Zeroing in?

General discussion and information about the .204 Ruger.
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boomer84
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.204 Ruger Guns: remington 700 sps varmint
Location: WA, Australia

Zeroing in?

Post by boomer84 »

What range do you guys zero ur rifles in at? Why and what are u shooting at?
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Sidewinderwa
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.204 Ruger Guns: Savages
Location: Washington state

Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Sidewinderwa »

I sight my 204s in at 200 yards. You can pretty well aim straight on to 300 yards because it is so flat shooting. It is 3.6 inches low at 400 yards, so aim for the head on sage rats and prairie dogs.
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fishy
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.204 Ruger Guns: Ruger M77 Hawkeye
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by fishy »

I sight in at 100 yards, but sight it in about 1.5" high. I only have a 100 yard sight in range that is why I do it that way. That pretty much makes it dead on at 200 and you are still pretty good out to 300 as Sidewinder said.
Bill K
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.204 Ruger Guns: also now, a Savage switch bull barrel in 204R. 23 inch SS
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Bill K »

Mostly 100 yrds. usually set POI 1 1/2 inch high. Then I shoot and check POI at 200 and 300 yrds. Bill K :)
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Trent
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.204 Ruger Guns: Remington 700 SPS Varminter
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Trent »

I sight in at 100yds and dial in my elevation for given ranges. Doesn't matter what distance you zero in for you are going to have to adjust for it one way or another. By sighting in high at 100 you have to aim low at a 100. You can't escape ballistics.
Jim White
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.204 Ruger Guns: CZ-527, Remington 700 VLTHSS, Cooper Model 21, Remington 40x

Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Jim White »

For;

Target rifles; 100 yards
22LR rifles; 50 yards
17 HMR; 100 yds
204, 223, 6mm, 30.06, 300 WBY; 200 yds

Before you fire your shots do make sure;
- Your scope is all set up, aligned, everything is tight and so on...
- You get a good rest or something so you have a foundation to start with,
- A good position where you can fire each shot the same way everytime. If your fightingto get the scope on target, even a little, reposition yourself.
- Fire some fouling shots befoe getting started. I never leave the range with a green barrel,
- Fire the gun in the same manner you would us it in the field. For my 300 WBY & 30.06, 3 quick shots from a cold barrel because thats all I would probably get in the field,
- Don't let the barrel get to warm. Mirage from a warm barrel distorts your sight picture long before you see it.

Take your time and have fun.
btlbrn
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.204 Ruger Guns: Remington XR-100
Location: S W desert USA

Re: Zeroing in?

Post by btlbrn »

Bill K wrote:Mostly 100 yrds. usually set POI 1 1/2 inch high. Then I shoot and check POI at 200 and 300 yrds. Bill K :)
+1 ,only I set my poi at .6" high, then I'm on at 200, and -4.1 at 300 (aim at head!!) with 32 gr sbk at around 4200 fps :D
shooting fishing camping did I mention shooting??
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7mag
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.204 Ruger Guns: Rem 7, Zeiss 4.5-14x44-Rem 700, Zeiss 6.5-20x50-Cooper Pheon
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by 7mag »

I zero at 300 yds. 1 mil dot hold under to 150 and 1 mil dot hold over at 500. works great 4 me.
Leave nothing in the field but your tracks.........(and a few carcasses!)
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Rick in Oregon
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.204 Ruger Guns: Sako 75V, Cooper MTV, Kimber 84M, Cust M700 11 Twist
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

All my rat rifles are zeroed at 100 yards, then dialed up for exact range. I use the VHR wind ticks for wind hold-off, but otherwise just hold dead on for whatever range Skippy is presenting himself. Keep in mind that our usual target is about the size of a soda can.

All my 'come-up' charts are made in MOA for the same values of the scopes .25 MOA adjustments.....perfect marriage. Below I was shooting squirrels on a mound at roughly 430 yards away using 39gr SBK's out of "The Silver Princess of Death", my M700 Pac-Nor 11 twist.

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The system seems to work all the way to just past 800 yards so far on rats (using my 243AI that is.....). Returning sons of friends from the sandbox tell me it works on those "other varmints" too. :wink: Oh the joy of first shot hit probability. :D
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Rick in Oregon
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Bill K
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.204 Ruger Guns: also now, a Savage switch bull barrel in 204R. 23 inch SS
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Bill K »

Nice looking setup Rick.. I see you mention 11" twist. I see Pac-nor lists the 12 as most popular. Is the 11 better? I have talked/email Penny re. my Rem 700(223) rebarreled to 204. Bill K
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

Bill K wrote:Nice looking setup Rick.. I see you mention 11" twist. I see Pac-nor lists the 12 as most popular. Is the 11 better? I have talked/email Penny re. my Rem 700(223) rebarreled to 204. Bill K
Bill: Better? Yes, MUCH better, especially if 40gr bullets are in the plan. My Pac-Nor 11-twist will even shoot the 40gr V-Max into one hole, which is usually a problem for many 12 twist barrels, my other three included.

Certainly not the best 40gr group, but shows what the 11 twist will do every time with the 40's:

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If I had to do it all over again, I'd not change a thing. For once, everything went according to plan. :mrgreen:
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Rick in Oregon
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Oregon, East of the Cascades - Where Common Sense Still Prevails

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stef
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by stef »

Most of my misses have been from shooting too high.

I have a number of scopes that I use for varmint and target and since the adjustments are accurate, easily made and resetable on these scopes I zero in at 100 and then make additional adjustments as needed. I laser certain objects where my anticipated shots will be.

On scopes that are not so easily adjusted, like a Burris 3-9 on a do all .223 I zero in at 200.

On scopes used for hunting deer I zero in at 250 and with a mv of about 3000 fps with pointy bullets I can aim and hit close to my point of aim (close enough) to hit up to 300 ys(+-). At 100 yds I am 3 inches high, at 400 yds a liitle more than 12 inches low (how good can you hold?). 400 yds is my max confidence range.

On my .204 Ruger that will be in the works (1-11 twist, 40 HVmax @ 3600 - 3700) I anticipate a trajectory similar to my .22-250 (53 HVamx @ 3700 fps). If I use my old 6-20 X Weaver Grand Slam I will sight in at 200, If I use my Leupold 4.5-14 LR scope with target adjust I will sight in at 100.
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boomer84
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.204 Ruger Guns: remington 700 sps varmint
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by boomer84 »

RICK, what lenght is your pac-nor 1:11 barrel? Does the 1:11 twist still shoot 32s as well as the 39s &40s?
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Rick in Oregon
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by Rick in Oregon »

boomer84 wrote:RICK, what lenght is your pac-nor 1:11 barrel? Does the 1:11 twist still shoot 32s as well as the 39s &40s?
boomer: It's a 24", same contour as the factory Remmy varmint, 11* target crown, .230" "no-turn" neck.

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And 'yes' it shoots the 32's just as good as the 39/40, but I reserve this rifle just for the heavier slugs for long range work, as I've got three other 204's for the 32 grainers. After shooting my 11 twist for three years now, I can't understand why the factories went with a 12 twist, but according to industry insiders, when the 204 was being conceived, the designers felt the shooting public wanted speed over all else (with 26-32gr bullets).......and they got it with 32 grain bullets, non-canister powders and one heck of a freebore.
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Rick in Oregon
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Oregon, East of the Cascades - Where Common Sense Still Prevails

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RAMOS
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.204 Ruger Guns: Savage Model 12 FLV, Cooper M21
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Re: Zeroing in?

Post by RAMOS »

Rick, at the risk of sounding ignorant (ignoramos), are you saying there is NO downside to the 1:11 twist regardless of bullet weight? Also, what twist is your' Var-Targ? Just curious.
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