Why MPBR isn’t as good of an idea as it seems...

OP
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Formidilosus

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I would venture to guess most of the set-and-forget guys zero a rifle for 200 vs 100 and have a hybrid of MPBR/holdovers while still holding on vitals out to 400ish with most of the modern calibers. My question is, is there an advantage to setting your scope to 100 and knowing your holdover vs setting it to 200 and knowing the same? It seems like a blend of MPBR and 100 zero.... I have scopes that I spin but have a fair amount of set-and-forget yet with 200 yd zeros. Just honestly wondering what the benefit is between a 100 yd zero and 200 yd zero pending your fluent with holds and know your dope.


thanks in advance




You can zero at 200. However, there are many reasons to zero at 100.


First- if you do not have your bullets landing behind the crosshairs- aka POA/POI at that distance... you don’t have a zero. I.E.- zeroing 2in high at 100 is NOT a 200 yard zero regardless of what the math says. In that case you have a “2in high at 100 yard” zero.


Second, 200 yards is just far enough that environmental factors start mattering (wind, angles, etc.).


Third, to zero, and recheck zero you need 200 yards.


Fourth, I now have a trajectory that is both above and below my line of sight. And, a 200 yard zero doesn’t appreciably help with hitting at 300 or so.






The benefits of a 100 yard POA/POI zero.


One, 100 yard ranges are everywhere.


Two, 100 yards is close enough that environmental factors are not at play (excepting extremely high winds).


Three, because of the shape of high velocity trajectory, 100 yards is right in the middle of the flattest part. That means from 60’ish yards to 120 yards the bullet is never off more than 1/10th on an inch from LOS. You literally can set a target anywhere from 60’ish to 120 yards, aim dead on and have a 100 yard zero.


Four, every adjustment needed is high. There is no holding low, or hitting high. This matters. I’m always dialing up or holding high.








Now, having said that I zero everything at 100 for a POA/POI zero. That doesn’t mean one can’t dial up to a 200 or 250 yard zero out in the field. For cartridges/bullets 2,900fps or under, a 100 yard zero makes a very simple BDC style hold with a mil reticle. The dope ends up looking like so-


300- 1 mil
400- 2 mil
500- 3 mil
600- 4 mil




For cartridges above 3,000fps you may need to dial up a few tenths to make it linear. My 300 WM I can dial “UP .7” and my dope looks like this-




300- .5 mil
400- 1 mil
500- 1.5 mil






You can do that with any cartridge. You can also figure it out for a 200 yard starting zero as well, but there just isn’t a good reason to do so.
















What about a hybrid of the two where you do MPBR for a smaller vital area, say 4-5”? Then you can still mindlessly aim dead on out to a set range, your max ord is lower in the middle ranges so you have some buffer built in, and anything beyond your MPBR is still far enough to give you time to range and dial? Seems like this method would take care of most of those misses at max ord.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Of course that will work most of the time and is better than a true MPBR, but as above what is it really getting you? I mean with almost any normal centerfire cartridge these days and a 100 yard zero-


From muzzle to 200 aim center. Past 200 to 300 hold on the back. Past three hundred I’m not trying to hold in air.






If you bow hunt, I would wager that you don’t have 1 fixed pin thy you hold low on some shots, and guess how high to hold on others..?














I used to think that was obvious, but if you talk to many people you find it is not. The other thing is you'll usually run out of MPBR on windage before you get to MPBR on trajectory.




If you run the scenario with wind it gets ugly real fast for MPBR. Even a 4 mph wind calling ability (which is far better than non trained shooters can call it) drops the hit rate of the MPBR above to around 50%. Holding dead on is still in the high 90’s.



 

45-70

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To the OP: Well said, accurate and I don't dispute anything that was presented. However, I feel that there should be an * to the whole post, and that is...

This is one reason why I and many others reload our own ammunition. A well developed round, developed with my rifle, for my rifle according to my particular needs (intended animal, range etc...) will absolutely be accurate within the MPBR that I have chosen. It's a long and enjoyable process and it forces you to shoot a lot of rounds which keeps you proficient. No factory ammunition can ever compete with well developed rounds reloaded by an individual in terms of consistency round for round. Consistency is one of the biggest differences between factory and reloads.

This is all my humble opinion. I concede that the trigger operator must also do the job but that is no different for factory or reloads. I also concede that reloading is not for everyone for one reason or another. Fair enough. MPBR has its place.

Great thread and lots of good responses.
Regards.
 
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Form to expand on this thread and some of your posts here about increasing hit chance with a 100 yard zero... what is your opinion on cartridge selection and valued characteristics to maximize point of aim/point of impact for hunting applications?
 

MattB

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[FONT=&][FONT=&]You can zero at 200. However, there are many reasons to zero at 100. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]First- if you do not have your bullets landing behind the crosshairs- aka POA/POI at that distance... you don’t have a zero. I.E.- zeroing 2in high at 100 is NOT a 200 yard zero regardless of what the math says. In that case you have a “2in high at 100 yard” zero. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Second, 200 yards is just far enough that environmental factors start mattering (wind, angles, etc.). [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Third, to zero, and recheck zero you need 200 yards. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Fourth, I now have a trajectory that is both above and below my line of sight. And, a 200 yard zero doesn’t appreciably help with hitting at 300 or so. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]The benefits of a 100 yard POA/POI zero. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]One, 100 yard ranges are everywhere. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Two, 100 yards is close enough that environmental factors are not at play (excepting extremely high winds). [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Three, because of the shape of high velocity trajectory, 100 yards is right in the middle of the flattest part. That means from 60’ish yards to 120 yards the bullet is never off more than 1/10th on an inch from LOS. You literally can set a target anywhere from 60’ish to 120 yards, aim dead on and have a 100 yard zero. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Four, every adjustment needed is high. There is no holding low, or hitting high. This matters. I’m always dialing up or holding high. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Now, having said that I zero everything at 100 for a POA/POI zero. That doesn’t mean one can’t dial up to a 200 or 250 yard zero out in the field. For cartridges/bullets 2,900fps or under, a 100 yard zero makes a very simple BDC style hold with a mil reticle. The dope ends up looking like so-[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]300- 1 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&][FONT=&]400- 2 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&][FONT=&]500- 3 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&][FONT=&]600- 4 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]For cartridges above 3,000fps you may need to dial up a few tenths to make it linear. My 300 WM I can dial “UP .7” and my dope looks like this-[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]300- .5 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&][FONT=&]400- 1 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&][FONT=&]500- 1.5 mil[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]You can do that with any cartridge. You can also figure it out for a 200 yard starting zero as well, but there just isn’t a good reason to do so. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]Of course that will work most of the time and is better than a true MPBR, but as above what is it really getting you? I mean with almost any normal centerfire cartridge these days and a 100 yard zero-[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]From muzzle to 200 aim center. Past 200 to 300 hold on the back. Past three hundred I’m not trying to hold in air. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]If you bow hunt, I would wager that you don’t have 1 fixed pin thy you hold low on some shots, and guess how high to hold on others..?[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT=&][FONT=&]If you run the scenario with wind it gets ugly real fast for MPBR. Even a 4 mph wind calling ability (which is far better than non trained shooters can call it) drops the hit rate of the MPBR above to around 50%. Holding dead on is still in the high 90’s. [/FONT][/FONT]
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That is as informative a post as I have ever read on the internet.

The one thing that potentially bears explaining is the last comment, which implies that vertical...call it lack of adjustment... with MPBR results in a significant reduction in the rate of hits when wind generally works in the horizontal plane. I think I understand it, but more explanation would be appreciated.
 
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That is as informative a post as I have ever read on the internet.

The one thing that potentially bears explaining is the last comment, which implies that vertical...call it lack of adjustment... with MPBR results in a significant reduction in the rate of hits when wind generally works in the horizontal plane. I think I understand it, but more explanation would be appreciated.

The area that is counted as a hit is a circle. As the shots move horizontally with the wind and user error, the height of the circle shrinks. So, a shot 3" high, but in the center is a hit on a 6" circle. A shot 3" high and .5" left or right is not. Technically, at + or -3" in the vertical plane and anywhere other than dead center it would not be a hit if using a pin point to define the bullet impact.

At least I think that's why.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 

MattB

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The area that is counted as a hit is a circle. As the shots move horizontally with the wind and user error, the height of the circle shrinks. So, a shot 3" high, but in the center is a hit on a 6" circle. A shot 3" high and .5" left or right is not. Technically, at + or -3" in the vertical plane and anywhere other than dead center it would not be a hit if using a pin point to define the bullet impact.

At least I think that's why.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


That is in line with what I was thinking, thanks.

All this presupposes that a MPBR shooter would not hold high or low depending on the perceived (or measured) distance., which I am not sure is a fair assumption.
 
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I grew up shooting for a lot of years with a 200 yard zero, but I can confidently say that when I went to a 100 yard zero and got my first scope that could dial, I became a much better shooter at distances beyond 300 yards. I like to know my drops for my reticle just Incase I need it, but I also know my dial up by memory for 200, 250, 300, 350, so it just takes seconds to twist the turret up.

Another idea for you guys not wanting to dial would be to get a 100yd Zero, then look at a scope with capped turrets like the night force SHV 3-10, then you could walk around with it twisted up to whatever yardage you want. Just an idea...I don’t do that.
 

5MilesBack

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If you're not going to range and you are that bad at judging distance you shouldn't be taking those shots. If you think it's 300 and it's actually 350, you're off by 6" too.

Most all of my rifle hunting was before rangefinders (and the internet for that matter) were even mostly available, so almost no one had or used one. And estimating ranges in mountain country can be extremely tricky and can make the best of estimators look downright foolish.

So, depending on whatever factors are input into the situation (no RF, no dial scope, no hash marks, no internet ballistic charts...), I still say that MPBR can be "better" than some of the other options out there. Obviously having a measured distance and a scope to dial to that exact distance would be preferable and a better option. I can say with confidence that I hit every animal I shot at using MPBR, and never lost one in 25 years of using that. But ya........if you have them a rangefinder and dial scope would be the better option. Both of which are widely available today, and I currently have and use.
 
OP
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That is as informative a post as I have ever read on the internet.

The one thing that potentially bears explaining is the last comment, which implies that vertical...call it lack of adjustment... with MPBR results in a significant reduction in the rate of hits when wind generally works in the horizontal plane. I think I understand it, but more explanation would be appreciated.


As silverbullet stated, it’s due to the top and bottom of a circle being smaller horizontally. You don’t have to use a circle as the target, you could use a square or rectangle, however since rifles generally group in a circle (cone) it makes sense to use that as a target.
 

Murdy

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If you use plus or minus 3 inches, instead of 4, you'll have a shorter MPBR, but you'll also move a lot of those misses into the vitals. So you can still have a range out to which you can just point and shoot. Maybe that's more a Midwest/east thing, where we don't typically shoot at the ranges you have to out west.
 
OP
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This is one reason why I and many others reload our own ammunition. A well developed round, developed with my rifle, for my rifle according to my particular needs (intended animal, range etc...) will absolutely be accurate within the MPBR that I have chosen. It's a long and enjoyable process and it forces you to shoot a lot of rounds which keeps you proficient. No factory ammunition can ever compete with well developed rounds reloaded by an individual in terms of consistency round for round.
Regards.

Accuracy (technically precision) has almost nothing to do with the hit rates here. Dropping from 2 MOA to 1 MOA only increases the hit rate by 1%. Going from 1moa to .5 MOA only add another .3-.4%. The reason being that the biggest error is not ground size, but rage to target with non-centered shots (accuracy). In any case, I have yet to see a single person including world champions that can consistently hold 1moa in field conditions from positions other than prone. You just cannot CONSISTENTLY hold 1moa groups from the top of a pack, or off of hiking sticks under time constraints.

The best shooters (and I mean shooters who take it more as a profession than a hobby; not hunters who shoot less than a couple hundred rounds a year from a bench) can only hold around 2 MOA consistently from positions other than prone under time/stress. But 2moa is actually not bad. That’s above a 90% hit rate past 500 yards. Increasing precision to 1 MOA only gains us 6%. Increasing precision to .25 MOA gains a whopping .8%.



As for factory versus reloads, while it may have been true in the recent past, there absolutely is factory ammo today that will match the reloads in some chamberings. I can get .5-.7 MOA ammo from Walmart for $28 a box. That’s consistent ten (10) round groups. Factory ammo that will consistently group 10 rounds at 100 yards at or under 1 MOA in good guns is readily available for 223, 22 Valkyrie, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, 308, and 300WM. If you include online or bigger sporting goods stores- 300NM, 338NM, and 338 Lapua.


All that said- group size (precision) is only useful to a hunter to determine what size target they can hit at what range. The point of diminishing returns in precision is very abrupt. Going from 3 MOA to 2 MOA is definitely worth it for general hunting. Going from 2 MOA to 1.5 MOA can increase ones range enough to make a difference if that person is skilled and will shoot past 400 yards. Going from 1.5-1 MOA really only helps if one wants to shoot deer sized vitals out to and past 600. From 1 MOA to .5 MOA- that only matters if one is shooting past 600 a lot, is a very accomplished wind caller, is shooting from prone with bags, has a handle on ALL of the environmental factors, and can range the target within 1 yard. The reason that size past 1.5-2 MOA isn’t having a great effect on hit rates (on an 8” target) is because our biggest cause of error isn’t group size- it’s wind.
 
OP
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If you use plus or minus 3 inches, instead of 4, you'll have a shorter MPBR, but you'll also move a lot of those misses into the vitals. So you can still have a range out to which you can just point and shoot. Maybe that's more a Midwest/east thing, where we don't typically shoot at the ranges you have to out west.


If you use 3” +/- for a 6” target with the above cartridge/ammo you get-


A MPBR of 295 yards. Zero of 255 yards, Max Ord of 3 inches at 150 yards, and 3 inches low at 295. Your hit rate is 85.1%. By reducing the farthest range to 295 instead of 320 yards, it’s only better than a 8” MPBR of the first scenario by 3% in total.

If you reduce it to a 2” Max Ord you get a MPBR of 250 yards, a zero of 220, Max Ord of 2” at 130, and 2” low at 250 yards. Hit rate goes to 95.8%.


If i were inclined to zero past 100, I would keep my Max Ord at 2 inches or under.
 

Redside

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If you use 3” +/- for a 6” target with the above cartridge/ammo you get-


A MPBR of 295 yards. Zero of 255 yards, Max Ord of 3 inches at 150 yards, and 3 inches low at 295. Your hit rate is 85.1%. By reducing the farthest range to 295 instead of 320 yards, it’s only better than a 8” MPBR of the first scenario by 3% in total.

If you reduce it to a 2” Max Ord you get a MPBR of 250 yards, a zero of 220, Max Ord of 2” at 130, and 2” low at 250 yards. Hit rate goes to 95.8%.


If i were inclined to zero past 100, I would keep my Max Ord at 2 inches or under.

But what if you were using that 6" MPBR on an 8" target? Is that what your saying that it only goes up 3%? When I first read about setting up a scope this way it was described as a deer has about an 8" vital zone, so you set up the MPBR using a 6" vital zone to give you room for error.

I do not have a dial scope, but if I did, what you describe, zero at 100, is how I would set it up. I have a plane jane vx-1 Leupold, with no other hash marks ect, so I used this MPBR method when setting it up.
 

45-70

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Accuracy (technically precision) has almost nothing to do with the hit rates here. Dropping from 2 MOA to 1 MOA only increases the hit rate by 1%. Going from 1moa to .5 MOA only add another .3-.4%. The reason being that the biggest error is not ground size, but rage to target with non-centered shots (accuracy). In any case, I have yet to see a single person including world champions that can consistently hold 1moa in field conditions from positions other than prone. You just cannot CONSISTENTLY hold 1moa groups from the top of a pack, or off of hiking sticks under time constraints.

The best shooters (and I mean shooters who take it more as a profession than a hobby; not hunters who shoot less than a couple hundred rounds a year from a bench) can only hold around 2 MOA consistently from positions other than prone under time/stress. But 2moa is actually not bad. That’s above a 90% hit rate past 500 yards. Increasing precision to 1 MOA only gains us 6%. Increasing precision to .25 MOA gains a whopping .8%.



As for factory versus reloads, while it may have been true in the recent past, there absolutely is factory ammo today that will match the reloads in some chamberings. I can get .5-.7 MOA ammo from Walmart for $28 a box. That’s consistent ten (10) round groups. Factory ammo that will consistently group 10 rounds at 100 yards at or under 1 MOA in good guns is readily available for 223, 22 Valkyrie, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, 308, and 300WM. If you include online or bigger sporting goods stores- 300NM, 338NM, and 338 Lapua.


All that said- group size (precision) is only useful to a hunter to determine what size target they can hit at what range. The point of diminishing returns in precision is very abrupt. Going from 3 MOA to 2 MOA is definitely worth it for general hunting. Going from 2 MOA to 1.5 MOA can increase ones range enough to make a difference if that person is skilled and will shoot past 400 yards. Going from 1.5-1 MOA really only helps if one wants to shoot deer sized vitals out to and past 600. From 1 MOA to .5 MOA- that only matters if one is shooting past 600 a lot, is a very accomplished wind caller, is shooting from prone with bags, has a handle on ALL of the environmental factors, and can range the target within 1 yard. The reason that size past 1.5-2 MOA isn’t having a great effect on hit rates (on an 8” target) is because our biggest cause of error isn’t group size- it’s wind.


Very good points and all taken with open eyes and ears. I really enjoy this topic because I consider myself a student at reloading and shooting.

I should have further qualified my initial response by saying that I only hunt and reload 45-70 govt. I zero at 125 and have a personal limit of 150yds. I am far from a professional shooter and my reloading experience is almost exclusively with the 45-70. I have read the masters in depth and collect 1st editions of their work. Phil Sharpe, Ackely, Whelen, Hatcher, Ommundsen, Crossman, Ruark, Ned Roberts, Mann etc... Great stuff.

Your comment on shooting from field positions is spot on. After many days at the bench getting yourself and your ammo dialed in, it is quite the humbling experience to head to the field for some real world practice.

Kind Regards.
 
OP
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But what if you were using that 6" MPBR on an 8" target? Is that what your saying that it only goes up 3%? When I first read about setting up a scope this way it was described as a deer has about an 8" vital zone, so you set up the MPBR using a 6" vital zone to give you room for error.

I do not have a dial scope, but if I did, what you describe, zero at 100, is how I would set it up. I have a plane jane vx-1 Leupold, with no other hash marks ect, so I used this MPBR method when setting it up.


Correct. 8” target, 6” MPBR.






Very good points and all taken with open eyes and ears. I really enjoy this topic because I consider myself a student at reloading and shooting.

I should have further qualified my initial response by saying that I only hunt and reload 45-70 govt. I zero at 125 and have a personal limit of 150yds. I am far from a professional shooter and my reloading experience is almost exclusively with the 45-70. I have read the masters in depth and collect 1st editions of their work. Phil Sharpe, Ackely, Whelen, Hatcher, Ommundsen, Crossman, Ruark, Ned Roberts, Mann etc... Great stuff.

Your comment on shooting from field positions is spot on. After many days at the bench getting yourself and your ammo dialed in, it is quite the humbling experience to head to the field for some real world practice.

Kind Regards.



Absolutely. All my posts are just meant as just an FYI based on seeing and shooting a lot in field conditions.
 
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I think the problem lies in people just using too large of a tunnel to stretch the MPBR farther and farther. It's just not necessary to make good use of the MPBR.

For example, I prefer using a 50 yard zero. The trajectory comes back to zero around 130 yds, and those ranges are much more likely to shoot an animal at - at least a surprise shot that I don't have time to fiddle with sight adjustments or holdovers. As I look at my ballistic program's table for my load, the largest distance between the line of sight to trajectory between 25 and 150 yards, is a whopping 0.6 inches. It takes 175 yards to exceed the starting distance between the scope and bore axes (~1.6"). That is awesomely useful. Farther than that, and I'll probably have a few extra seconds to consult my dope table.
 
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Biggest problem with non 100zero or MPBR is people taking the ammo box ballistics as gospel instead of mapping it out. Map it out and under 400 life gets a lot more productive, not to mention your confidence is better
 

Macintosh

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MPBR works just fine when max visibility is 250 yards or less. Especially when most shots offer no time to dial. In 47 years on this earth I have never once heard of or seen a hunter claim that dialing for elevation was the way to go for hunting big woods eastern deer. Ive also never seen a scope with exposed turrets on an eastern big woods deer rifle. Ive recently staryed casual PRS shooting and have a scope that I dial—it makes perfect sense in open country. I dialed for elevation when I shot an antelope a couple weeks ago despite it only being a 200 yd shot, but I dont think it makes sense to dial where I mostly hunt. This sounds like a much better fit for western/farm country.
 

mcseal2

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Form thanks for the informative post. It makes a lot of sense to me.

I have gone to dialing scopes on my main big game rifles in 264 win mag and 300 win mag. At this point I'm shooting turrets matched to my loads and the elevation/average temperature of where I hunt. I don't shoot far enough currently that this has been a handicap although if I ever get good enough to really start reaching I'll likely go back to an MOA turret. I started by getting the muzzle velocity of my loads. I shot targets on several different days at various ranges under various conditions and sent all the real data in to get my turrets built, I did not just use a program. I figure that's better than just trusting a factory BC number.

On a side note I have been impressed with the factory ammo I've shot lately. I wanted to try the 180gr Nosler E tip bullet in my 300 win mag for my recent moose hunt and bought a box of factory ammo rather than work up a new handload. My favorite powder in the 300 has been darn hard to find. The ammo shot darn good at 100yds and the velocities were pretty consistent. I bought several more boxes. One day when collecting data for my turret I shot pulled one round each out of 4 different boxes and they made a 3.5" group at 600 yards. That's very good for me, my portable bench/rest set up, and my light rifle. I repeated the experiment later with a 5" group.

All that said I still use a version of MPBR on my coyote rifles. Especially on my truck guns I carry on the ranch, I find that I just don't get the opportunity to range and then dial or use a reticle on a coyote very often. They are just to spooky to stay put and allow that much time. Calling I range landmarks when I sit down but don't often get to range a coyote unless he hangs up and sits down. Usually I can get a called coyote close enough it doesn't matter. What has worked for me is putting loads over the chronograph and then running the ballistics programs to see where to zero so that my bullet reaches a max height of 2.8". After I have that information I adjust the scope accordingly at 100 yards. Then I go to the field and shoot water and Gatorade bottles full of water, both upright and on their sides from field positions. If I'm busting the ones lying down my elevation holds are good, if I'm busting the vertical my windage is alright too. By alright I mean effective on coyotes and that's all I'm looking for. What has made this work for me is that unless I am sure the coyote is past 200 yards I hold lower third of the chest. I know my bullet will be high between 100 and 200 yards, so I adjust for this with my hold. It's not perfect and definitely not as precise as dialing, but it is quick and I get more coyotes due to that. Using the consistent 2.8" max height has worked pretty well across my varmint rifles for what I do. I still miss though probably more often than I should. It's challenging shooting but good practice for hunting.

I guess I feel that both systems have their place it's just a question if speed or precision is more important in the shooter's situation. If time allows I'll always range and dial, but unless our coyotes change a flat shooting rifle with the scope set to let me hold on hair is most effective in a lot of situations.
 

Jimbob

WKR
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
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Smithers, BC
All that said I still use a version of MPBR on my coyote rifles. Especially on my truck guns I carry on the ranch, I find that I just don't get the opportunity to range and then dial or use a reticle on a coyote very often. They are just to spooky to stay put and allow that much time. Calling I range landmarks when I sit down but don't often get to range a coyote unless he hangs up and sits down. Usually I can get a called coyote close enough it doesn't matter. What has worked for me is putting loads over the chronograph and then running the ballistics programs to see where to zero so that my bullet reaches a max height of 2.8". After I have that information I adjust the scope accordingly at 100 yards. Then I go to the field and shoot water and Gatorade bottles full of water, both upright and on their sides from field positions. If I'm busting the ones lying down my elevation holds are good, if I'm busting the vertical my windage is alright too. By alright I mean effective on coyotes and that's all I'm looking for. What has made this work for me is that unless I am sure the coyote is past 200 yards I hold lower third of the chest. I know my bullet will be high between 100 and 200 yards, so I adjust for this with my hold. It's not perfect and definitely not as precise as dialing, but it is quick and I get more coyotes due to that. Using the consistent 2.8" max height has worked pretty well across my varmint rifles for what I do. I still miss though probably more often than I should. It's challenging shooting but good practice for hunting.

This doesn't sound like MPBR to me, maybe I'm wrong. MPBR is setting up your scope so you can hold dead on the center of the kill zone from 0 to X amount of yards, no holding high or low.

From your description, I gather you are learning the trajectory of your rifle out to X amount of yards then knowing whether to hold slightly high or slightly low. You're adjusting for yardage. Am I reading this wrong?
 
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