Sighting in????

shakes · Post by **shakes** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:30 am

This ? is related to hunting and considering most of you guys probably hunt I've got a trajectory ? for you. I'm shooting a 7mm WSM and got a velocity and drop chart from federal's website for the 140 gram bullet. I've put a 4x16 adj obj with 1/8th min clicks. The chart says 0 at 200yrds and -5.2 at 300 and -15.6 at 400. So if I place a target at 200 and zero in should I then be able to mark a spot on the target + 5.2 inches and +15.6 inches and be zeroed for those distances at 300 and 400 yrds. I know that if I hand load the velocity will be different and even different manufactures will not be the same but it should be within a couple of inches either way right. The reason I ask is my buddy and I are going to Idaho to hunt and the distances are a lot longer than here in washington with all this heavy underbrush, and yes I know that a 400 yrd shot is not what you would like to take and probably not very ethical but if I can reach out and poke him I'm going to try

Hell if I can hit a ram at 500 meters offhand I should be able to hit him at 400 off of a bipod

Bob Mc Alice · Post by **Bob Mc Alice** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:17 pm

Shakes....MPBR....I think you are handicapping yourself with a 200 yd. zero with the 7 fat mag. There is lots of data out there in google land on MPBR.....here is one example. http://www.rmvh.com/MPBR.htm

Jim Beckley · Post by **Jim Beckley** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:33 pm

Shakes, You can look at all the charts and web-sites till your eyes can't take it anymore, but I would take your rifle to the range and put it a couple inches high at 100yds, and then if possible shoot it at the gongs at the silhouette range. I have mine centered on the 200m chicken, hold on the top of the back of the pig and then make sure the drop is about where it should be and then I go to the turkey gong and see where I need to hold over to hit it. I will do the same thing at rams, but that is way to far for me to take a shot at, but the rifle will be in your hands. Most game is taken from 50-200 yards, but once in awhile you will get a longer shot. Most people that I talk to and experience has taught that most misses are due to over estimating the distance to the shot, when ever I miss it's usually by a shot that goes over, so I try to hold on hair out to 300. One more thing is that with the price of gas, out of state tag and other expenses, I wouldn't try to save a couple of pennys on bullets. Nosler Partition has always worked for me! Just my 2 cents!

Bob Mc Alice · Post by **Bob Mc Alice** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 1:20 pm

Man...check out the pictures section of that website..this guy is a coyotes worst nightmare.

shakes · Post by **shakes** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:06 pm

thanks Bob and Jim. The article is supper informative and an eye opener. Maybe I'll have better success this year. Now I have to go and find all the variables and fill in the chart to get my MPBR. Thanks again for all the info. Jim I have also used nosler partion and agree with you, it put my first deer on my wall and its probably the biggest black tail i'll ever get. He's a nice four point really symetricall on both sides and double eye gaurds, one pointing forward and the other pointing back, about 20 to 24 inches tall and 17 to 20 across(its been along time since i put a tape on him) I think he scored around 150 or 160. For a black tail that's pretty big. anyway this year I'm going to try the Barnes MRX and see how it does. I'm a sucker for new stuff to put through the gun.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:50 pm

Bob Mc Alice wrote:Man...check out the pictures section of that website..this guy is a coyotes worst nightmare.

Just what do you do with a dead coyote? After their photo op that is.

Innocent · Post by **Innocent** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:19 pm

Just what do you do with a dead coyote?

Feed the eagles and buzzards, as well as provide the opportunity for young deer and other small animals a better chance of survival.

Mary

jneihouse · Post by **jneihouse** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 10:38 pm

Used to be a bounty on them here...2 bucks for proof of a dead coyote. We'd shoot them and cut the ears off and take them to the game and fish...had to have both ears cause some dishonest folks would try to tell them that the two ears were from different coyotes....back then first one to a road killed coyote was two dollars richer...Needless to say that was a long time ago and coyotes were a real nuisance around here.....

Kitty

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 12:16 pm

They're making a come back in some spots around town, which really thins the cat herd. I'm wondering if a .22 air rifle might help the situation...

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:43 pm

BlauBear wrote:They're making a come back in some spots around town, which really thins the cat herd. I'm wondering if a .22 air rifle might help the situation...

You mean help them thin the cat herd? I can't imagine a 22 air rifle would do all that much to a coyote reliably, but you'd be doing the wildlife and everything else in your area a favor if you helped thin the domestic cat herd if they're out and roaming around.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 5:57 pm

Jason, the coyotes can have all the feral cats they want, I just don't them around my dogs. Unfortunately, I just don't trust the coyotes to make that distinction. You're probably right about the air rifle, and I'm not keen on wounding critters - kill 'em quick or leave 'em alone.

Jason · Post by **Jason** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:36 pm

If you've got dogs out and running around, you definitely don't want the coyotes around, too. Even if your dogs are big, it's not uncommon for a few coyotes to have one lure a bigger dog out and then they all jump on it. I saw a video shot by a guy I used to coyote hunt with where a little coyote got a big yard dog (collie/lab mix or something) to play with it and follow it out of the yard where several other coyotes were waiting. When they surrounded the yard dog and started nipping at it from behind, he started in with his coyote gun (shorty AR, camo version of that one I sold Mike). He got three for sure before they got away and rolled one right before it got over a hill that he didn't find it. I don't know if the terrain/population at your house would allow for such a tactic, but out in eastern WA where it's very open and houses are spready way out it's pretty common.

BlauBear · Post by **BlauBear** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 7:02 pm

We're a typical suburban neighborhood where an AR would be a really bad choice. There was a coyote family in a field about a mile from here, so they're around and a fence is no challenge for them. These are smart, tough critters I'd enjoy hunting in the open but don't know how to deal with in this environment. We've had raccoon and possum problems in the past so larger predators seem possible.

Bob Mc Alice · Post by **Bob Mc Alice** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:20 am

Just what do you do with a dead coyote? After their photo op that is.

Even in these times, there are people making some good money selling winter pelts to buyers for making various clothing articles.

pistolero45 · Post by **pistolero45** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 5:25 pm

Shakes - I can see this has gotten a little off topic, but what the heck, coyotes are a worthy game animal in their own right!

But back to the original subject. The late Jack O'Conner was a huge fan of the .270 Winchester and advocated sighting in the gun to be 3 inches high at 100 yards. If a person holds dead on, the bullet will never be more than 6 inches high or 6 inches low all the way out to 325 yards.

This means a .270 Win. bullet would be 3 inches high at 100 yards, 6 inches high at 200 yards (the top of the bullet's arch), dead on at 275 yards, and about 6 inches low at 325 yards.

So what does this mean? The average mule deer buck measures 22 inches from the top of the back to the bottom of his chest. Should that animal be within 325 yards, one simply puts the cross hairs in the center of the vital area and squeezes the trigger.

This can easily be learned by placing targets at 100 yard intervals and holding dead on for each. Interestingly, the bullet really starts to drop past 300 yards and the .270 Win. will be 18 inches low at 400 yards (the 30-06 is 22 inches low at 400 yards).

Also, one discovers quickly how much the wind effects the bullet past 300 yards. Most hunters, including myself, would be wise to keep shots within 300 yards.

Your 7mm WSM is flatter shooting than the old .270 Winchester and I'll guess sighting in at 2 inches or 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards will be just the ticket.

Most people over estimate distance and for that reason always follow this advice on long shots...."Aim for hair and not air."

And buying good bullets is sound advice as well. The cost of ammo will likely be the cheapest expense on your big game hunt.

Good luck!

Sighting in????

Sighting in????

Sighting In