Zeroing a.22lr

[Leamo 7]

I have zeroed my 452 .22 at 20 yards and can hit a drawing pin at that range putting the cross hairs on it. Then out to 50 yards I'm 20 mm high so basically aim just above the jaw line for head shots, then 50 yards is cross hairs bang on again. 50 to 70 yards is then a 15 20 mm drop so I go top of head. 70 to is 1 mil dot to 90 two mil dots 100 with no wind is inaccurate and three and a half mil dots. Up to 90 yards I'll kill even small quarry like squirrels but past that and out to a 100 + I couldn't hit a cows ass with a shovel. My question is would high velocity eliminate the use of mil dots ie pick the round up slightly and would I be able to go beyond the 100 mark. Ps all those measurements should be meters not yards cheers.

[stillair1 16]

Basically the .22lr is a sub 100yd gun. Once you go past 100yds the drop gets a real lick on. Supersonnic .22lr rounds may come out a bit quicker, but they also shed ftlb quicker due to often being a lighter weight, Most are less accurate than a sub .22lr. The tool for the job is the hmr if you want to venture past 100yds consistently. in the rimfire world.

[Leamo 7]

I was thinking exactly what you have just said. From being being a 20mm drop to sort of 75 meters to a massive drop at 100 three and a half mil dots is a huge drop also the round tends to roll to the right totally inaccurate almost like they run out of fuel and slam the brakes on. At the end of the day I could just get off my ass and stalk 20 meters not a problem! I tried the hmr but found the .22 a lot quieter I love it,i have heard so much about high velocity but most of what you read and hear is complete crap. I'll stick to the subs I think cheers bud.

[Extremetaz 15]

Stillair has it nailed there alright - although it is possible to place a .22LR round quite accurately after 100m on a calm day with the right combination of rifle/ammo/shooter, there's a hell of a drop off and not really enough poke left to make it worthwhile doing.

 

If you're going past 100m regularly though, I'd be inclined to say just get a CF licence and have it done with.

[scarecrow243 24]

Hi zero it at 75yards that is the best range to zero at with sub sonics

[GRAM71 29]

i'm not telling how far i've pushed 22lr out anymore, rotten feckers hurt my feelings last time suffice to say on a walk round it gets zeroed somewhere between 50-75 yds, ish...

[Leamo 7]

The zeroing isn't really the problem, I zero at twenty meters which is also a zero at 50 believe it or not. My plan was to keep a few high velocities just incase of that little nosey bugger a bit further up the line ie the 100 plus.

Then when I think about it how much can you ask from a rimfire? I have no doubt with some time and no wind you could zero a 100 and do pretty well. But then how the hell could you walk around with that and hit between 30 and let's say . I was also amazed at the difference in makes of rounds, some of the grouping at 60 was about the size of my palm all over the place and the cci's wouldn't even go threw I gave them away. Ps first time on a site like this cheers for the advice and chat.

[richmcgin 32]

your always best to zero your rifle to a comfortable range for your ability. dont bother with the HV, just practice the long shots with the subs. zeroing at 20yrds is no good if you intend to shoot further out. zero at 50yrds it takes the guess work out of shooting out further, i know it seems easy to just zero at 20 cos its closer and easier but its not an air rifle,!!!

[remi700 99]

Zeroing at twenty and fiftey yards should be in the same place. If you look at the bullet trajectory curve the bullet should be still riseing at 20 yards then it should be starting to top out at 35 yards and starting to drop at 40. By the time it reaches 50 yards it should be at the same level as 20 yards again. Stick with your sub-sonics. If you start to shoot supersonic rounds it will be almost as loud as a hmr. Atb Mark.

[The Duncan 802]

I agree with the consensus that high velocity .22 lr rounds are a waste of time - hopelessly inaccurate compared to subs and of course you lose the main advantage of the rimfire: quietness.

Personally, I think the .22lr is best for 50- or 90 yards, after that, its not really the best tool in the box. I'd use an air rifle if the range was less than 50 yards on rabbits anyway as they are cheaper to run (not that rimmies cost the earth to run lol!) and they can shoot safely in places where powder burners can't.

[PLEDGEY 495]

If you search on Google for '.22lr ballistics @ gunsmoke', and then click on the Gunsmoke Engineering page you'll see 2 ballistic charts. One is for subs, the other is for H/V rounds. If i knew how to post a link i would,.

[remi700 99]

Thats intrestin Pledgey. Long time from i looked at 1. Seems it takes a wee bit longer to drop then i said earlier. 20 and 59 looks like the sweet spot there.

[richmcgin 32]

Powder burners! Fred Dibnah is alive and well aye Dunc!!.

[Leamo 7]

Thanks for all the advice, also nice to see how different people work never to old to learn...

I only zeroed at twenty as I put new scopes on and had no clue where I was at with it. But I kinda like that setting 20-50 aim lower head hit just high of centre 50 cross hairs out to 70 top of head hit centre takes all the numbers and guessing out. Top middle or bottom nice and easy. Then 70-90 one mil dot on top I don't even bother beyond 90 meters realy I like a nice clean kill and haven't found anything accurate enough. Gonna stick with the eley subs I think.

Edited March 22, 2012 by Leamo

[Extremetaz 15]

As you've obviously discovered already from your post above - all ammo is not created equal.

 

Go grab yourself a box of Lapua Center-X if you can find them.

 

They're a competition 25 & 50 meter round so they're a little more expensive than the standard stuff (about €10 for 50 over here through the club I shoot with) but they're unbelievably consistent. There's a 50m target card on the wall in our range obtained using them, it's 11mm edge to edge on 5 shots! and the lad who shot it would tell you that a better shooter could have gone tighter again!

 

Now that's out of a target rifle fair enough - but the point is that good ammo *really* helps!

Edited March 23, 2012 by Extremetaz