Looking for input on sighting in rifles with a 200 or 250 yard zeros, since I do a lot of western long range shooting on deer and elk with a 30-06.

Elk round is Winchester or Federal 180-gr. (Nosler AccuBond) 22" barrel at 2750 fps.

* 200 yd. zero = 2.15" high at 100 yds.
* 250 yd. zero = 3.39" high at 100 yds.

Question: Is it better to zero at 200 and hold over for a 250 yard shot or just zero at 250 from the get-go and have a higher 100 yard impact?

Thank-you in advance of your expertise!

I've used the 30-06 for years and sight in at 200 yards with the Hornady 180 spire point. A 9 inch holdover gets me on the game( back high on deer, 3/4 up an elk) at 300 yards. The place where the duplex crosshair gets fat gives me my 400 yard holdover. If I sight the 06 dead on at 300 yards like I do my 270 I tend to shoot over things, especially downhill. Hope this helps. God bless and good shooting.

Be careful using the "fat" part of your crosshairs as a reference because if you shoot a variable power scope that distance will change as you turn your magnification up/down!!

Hi There,

         That will depend upon your scope, with the varible Leupold Vari X111 I have........................ yes it's most likey to. However using a proper European scope the reticle appears larger as the magnification is turned up but the actual area it covers on the target remains the same. On my Pecar 4-10x45mm the central cross of the duplex covers 1" at 100 yards no matter which magnification it's set one.
 
     I have not checked the Lisefeld 3-9x42mm to see how much the central part of the reticle covers in that one. I normaly use a straight 6x42 scope for preference but as I normally pick up used scopes to keep costs down:p  I have a selection fitted to different rifles. Just now I am playing with an old Bushnell Scope Chief 3x acope which I have just fitted to my Husqvarna 46 rifle. Hopefully I will taking it to the range on Wednesday to try it out along with a couple of others:D . The beauty of these heavier reticles is that they show up much better in the gloom of forrest and first light and dusk, as I do a lot of stalking at both dusk and dawn they are much better for me. The American scopes are set up fro American preferences and hunting which is different:)  and I believ that leupold for one now offers a heavier reticle in some of it's copes to cater for this market, their std reticles have hurt their sale here.

To make it easier, I suggest that you sight in 3" high at 100, and then test shot at 200, 300 etc. That has worked well for me for various calibers, including 30-06.

One very important rule of thumb with elk is to hold on hair! If your crosshairs aren't on fur then it's probably too far to be shooting at anyway. More elk are missed by people holding over the back and their bullet going over the back than any other reason. A mature bull can have a chest almost 3 feet from top to bottom. If your bullet is dropping more than that then it's a really far shot!

Another factor for shooting long range on elk is remaining velocity at long ranges.
 At 350 yards your 3006 is down around   2000 fps. Some hand loads and factory magnums do a little better. You would like to have a little velocity left to stop an elk. .
 Maby sighting at 250 might be a little more forgiving because it will still keep you about 3"  high at 100yds and only down about 4 or 5"  at 300yds. All well within minuite of elk shooting.  Velocity and therefore bullets drop fast beyond the 300yrd mark. At 400 you would still be down about 20 " with a 250 yrd zero and  Hornady lists 25" low at 400yrds with a 200 yrd zero. You are not likely to shoot over an elk  at 100 yrds if your only 3 " high at that range.  It is the longer distances that are the hardest to judge .  At 250yrd zero you will always be in the killing zone without having to hold over or hold under out to a little  more than 300yrds. Beyond  400yrds  you are running low on  killing power with a 3006 and 180 gr bullet with any shot  that isn't  very well placed.  As always shot placement is the key to clean kills at any distance with any rifle or amo combination.           Just my observations. Yours may differ.
 Firebird

Question: Is it better to zero at 200 and hold over for a 250 yard shot or just zero at 250 from the get-go and have a higher 100 yard impact?
 
Download Remington Shoot, it allows you to select different loads for the calibers listed in the program, 30-06 is there. This program let's you choose a the size of vital zone you need, then tells you the correct zero. Remington shoot also has a target range and a zero range. Example: You want to hit dead on at 350 yards, but want to see how high the bullet will be travelling at 25, 50, & 100 yards. Remington shoot will tell you alot. I played around with Remington Shoot last year before my hunt. Is pretty accurate & fun to play with, even if you want to be zeroed in at 1000 yards. You get to see graphs & charts showing you the bullets path for any given zero!
 
There is also the: Norma Ballistics Java Page & Winchester Shoot.
 
Josh

I'd go with the 30-06 at 150-200 yards.  It's worked for me in the past.  Good luck!