminator version.......LOL. Glass, prism, and coating quality has come a long ways in the last 30 years.

THE ILLUMINATOR—striking fear in the hearts of man and beast LOL

 

[HeavyAssault]

I've been using the Ballistic-X app as shown above. Very nice way to keep note of things. The final shot details/label can get busy with all the info. I'd suggest giving it a try and select the data that you want to see the most.

I can't see any real reason to make changes day-to-day. Sure if you are on a trip or have made some sort of other changes to your setup then yes.

With respects to hunting you're better off tracking your cold bore shots. Once you have a warm-n-fuzzy about your shots then just go with that data.

I have my rifles "zeroed" high at 100yds roughly 1-2.5" high to replicate a true 200yd zero. If I had regular access to say 200yds+ I'd be able to check my true zero.

 

[Laramie]

Just bore sight it with Jim Shockey's laser and go- ammo is way to expensive to practice with lol.

In all seriousness, anyone not checking their zero probably shouldn't be out hunting imo.

 

[Cactus kid]

I save my latest "zero check" target, write down the day, rifle, ammo, scope, ect. Then i compare the next time i check zero. I hang on to three or four zero targets, then i chunk them.

 

[dirtytough]

First trip to Colorado elk hunting. The guy that set the trip up made sure we got there early enough to check our rifles. Everyone adjusted a few clicks and we went on our way.

A few years later same thing except it was just dad and I. Dad was using one of my rifles and I was shocked when he punched the bullseye first shot. No clicks or anything.

Looking back it’s crazy to think it’s normal that after driving from one state to another, we need to check zero.

 

[amassi]

Ya, and on top of that.......I had the Illuminator version.......LOL. Glass, prism, and coating quality has come a long ways in the last 30 years.

Did yours have the wideview "tv" eyepiece? Redfield engineers/marketing really took some chances

 

[5MilesBack]

Did yours have the wideview "tv" eyepiece? Redfield engineers/marketing really took some chances

Yep.

 

[robby denning]

Yep.

Was that the eye piece that was almost square, like a TV as mentioned above?

 

[HighlandsHunter]

I used to check zero all the time. Now I have learnt that properly made scopes don't need to check zero. Off the top of my head the current scopes I know I can rely on are Meopta 6x42, NF 1-8 and SHV 3-10, Minox german made, Kahles K4i prism scope, Holosun red dot and magnifier. All my gold rings have failed, except I've got a glossy old school 20 year old one on a 22lr which has never shifted.

 

[Bearwhisky]

I used to always check zeroes before hunting with a rifle. Over the last 5 years or so, after switching to quality optics and mounts, my zero has never moved after verifying. I do not check zeroes nearly as often. If i go on a particularly rigorous outing or drop my rifle out of a treestand (happened last year *sigh*), I will verify my zero. Other than that, I dont usually bother.


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[Pony Soldier]

Because crap happens - especially when you add horses to your adventure, I maintain duplicate rifles. That way should nasty stuff happen, I just go to the next gun and continue with life. At this time I have three of the same for my main rifle plus a backup. Hence I sight each in sept or early october. First at my 50 yd range, then at my 100 yd range and then follow up with a series of hunting shots. Sitting, leaning, standing offhand and whatever I can imagine that I might encounter. Once I am confident in the rifle the rest is to check my muscle memory and my skills. I know that the probabllity of getting more than one shot is very low so I am testing both me and the guns.

I have leupolds on all of my rifles but they are 20 years or older. On any given year I might adjust any one of them a quarter inch or so. Usually to the left - slightly. I just account that to the gun, me and conditions. After you bounce a gun around on a pony for a couple hundred miles I expect minor changes.

I rarely miss and I am very concious of scopes with a moving point of impact. I had a bushnell in the 80s that got progressively worse but nothing you could pin down. I shipped it back to the factory and it got worse. That's when I upgraded to leupolds. The gun went back to consistency with the change. Another thing I watch for is copper build up in the barrel and I don't shoot excessively.

Another thing I work at is target acquisition. I have a two paddle metal target for my twenty two. I alternate between them as fast as I can until I have both spinning.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Old-Cat]

Did yours have the wideview "tv" eyepiece? Redfield engineers/marketing really took some chances

Too funny. “Them’s” were coveted.

 

[packer58]

Oh yes, the Redfield "Wide Field" was the bomb. Let's not forget about the Simmons 44 Mag..... now that was some glass right there .....

Back in those days checking zero was mandatory for sure, not so much anymore as others have said. I still do a zero check before every hunt, for me it's a real confidence booster and eliminates all the "what if's" ...

 

[WCB]

I shoot my rifles a bit in the of season to make sure everything is what it is supposed to be. I take notice of changes but normally just go right to 300yds + and hit 8" gongs. Unless something seems wildly off like hitting the very top of the gong instead of middle I don't really note anything.

For my to step back into 100yds and "re-zero" normally means I'm doing so because of a new lot of ammunition (I don't reload).

 

[Flyjunky]

I check zero after every hunt and normally do a decent amount of shooting between hunts, and then check prior to each new hunt. I checked zero about 8 times from early September to late November. No zero change from the March FX 4.5-28X52. Basically every time I go to the range, it's 2 foulers from a clean barrel, a zero check, and then I start shooting long. Unless I'm specifically checking my cold bore dirty bore impacts.

This is basically where I’m at as well and it sounds like we have a similar cleaning regiment . I also record cold bore fps as well.

 

[stealthgoat]

Yes, and I keep records in my data book. Like others have said, since I started using good scopes with good mounts the zero doesn't change...

 

[Matt Cashell]

I check zero often, almost weekly this season.

Just started taking better notes this year.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I check zero often, almost weekly this season.

Just started taking better notes this year.

Have you noticed any shifts, or have all stayed where they should?

 

[Harvey_NW]

One thing I think people potentially confuse with (reasonable) POI shift, or scope zero issues, is shooting factory ammo from different lots. I always advise my buddies to buy an adequate amount of ammo of the same lot to zero, verify, and hunt with. Since I got rid of all my Vortex's and started reloading, I really haven't seen any cold bore variation or notable shifts in POI.

I haven't been shooting as much as I'd like because of the component shortage, but this year I cleaned all the rifles that were headed out to the field, verified zero and ballistics, and hunted. My primary rifle went 3/3 on 1 shot kills from 218-583 without a zero check in between hunts.

 

[hicountry1]

I do every year