sighting in

[Don Durnford]

I have a .223rem with a 3.09.40  scope & i always had it zeroed in for up to 100yds, but twice now i seen coyotes crossing downwind 3-400 yards out so & i wouldn't chance the shot, so according to the Winchester ballistics calculator it says that zeroing in on 225yds you get the best possible performance out of a bullet. So here is my Q; What do ye think? do you think its to much or?  http://ballisticscalculator.winchester.com/

[Ben Scaplen]

That link doesn't work on my browser, but here is where my mind is with sighting in your rifle:

For most rifles 25 yards and 200 yards have about the same point of impact (bullet travels up from the barrel cross the line of sight at 25 yards, then reaches a high point at about 100 yards and falls back over the line of sight at 200 yards again and continues to drop beyond 200 yards)

if you sight in at 100 yards you are actually sighting it in at the bullets highest point. As a result, a shot at 3-400 yards will cause you to shoot way too low. A shot at even 25 and 200 yards will be low.

Best bet is to sight it in at 25 yards, then take a few shots at 200 yards, they should be about the same elevation-wise. At 3-400 yards you should see only a couple inches drop. After 400 yards it i would say it drops off fairly quickly.

Youtube sighting in your rifle and 'minute of angle' for a good explanation.

[Don Durnford]

ya i had to download "silverlight" some kind of browser just to use the calculator, but anyways i went through all of the yardages & seemed like @ 225 was the best at reaching out a bit further without any crazy drop off in trajectory, i think i seen that video before that you mentioned cause thats what i had mine sighted at was 25yds, next calm day im gonna have a few shots & compare the 25yds & the 225yds, i believe it was only 12 clicks to the north from where i had it before , so thanks for the reply Ben, cheers!

[Eric]

a good app for making a ballistic table for your rifle caliber and scope is strelok it is available for android i found it very helpful and accurate Good luck. 

[Daniel Hotte]

Another app I like to sight your scope is  ( Scope Tool )  Very easy to use . You can download it on play store for free