I have been shooting my .416 Rigby and .375 H&H a lot lately. I am off to Zimb in less than 2 weeks to hunt buff, hippo and plainsgame. I have the .416 dead on at 50 yards for buff. The PH said 75 yards on the .375, but as it will be my all around rifle, I have it an inch high at 75 and is real close out past 100 yards.

Do you think think I am doing the right thing here? What distance do you experienced buff hunters that use a scope zero at? Any thoughts on the .375? Thanks!

I zero my .375 H&H at 150 meters for general all around shooting. I guess that's around 165 yards.

Everything I take to Africa is sighted dead on @ 100 yards. Has worked excellent for four trips, including RAS, Namibia, and Zim, for plains game and dangerous game as well. Worked fine for the hippo I shot with a 375HH

Most plainsgame hunting is a roll of the dice for distance but 100 yard sighting zero is a good rule of thumb. Namibia is the exception. A 200 yard sighting zero would be better.

For buffalo you might want to follow your PHs recommendations unless you have a lot of experience hunting buffalo then do what works best for you.

I shoot at 100 yards, setting for 0 impact at 200 yards for Africa (except for things over .416) and 300 yards for the western USA.

Haven't had any problems with sight-in in Africa. Last time out to Jackson Hole, right off the plane the .338 shot a centered 2" group on the 300 yard gong. Was a happy camper.

1" high at 100 which usually means pretty close to dead on at 200 and low at 300.

200 yards for PG.

50 for DG.

I sight in 2" high at 100 on all my big game rifles. then I check them for 200, 300, 400 to see where they hit...

Don't believe all your read about trajectory, test your rifle at those different ranges and make note of it...

sighting in at 50 or 100 yards, puts you at a disadvantage on long shots and I have seen many trophy class animals while hunting buffalo and even if my gun shoots 2 to 4 inches high at close range it will still be in the 3 foot kill zone of a buff!

Africans tend to sight in for 100 yards, mostly because they never shoot anything over 150 yards for the most part. Most of them do not shoot well at 300 and 400 yards because they have never needed to shoot at long range, as most are very good hunters and game is plentiful..I am sure there are some exceptions and this may insult some, but its fact and not intended to stir up anything..Most of the PHs and African hunters I have talked with about this subject, admitted this freely.

The best shots I have seen are those cowboys and hunters who hunt the rimrock country of Arizona and Texas where deer are shot at abnormal ranges routinely, why?, because they have to, its the nature of the country...

I sight in 1 1/2 inch high at 100 for 375 and lower, above dead on at 100 for scope, irons I check at 50.

Thanks Ray. I was wondering why I was such a damn good shot! But you might want to add Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming to that list as well. By the way, my African light and medium rifles, including my .375, are sighted to be slightly high at 100 and dead on at 200 yards when hunting in Africa.

Tim - I think this is one of these questions where the varied answers are only going to add to your confusion. Assumption is that you are planning on using the .416 (zeroed at 50-yards) for the hippo as well as the buffalo, sounds good. Also assuming that your PH knows the country/bush that you will be hunting, and that his suggestion is based on such. Reg the .375, for most of TANZ I'd zero for 200 and know what to expect at 100 & 300, but for most of ZIM a zero at/around 100 sounds fine, and if you somehow need to adjust a few clicks U/D when on the ground NBD. Who/where are you hunting?

There is no such thing as sighting in.You must shoot and hit at all distances.

Thanks Guys,

BillC I am hunting with HHK in Chirisa.

I actually shot some more since the thread started, and I am pretty well on at 100 yards with both guns as well the way they were - that is within 1/2 an inch. I think I will keep it as such and if they want me to change a little when I get there, I can go up a bit. We are filming everything for Outdoor America, and I don't plan on taking any long shots anyway. I don't think it looks real good on TV. If I take a head shot in water on a hippo, I plan to use the .375 with solids as I just shoot it better. If we get one on land, the .416 will be the ticket. Thanks again for the advice...

Thanks a

Whatever distance I sight in at off of the bench, I've always found it is different off of the sticks. I use the bench to get close and then practice off of the sticks and get used to the rifle's performance that way since my field shots are almost always off of sticks or similar field rests. Might want to check that out. Have a good hunt!
Gary

Don't forget those South Carolina beanfields. I sight my 7mm Rem in for 250 up there.

Africa, 2" hi at 100 yds. on the .375 and the same for the 7mm.

I usually sit my scoped rifles for 1" to 2" at 100m.
Only for Leopard would I zero in at 50m.

Just my opinion - the two buffs I shot were within 50 yds. I can't imagine Zim buffalo will be that much different than TZ buffs. Besides, 1" here or there on a buff isn't going to make much difference. That is, unless he's within 50 yds and you're aiming just above the nostrils!
Dave

I sighted in my 375 and 458 Lott at 100 yds for a 15 day leopard, buffalo, and plains game hunt in Chewore Zimbabwe in June this year. The leopard and plains game were all shot inside 200 yds with the 375 and the buffalo was shot with 458 at 15 yds. Be sure to shoot the 416 offhand at 50 25 and 10 yds to ensure the point of impact doesn't change. With heavy bullets it should be insignificant. The 375 with 300grn bullets will clean house inside 200 yds with minimal change in point of aim. Wouldn't hurt to shoot 375 at 300 yds and tape bullet drop on stock. A 100 yd zero makes for sensible sight in distance because the majority of your shots will be reasonably close.

Almostacowboy, I'm from the Mojave Desert also. Ridgecrest.

For thick skinned or thin dangerous game I zero at 100yds and it's always worked fine. For everything else 1" high at 100yds for the east and plains game and 2" high at 100yds for the west. I also do a lot of distance shooting when preparing to hunt out west. Since I use the 416 rem, the 338 win mag, and 30-06 on a real regular basis (24" barrels on all), I know where these rifles shoot at any distance I chose to shoot. I usually don't shoot much beyond 300yds with the possible exception of Coues deer. But I so rarely get a chance to hunt them anymore it's a minor consideration.

I'm shooting 300gr A-Frames in Remington's factory loading in my 375 H&H. Remington's ballistics tables say to sight in 2.7" high at 100 yards for a 200 yard zero, so that's what I did. I have fired some 200 yard targets with this scope setting and the bullets strike from zero to 2 inches high, so I'm calling that good.

I leave for Namibia on a plainsgame hunt in 10 hours . I'll let you know how it worked out when I get back.

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
There is no such thing as sighting in.You must shoot and hit at all distances.

Please somebody stop him before he tries to think again....jorge

Wooly, I did the same thing with the same ammo, but set it 2" hi at 100 and cranked in a few clicks up for a long shot on a Wildebeest. Good, accurate round in my rifle and superior bullet performance on Buff. Good luck.

jorge, I don't think he's thought much about anything. Maybe it's just me, and I am a bit tired.