Scope Zero Distance for HFT

[Richard Thaxton]

I'm sure this question has been asked many times in this forum but I'm new to HFT so please allow me some grace.  At what distance shall I zero my scope?  I've read suggestions for 25yds. and others for 10yds.  What do you suggest and why? 

[Joekrooz]

Hey Richard, good question.   Personally I zero at 30 yds. and then use holdovers for shorter and longer distances, seems to work for me, but please know that I am far from being an expert on the subject.  30 yds is what was recommended to me by a reliable source, I'm sure 25 yds would work as well.  So far I've only been to two matches last year, can't wait to go this year!  Good luck!

[Motorhead]

Pending Springer or PCP ? ... at what ever APEX of pellets flight path is.
This typically falls between 25 and 32 yards for most power / gun / pellet combos ...

Reason for ... so ALL RANGES other than your point blank range ( that usually is @ 12-15 yard window ) become HOLD OVER values and NEVER a Hold Under value.

Hold unders will just screw you up !!  It is IMO best to ALWAYS be holding over a known value 10 to say @ 21 yards ... get into your PBR @ 22-31 yards ( at say a 25Y zero ) then again HOLD OVER 32Y on out to 55Y.

* Above numbers are JUST ball park figures my personal HFT gun specs at ... yours will be similar, but the Zero range is specific to velocity, pellet weight and scope height YOUR GUN HAS.

Scott
 

[Dockey 454]

  Agree with Scott 100% I tried the double 0 in the beginning with a spring gun. It messed me up a bunch of times. I now shoot a PCP in HFT with a 17.5 fpe gun, zeroed at 30 yds. My holdover at 50 yds is 1.1 mill dot. Not much sense in having a double 0.
    Tom

[DFWdude]

The two philosophies each have benefits, and boil down to what you develop as a habit and are accustomed to.

1) With Holdover only, there is one point in the apex of the trajectory where the rifle is zeroed.  Usually around 30yds, with 5yd (+/-) to either side where the POI is the same (total= 10yd zone).  Learn your holdover points from there.

2) With Holdover/Holdunder, there are three points in the trajectory where the aim points are predictable: a) a near zero, b) a far zero, and c) the same 10yd zone at the apex used for holdover only.

I shoot holdover/under and am satisfied with my performance with it.

[ORTitan]

Hi Richard,

Another vote for zeroing at your apex and using hold over only. Much simpler in the heat of the moment knowing that your cross hairs will always be on or over. When you are shooting at 12X it is likely that you will not have to hold over more than a couple of dots.

[Fred J]

For me it depends on the muzzle velocity and the ballistic coefficient of the pellet. Right know I am shooting AA 10.3 gr pellets with a BC of 0.031 which has a MV of 825 fps in my TX200. With this pellet I am zeroing at 20 yards, which produces a zill zone within about one pellet diameter from 17-38 yards. I really only have holdovers for 10-16 and 39-55 yards.

[Booger]

DFWdude really helped me at the matches. He told me to practice 10 yard targets using a hold over. It is dull shooting 10 yard targets, but that is the target most people overlook. I still need to work on it. My guns are all zeroed at 25 yards so 35 yard targets require no hold over and 45 yards about 1/4 mil hold over while 50 yards is 1/2 mil.

[DFWdude]

DFWdude really helped me at the matches. He told me to practice 10 yard targets using a hold over. It is dull shooting 10 yard targets, but that is the target most people overlook. I still need to work on it. My guns are all zeroed at 25 yards so 35 yard targets require no hold over and 45 yards about 1/4 mil hold over while 50 yards is 1/2 mil.

To be clear, what I said is what I tell everyone who says they don't have a backyard big enough to practice. 

I said, "In a 2-target per lane GP match, everyone will have some challenges knocking down the far targets.  But the nation's leading shooters will NEVER miss the near target."  Meaning that you should practice in your tiny backyard at every distance until you can knock down every target in your tiny backyard, every time.  Knock down the near target every time, and you will shoot 50% minimum...

Shooting 100% on the near targets is 56% of the way to my personal performance goal at each match (90%).

And the most range I have in my backyard is 22 yards.