Mike Bleech

Sighting-in your deer hunting rifle, or bear hunting rifle if they are different rifles, is a mandatory part of the hunt. No, it is not a regulation, but it is mandatory from a sporting viewpoint. You need to know where your bullets hit when you fire the rifle. Not close, it has to be precise.

The only reasonable way to make certain your rifle is hitting where it should be is by shooting off a solid bench rest using sand bags, at the least.

* Foolish Things hunters say #1: “I don’t shoot off a bench rest when I hunt so I sight-in my rifle while resting against a tree.” Or the even more foolish… “so I sight-in from a standing position.”

This is such an absurd notion that I will not waste time explaining why it is foolish.

I take the accuracy factor as far as possible without weighing every bullet and case, or checking the case capacity with water. Well, sometimes I weigh the bullets. I believe I get my best bench rest accuracy using a padded tripod and a rabbit ears sand bag.

By buddy, Bill Anderson, believes he gets his best bench rest accuracy using a Lead Sled. It certainly has its merits since it eliminates punishment on the shoulder. This cuts down on flinching. Whenever I take my .300 WSM to the shooting range I use the Lead Sled. And the .444 Marlin.

This past Monday when we went to the shooting range we used the Lead Sled for Anderson’s .30-06 Springfield and my .280 Remington. Since the .280 Rem. is based on the .30-06 case, both burn similar amounts of powder. But the .30-06 recoils harder because it uses heavier bullets.

I am in the final process of sighting-in the rifle. With my scope zeroed to hit 2 inches high at 100 yards, my shots at a 250-yard target were right on the money.

Sighting most deer hunting rifles 2 inches high at 100 yards will yield close to the maximum point-black range. Point-blank in deer hunting terms means as far as you can aim dead center at a deer chest and still hit the chest vital area.

* Foolish things hunters say #2: “I sight-in my rifle at 50 yards because that’s as far as I ever shoot at a deer.”

Then, I have often replied, why do you lug that 7mm Remington Magnum around? Why pay extra for the magnum rifle and the magnum ammunition? Why carry the extra weight of a magnum rifle? Why beat yourself up when you shoot it?

Even when I demonstrate on paper that a 7 mm-08 Remington zeroed at 225 yards is a better long-distance rifle than a 7mm Rem. Mag. zeroed at 100 yards, some shooters do not get it.

As another example look at a .30-06 Sprg. zeroed at 225 yards versus a .300 WSM zeroed at 100 yards. At 300 yards the .30-06 will be 5.6 inches low, while the .300 WSM will be 11.2 inches low. At 500 yards the .30-06 will be 39.8 inches low, and the .300 WSM will be 46.7 inches low. Clearly under these circumstances the .30-06 is the better rifle for long distance shooting, even though the .300 WSM has a ‘flatter’ trajectory.

There really is no such thing as a flat-shooting rifle. That is just something shooters say to indicate a less curved trajectory than most cartridge loads. All rifle bullets travel in an arc with a steadily increasing drop rate. The trick for gaining as much point-blank range advantage for any given cartridge is zeroing at the greatest distance where the highest point in the arc is no more than about 4 inches above the line of sight.

* Dumb things hunters say #3: “My scope never changes so I don’t bother sighting it in every year.”

I can see how some hunters might get to believing that. My trusty old Remington Model 700 BDL in .30-06 Sprg. with a Redfield scope, bought in 1967, was spot on every year for quite a few years. I checked it, of course. Actually I shot it year-round. Then one year in the late-1970s, I made a final check before deer season and it was about 3 inches off at 100 yards.

Good thing I checked.

Why would a scope hold zero for a decade then one year be off?

Many things might happen to a scope. Perhaps vibrations have negative effects. Maybe the scope was bumped against a tree without notice. Maybe someone else bumped or dropped it and did not say anything. Maybe it was just its time.