Hmr Zeroing

[slipper 116]

I know this has probably been posted before so apologies but....

I have just had my barrel recrowned and the trigger played with so out I went to have a play, took a load of cleaning gear with me aswell, put the rifle in a rest and put a bubble level on it same with the scope just so they were inline

First put a target at 45 yards, all good first 3 shots touching great, went out to yards and they were touching, inline with the bullseye but 1.5 inches high, then out to 120 yards and back in the bull

Now I know its supposed to be flat shooting but any rabbits from 50 ish to 90 ish i,m going to be shooting over the top, I,m just curious really is this normal and do other hmr lads just aim low at these ranges?

[paulus 26]

[Deano88 9]

Hi Slipper,

 

Not sure if I can be much help but if your zero is at 120 yards, by my calculations at yards you would be approx 0.7" too high. at 50 yards you would be 0.28" high and at 90 yards you would be 0.66" high. There is quite a variance with the zero you have chosen. An yard target you could quite easily miss a head shot for example if you were to aim dead on as you would be nearly an inch too high.

 

I zero mine at 100 yards which means from 50 yards out to 100 its pretty much poa = poi. I think the highest point at my zero would be 75 yards at 0.27" with everything else before and after (up to 100 yards) being below that. Pretty much Poi will be within 0.3 of an inch from 50 to 100 yards

 

May be worth re-zeroing at 100 yards and see if you find that a more practical zero range.

 

My stats are based on hornady 17grn vmax and based on my scope height etc but it is a rough guide for most HMR's I would imagine. Im sure somebody will correct me if i am wrong.

 

atb Deano

[kenj 131]

I zero my HMR at 100 yards and expect my groups to be well within a 20 mm bull, off a bipod and can get better if I try breathing and holding the stock. As paulus's chart shows, it's just about flat from 50 to 120 on a still day. Your 1.5 inches high at yards sound a bit strange. Were you using a 20 grn bullet? With a 17 grn, I only had a 10mm rise at 100, when zeroed at 120.

My review of my HMR http://www.urbanfieldsportsman.com/index.php/cz-452-varmint-17-hmr-rimfire/

[slipper 116]

thanks for the replies lads, i,m using 17 grain hornady, the reason i tried it at 45 yards is because sometimes I come across close rabbits, think i need to re zero at 100 yards and just keep a note of that chart for closer shots, it is just a bit annoying had a rook land about 30 yards away, I was expecting a puff of feathers but it flew off lol,

[Deano88 9]

I missed a rook today with the same anticipation of seeing a puff of black feathers. For me the issue is range finding. With practice and experience i am sure we will all get there eventually.

[archiekale 427]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/17HMR.htm

[dadioles 68]

Hello Slipper

Please don't think me rude but you are going about this in quite the wrong way.

It is up to you to choose a suitable distance to zero and then by shooting at targets at varying ranges work out the trajectory.

Sometimes choose your zero based on the distance you mostly shoot at and sometimes at a point which gives you maximum range with the flattest trajectory.

Go about this methodically and precisely.

Measure your distances accurately. A laser rangefinder is the best way.

For a .17hmr 100 yards is a good distance to zero as it shoots pretty flat from about 50 to 110 yards.

Closer than that and scope height plays a large part. You really want the scope as close to the barrel as possible. Looking at diagramatic "curves" of trajectory it can look as though the bullet rises, of course it doesn't, it starts to fall as soon as it leaves the barrel, it was less obvious with the old iron sights.

This is a very brief description of what to do but there are lots of other tips such as sight through the bore to get the scope lined up initially etc.

If there is any significant wind, forget it, you are wasting your time, you really need a fairly windless day.

Start by setting the turrets on your scope so that they are both adjusted to roughly the middle point by winding them from one extreme to the other and then back half way.

Fire a couple of rounds at a large piece of paper or card about 50 yards away. Hopefully you will hit it, if you don't, move the card to 25 yards and try again.

You may need to add a shim to the scope mount if you are too far off target to bring things into line, hopefully you will be fairly close and adjusting the turret will bring you roughly on centre but you do not want the turret adjusted too close to its extremes.

After a few shots and tweaks move the target out to 100 yards and spend a bit of time adjusting your scope so that your groups are bang on target and hopefully covering the area of a 50p coin fairly consistently.

You sound as though you are a good shot and already getting very good tight groups.

Now you have zeroed at 100 yards and the fun begins.

From now on do not alter the settings on the scope.

Take at least 3 shots each at targets placed every 10 yards from, say, 10 yards to 120 yards (further if you are up to it, not easy).

Always aim at the exact centre, it does not matter where the bullets hit just as long as they are in a reasonable group.

A target (you may need at least a dozen of them) need only be a piece of paper with a cross in the centre although a nicely printed one is better.

Now you know the precise "drop" (or rise) of a bullet at all distances for your bullets fired through your gun.

This may take an hour or so and a couple of boxes of ammunition but surely it is everyones duty as an fac holder to get it right and accurate especially if shooting animals.

Keep a note of the results, print it as a table or plot it as a graph.

Now you can work out your exact aim point for any distance.

Typically the bullet will be hitting an inch or so low at about 20 yards, maybe slightly high at about 70 yards and low again at 120 yards.

There will be two "zero" points, your official zero of 100 yards and a secondary zero at something like 45 or 50 yards depending on scope height.

Enjoy...

Edited April 2, 2013 by dadioles

[richmcgin 32]

Hello Slipper

Please don't think me rude but you are going about this in quite the wrong way.

It is up to you to choose a suitable distance to zero and then by shooting at targets at varying ranges work out the trajectory.

Sometimes choose your zero based on the distance you mostly shoot at and sometimes at a point which gives you maximum range with the flattest trajectory.

Go about this methodically and precisely.

Measure your distances accurately. A laser rangefinder is the best way.

For a .17hmr 100 yards is a good distance to zero as it shoots pretty flat from about 50 to 110 yards.

Closer than that and scope height plays a large part. You really want the scope as close to the barrel as possible. Looking at diagramatic "curves" of trajectory it can look as though the bullet rises, of course it doesn't, it starts to fall as soon as it leaves the barrel, it was less obvious with the old iron sights.

This is a very brief description of what to do but there are lots of other tips such as sight through the bore to get the scope lined up initially etc.

If there is any significant wind, forget it, you are wasting your time, you really need a fairly windless day.

Start by setting the turrets on your scope so that they are both adjusted to roughly the middle point by winding them from one extreme to the other and then back half way.

Fire a couple of rounds at a large piece of paper or card about 50 yards away. Hopefully you will hit it, if you don't, move the card to 25 yards and try again.

You may need to add a shim to the scope mount if you are too far off target to bring things into line, hopefully you will be fairly close and adjusting the turret will bring you roughly on centre but you do not want the turret adjusted too close to its extremes.

After a few shots and tweaks move the target out to 100 yards and spend a bit of time adjusting your scope so that your groups are bang on target and hopefully covering the area of a 50p coin fairly consistently.

You sound as though you are a good shot and already getting very good tight groups.

Now you have zeroed at 100 yards and the fun begins.

From now on do not alter the settings on the scope.

Take at least 3 shots each at targets placed every 10 yards from, say, 10 yards to 120 yards (further if you are up to it, not easy).

Always aim at the exact centre, it does not matter where the bullets hit just as long as they are in a reasonable group.

A target (you may need at least a dozen of them) need only be a piece of paper with a cross in the centre although a nicely printed one is better.

Now you know the precise "drop" (or rise) of a bullet at all distances for your bullets fired through your gun.

This may take an hour or so and a couple of boxes of ammunition but surely it is everyones duty as an fac holder to get it right and accurate especially if shooting animals.

Keep a note of the results, print it as a table or plot it as a graph.

Now you can work out your exact aim point for any distance.

Typically the bullet will be hitting an inch or so low at about 20 yards, maybe slightly high at about 70 yards and low again at 120 yards.

There will be two "zero" points, your official zero of 100 yards and a secondary zero at something like 45 or 50 yards depending on scope height.

Enjoy...

it is far easier to just remember that the bullet crosses the line of zero twice, once on the way up and once on the way down. its the same with all calibres.

[slipper 116]

I did not think you rude, and thank you for spending the time to write a very clear reply thanks again,