Sight in distance

[cabezaverde]

What distance do you folks sight in your center fire lever guns for?

General purpose for defense and critter control. I’m thinking 50 yards?

[Randy Bohannon]

I do 100 yds. and hold lower for close higher for distance.

[M-Tecs]

What cartridge? My 22's and 38 Special leverguns are sighted in at 50 yards. My 45/70 Guide Gun is sighted in at 100 yards. My Savage 99's in 308 are sighted in at 200 yards. One of my 1886 45/70s is sighted in at 600 yards for a local levergun match.

[dverna]

Pistol calibers or .30/30 type?

[cabezaverde]

357 magnum

[indian joe]

What distance do you folks sight in your center fire lever guns for?

General purpose for defense and critter control. I’m thinking 50 yards?

Dead on at 50 gonna put you low 4-6 inches at 100
Set for 100 only gonna be a couple inches high at 50 and still useful out to 125 or so (talkin pistol cartridge trajectories)

ps pick a distance and then shoot it enough you know where it hits at other distances
eg zero at 50 then shoot it at 100 so you know whats happening.

[Mk42gunner]

Its been a while since I shot my 16" barreled .38/.357, need to dig it out and use it again.

As I recall I had the .357 sighted for 50 yards and if I shot .38's I had to raise the rear sight one notch to zero it.

.30-30 class rifles 100 yards.

Robert

[Larry Gibson]

357 magnum

I prefer a 75 yard zero. With my 358156 magnum loads it is point blank to 100 yards.

[Winger Ed.]

There's a lot of room in that question for 'it depends'.

I'd sight in for the ranges you expect to be using it for.
Then learn what the particular round does above & below that.

[veeman]

I myself sight in my handguns, which are either SAA types and 1911s at 15 yards. Rifle I sight in at 50 yards. 100 yards is too far to walk to check for adjustments and change targets.

[Shawlerbrook]

Yes, 1” high at 50 yards.

[country gent]

Rifle type dosnt matter to where I zero. Caliber does have a little bearing. I sight in according to how its going to be used and for what. IE if its a single distant plinker I zero at that distance. If it a pest gun around the house and buildings its 25-50 yds. A multi range target rifle its zeros are marked in a book for each range and sights set. A game hunting rifle depends on where Im hunting.

[725]

My primary hunting spot offers only 0 - 75 yards for possible shots. Hence, I opt for 50 yards. Other locations demand further considerations. Now with accurately adjustable scopes, I zero at 100, run a trajectory chart for everything out to 500 and then know what adjustments work for various ranged targets. Works shockingly well.

[35 Rem]

I sighted both my 32 Winchester Special and 35 Remington for 175 yards last year. I deer hunt in a place where a shot at that distance is possible, so I wanted to be ready for worst case scenario. They hit something like 3 or 4 inches high at 100 so it's not really a problem at all. Just aim a bit low for most actual shots and I'm good to go. I got a buck at about 140 late in the season which made me glad I did a lot of shooting well beyond 100 so I knew the trajectory for somewhat longer shots.

[dverna]

I will be working up a load for two carbines this year - .38 Spl and .357. Both were used for CAS and zeroed at 30 yards with light loads, but now they will be used for critter control. Range varies from 50 to 130 yards.

I find it easier to hold under than to hold over (mental thing) so I was planning on using a 100 yard zero. (147-158 gr bullet at 1400 fps) That puts me about:

1" high @ 25
2" high @ 50
2" high @ 75
3" low a@125
8" low at 150.

The ranges you will typically engage at, and the critters you are dealing with matter. Using a ballistic trajectory calculator will answer the question for your needs. It can be difficult to find the BC of cast bullets. I use .25 as a guesstimate for the more common bullets if I cannot find the actual number.

After reading Larry's post I ran the number for a 75 yard zero and came up with:
.25" high at 25
.75" high at 50
2" low at 100
6" low at 125
11" low at 150

Larry's suggestion is about ideal for most .357 work. It has made me reconsider. My desire to use the .38/.357 for coyotes out to 150 yards is likely a poor choice.

[Bazoo]

I adjust for a 75 Yard zero for general work. I like that to be on the second notch of my sight elevator; I can go down for 25 Yard work, or up for 100+ yard work. Sometimes you just take what you can get though unless you've got a box of sights.

[Griff]

WHAT? We're supposed to sight in?

50 yards for pistol caliber carbines, 100-125 yards for 30.30, (bullet weight & use); or 200 for 30-06 or magnums.

[MrWolf]

There's a lot of room in that question for 'it depends'.

I'd sight in for the ranges you expect to be using it for.
Then learn what the particular round does above & below that.

Agreed. Out here on my property you will not get a 100 yd shot at anything. 50 is much more realistic but I would do as Larry suggested and go for 75 if possible.

[FergusonTO35]

This is just what works for me.

All handguns: 15 yards
.22 rifle: 40 yards
AR carbine: 60 yards
.357 carbine & .45-70: 60 yards
.30-30: 100 yards
AR rifle: 100 yards
.223 bolt action: 125 yards
.308 bolt action: 125 yards
6.5 Creedmoor & .257 Roberts bolt actions: 150 yards

[405grain]

I sight in at both 50 and 100 yards. First I sight in (cast rifle loads) to shoot 1.5" high at 50 yards. I do this because it's just easier to sight in at this closer distance. Then I move out to 100 yards and refine the sight in so that I'm hitting the bullseye at 100. Once I'm spot on at 100 yards I use a ballistics calculator to give me the bullet drop at 50 yard intervals out to 300 yards, and write this information on the sticker that I put on the ammo boxes for that caliber.

22lr I just sight in at 50 yards and hold over for the longer shots.