What is the highest midrange trajectory you all use? I have been zeroing my big game rifles such that midrange trajectory is 3" above sights (that usually is right at 150 yards) but wonder if 3.5" or so would be acceptible for deer, elk and black bear. Rufous.

You don't say what you are shooting, velocity of the round has alot to do with POI (point of impact). It sounds like you are shooting a .30-30 or sim. low vel. round. We'll need more info.

Our family uses .270 Win, 06s, and .300 Wins and we zero our rifles almost exclusivelly at 300 yards... for the .270 and .300 this is around 4 in high at midrange... for 06 a little more. That's for deer, black bear, antelope, and elk.

I settled on a sight in of 225 yards for my 270..Here is the stats..

50 yds + .48

100 yds +1.56

150 yds + 1.70

200 yds + .83

250 yds - 1.0

300 yds - 4.22

This is off a computer for my load and I have checked the figures in the field and find they are very close...

Most misses I've seen in the field were because the shooters sighting their rifle in for Max PBR and couldn't judge distance very well. The shots were almost always high. I shoot my rifles at various distances and tape a drop chart on the butt or bell of the scope, and I zero no more than 2 inches high with any caliber. Most shots I've taken have been at less than 300 yards, and I've hunted in the wide open spaces most of my life.

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JD

I sight in my 7mmstw's and 300 ultra mags as follows:
100 yards +2.75"
200 yards +3.5"
300 yards +.5 to 1"
400 yards -6 to 7"
500 yards -18 to 19"

One of the factors that I have found in MPBR is scope line of sight distance from bore line of sight. Low mount versus high mount. Using a low mount, I found that I had more accuracy close up, with with high mount I found greater MPBR but you better know the range and ballistics, and shoot accordingly, once you got out beyond MPBR. A point of practicality, close range head shots at rabbit, grouse, etc., can be easier made with low mount. Within MPBR, large game are easily taken at longer ranges with high mount. Any one else notice this?

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Good Shooting!

Like JD says, almost all misses at long range go high. I've seen lots of spine shots at long range. They misjudge the distance and aim high.

I sight all my rifles 2" high at 100 yards and shoot a lot to 500 yards and almost never hold high. If ya gotta hold high on a big game animal, it's too far.

I almost never miss. Almost. (Anybody says they don't mess up ain't done it enough.)

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The older I get the better I was.

I use to worry about this until I went to mil dots or Balistic Plex redicles and a range finder site the rifle in to be the accurate with the mil dots range them with the laser pick the right dot hold still shoot them.

I usually set for a mid-range max of 1.5 inches high. This usually gives a PBR of close to 200 yards with my 308. I then just tape the holdovers to the stock for longer ranges. I did this even in Texas and Colorado where I took deer to 300 yards every once in a while.

Three inches difference in POI can cause a long tracking chase.

Don

i use 3 inches,it doesnt matter if its a bow and arow or the ultra.

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SPEED KILLS

I use the MPBR approach simply because it gives the flattest trajectory (for any given maximum trajectory height), but I agree with JD and others that holdover is a pernicious fault in aiming. I have done it myself, to my great embarassment (I had an audience). I think 3 inches is the most I would use on anything smaller than an elk. Maybe 4 on an elk. It won't change the answer very much.

A strange alternative approach I heard used was to sight in at 700 yards and always aim for the lower edge of the chest. The bullet will never rise more than elk kill zone height out to the sight in distance (which is as far as one could ever dream of shooting). This is not a precise way of shooting, but there is a certain mathematical logic about it that I can't fault.

Hi

I try to keep midrange trajectory at 3 inches. I also put the scope on the new gun on a high mount to stretch the trajectory a little; since I don't do any significant amount of snap shooting it does not hinder me.

Tom