Fitting a new scope. What distance to zero in at?

I recently obtained a larger scope for my Remington 700 Varmint Special in .220 Swift. I previously only had a 3-9 scope on it and it did ably at 100 meters. Tragically that scope was damaged and I bought a Barska 6-20 x 50 to help me see the ground hogs a little better. As this scope has a little more reach than the previous, what do you guys think would be a good starting point to zero this scope at? I know the cartridge is capable of much better reach than this scope, but I hope to be able to eventually be back out to 3-400 meters if my eyes hold out.

It's easier to "find" the paper at 100, than at 3-400 meters. Start at 100, then fine tune it for the longer distances.

I always zero centerfire scoped rifles at 100 and set them 2-3 inches high.

Good luck with that scope.

Take a notebook to the range with you. Zero your scope dead on at 100 yards. You should be able to bore sight it onto paper and dial it in easily at that distance. Then move out to 200 and zero it dead on there. Write down how many clicks it takes to dial it up to that range. Do the same at 300 and if you are going that far, 400.

Now you have the start to your D.O.P.E. book. Keep track of the bullet weight, powder, and weather conditions these groups were shot at. When those change, keep a note of that as well as those will change your impact.

When you dial back down, go past then back up. Say you have to dial up 8 clicks from 100 to 200.(Number just for example)
When going back down to 100, dial down 10 clicks then back up 2. This helps keep the same tension on your reticle mechanics and be more consistent.

100 yards is pretty much the standard. Most serious hunters as well as any of the sniper teams who I knew in the past all zeroed their optics at 100 and went from there.......

Start at 50 yards to get the POI centered, then move out to 100. Keep your POI several inches above your POI, then check at the longer distance you mentioned and should be fine.

I agree with an initial sight in of 100 yds. I would also check the repeat-ability of your scope adjustments. After sight in, adjust your scope right 10 clicks, fire a group, adjust down 10 clicks, fire a group, then left 10 clicks, etc., until you get back to your original setting. Hopefully your final group will print where your initial group was. You could then sight in for the average distance that you would expect most of your shots to take place. You could also do a "point blank range" sight in, which is the maximum range out to which your round would never be lower or higher than half of your expected kill zone size, as determined by a ballistics chart for your specific round.

Check some ballistics tables/trajectory charts. Most of the time you can zero at 25-40 yards and will be on at around 225-250 yards. The higher velocity of the Swift will probably put your "dead on" range a bit further out. Think about how much above or below point of aim you will be at ranges you will be shooting at.

F'rinstance, if you were to shoot a 45 gr bullet with a muzzle velocity of 3900 fps, and sighted it in dead on at 250 yds, you'd be 2.44 in. high at 150 yds, 1.56 in. low at 275 yds and 3.59 in. low at 300 yds.

You start off by zero at 30 yards. You can be off by a lot at 100 when you first stick on a scope. If you have a bolt action you can put your rifle in a gun vice or lead sled and look down the barrel and get it so it will hit paper at 100. Depends on what your shooting and the arch of the bullet. You can be zero at 100 in the rise of the arch and zero at 200 in the drop of the arch. I would zero for 100 and many scopes have rise marks for each 100 yds or comp adjustments.

Also, don't just rely on trajectory tables, use them as a guide, confirm the values by actually shooting at different distances. It will also be valuable to know your actual muzzle velocity by using a chronograph.

I will definitely need to chrono these. First batch of hand loads I've tried. This is definitely a weapon of mass groundhog destruction!

ColtRevolver said:

I always zero centerfire scoped rifles at 100 and set them 2-3 inches high.

Click to expand...

^This. Kind of depends on the load - bullet weight, muzzle velocity, etc. - but that'll give you approximately a 300-yard zero.

sfeile said:

Take a notebook to the range with you. Zero your scope dead on at 100 yards. You should be able to bore sight it onto paper and dial it in easily at that distance. Then move out to 200 and zero it dead on there. Write down how many clicks it takes to dial it up to that range. Do the same at 300 and if you are going that far, 400.

Now you have the start to your D.O.P.E. book. Keep track of the bullet weight, powder, and weather conditions these groups were shot at. When those change, keep a note of that as well as those will change your impact.

When you dial back down, go past then back up. Say you have to dial up 8 clicks from 100 to 200.(Number just for example)
When going back down to 100, dial down 10 clicks then back up 2. This helps keep the same tension on your reticle mechanics and be more consistent.

Click to expand...

+1 All my long guns are done this way except for one of my AR-15s. I have recently been zeroing my AR with the red dot sight for 160 yards because that is where I encounter most of the skunks on my property. Last night at 2 AM the dogs are going nuts, I get outside, turn the red dot on, fire and go back to bed... no need to adjust for elevation etc at 160 yards with 5.56

nortac said:

I agree with an initial sight in of 100 yds. I would also check the repeat-ability of your scope adjustments. After sight in, adjust your scope right 10 clicks, fire a group, adjust down 10 clicks, fire a group, then left 10 clicks, etc., until you get back to your original setting. Hopefully your final group will print where your initial group was. You could then sight in for the average distance that you would expect most of your shots to take place. You could also do a "point blank range" sight in, which is the maximum range out to which your round would never be lower or higher than half of your expected kill zone size, as determined by a ballistics chart for your specific round.

Click to expand...

Right answer.

I do it as John says, using the point blank range method. For example, my .270 Win is sighted at about 2.5 inches high at 100, and requires no hold over/under on a medium deer out to almost 300 yards. The idea is figure out the size of your target's kill zone, and sight the rifle so that the trajectory of your round stays within that zone out to the max. A rainbow shooter, say .30-30 Win, will have less maximum effective range than a high stepping flat shooter like your .220 Swift. Each bullet and load is different, next week I need to re-confirm the zero and point blank range for mine with my favorite loads.

If the ultimate sight-in isn't what you were asking, apologize for derailing. If it is just a starting distance for sighting you are looking for and you haven't got a boresighter then I'd start at 50 yards, move out or in depending on whether you catch some paper with your first group.

I'm on the paper at 100m. But didn't have enough time on the line to get it in as finely as I would have liked. Before fall I'll have at least a starting zero in. (The range is quite a distance from me) Before the old scope broke, we were driving nails at 100. Starting a 50 gn boattail 37gns of 4320. Should have me in around 3700, but I haven't got a Chrono. I think I should be able to dead reckon from there. She may be a locker queen til I get her dialed in good, but she is definitely a hog slayer.

Well have fun, it's wonderful to be afield sighting in hunting rifles. That's what happens in September.

100 yards.

Zero in at 200 and set it a couple inches high. That caliber should perform great with this formula.