Do you zero your BDC equipped scope with the center crosshair or other

[waktasz]

Just got a new scope. It has BDC drops which should represent 300, 400, 500 and 600 yard holds for a 55gr bullet going way faster than the ammo I shoot.

Does it make sense to "zero" using the 300 yard hold, then just learn my holds for everything closer? Or should I zero at 100 with the center dot, then test where my POI actually is when using the 300 yard holdover point?

[1chota]

Just got a new scope. It has BDC drops which should represent 300, 400, 500 and 600 yard holds for a 55gr bullet going way faster than the ammo I shoot.

Does it make sense to "zero" using the 300 yard hold, then just learn my holds for everything closer? Or should I zero at 100 with the center dot, then test where my POI actually is when using the 300 yard holdover point?

you are going to have to do some playing with it. sometimes the 100 yd. zero works with the stadia and sometimes it doesn't. i have one scope that i zeroed at 300 yds and it works out to 500. i have another that i have to zero the top stadia (cross-hair) at 150 to get the others to match with my ammo. have fun.

[Alaskapopo]

Just got a new scope. It has BDC drops which should represent 300, 400, 500 and 600 yard holds for a 55gr bullet going way faster than the ammo I shoot.

Does it make sense to "zero" using the 300 yard hold, then just learn my holds for everything closer? Or should I zero at 100 with the center dot, then test where my POI actually is when using the 300 yard holdover point?

I usually plug the numbers into a ballistic calculator and find the ideal zero range for me with the load I am using to match the reticle. For my Swarovski thats 235 yards with 77 grain bullets and 100 yards with 52-55 grainers. Which happens to coorilate with my 235 yard 77 grain zero perfectly.

Pat

[ronzrx]

I have a burris tac-30 that works with a 100 yard zero. I agree you will to experiment with your rifle

[co-exprs]

I agree with Alaska. Plug your load into a calculator and you will be able to figure out a good zero to work best with your BDC. I found that if I zero my first hold over mark at 400yds, I end up with an almost dead nuts hold for 400, 500 and 600yds. That puts my center dot zero at about 240yds with a close to 50yd cross over point. That makes things really easy because I simply use a 6:00 hold from about 75 to 225yds. If you got the BRT1 reticle, your subtensions are almost identical to my Meopta, so in theory the same technique should work for you as well. Tough part is you have to get to a 400yd range on a calm day to get a solid zero. The tradoff is that your scope is dialed for your logest shots, even with spin drift. Who cares if you're off 3/4" at 100yds. You can make up a close shot quickly, but no one wants to lay there and go to war on some 525yd target.

[waktasz]

The good news is I verrrry rarely shoot those long range targets here on the east coast. Longest shots I will have to deal with are 350 at Peacemaker in West Virginia for the Colt 3man 3gun. Longest range I can shoot at here for practice is 300 though.

"Zeroing" at 300 with my 300 hold over mark sound like a good plan then?

[jdknotts1]

The good news is I verrrry rarely shoot those long range targets here on the east coast. Longest shots I will have to deal with are 350 at Peacemaker in West Virginia for the Colt 3man 3gun. Longest range I can shoot at here for practice is 300 though.

"Zeroing" at 300 with my 300 hold over mark sound like a good plan then?

As the other guys in this post have said, you need to play with it. Make sure you chrono your ammo and use a good ball-calculator to match the reticle the best way. I have my zero at 170yds. That gives me the best all around match for my Ballistic CQ reticle. A good calculator for smart phones is Strelok. It has a picture of your reticle and where you hold will need to be for the distance input. It also uses temp, baro-pressure, wind, and other variables to make the shot as accurate as possible.

And as you prob know, the targets are rarely ever at 200, 300, and 400 yds. They are usually mixed at odd ranges. Thats where the Strelok comes into play very nicely.

[assaulter]

The good news is I verrrry rarely shoot those long range targets here on the east coast. Longest shots I will have to deal with are 350 at Peacemaker in West Virginia for the Colt 3man 3gun. Longest range I can shoot at here for practice is 300 though.

"Zeroing" at 300 with my 300 hold over mark sound like a good plan then?

As the other guys in this post have said, you need to play with it. Make sure you chrono your ammo and use a good ball-calculator to match the reticle the best way. I have my zero at 170yds. That gives me the best all around match for my Ballistic CQ reticle. A good calculator for smart phones is Strelok. It has a picture of your reticle and where you hold will need to be for the distance input. It also uses temp, baro-pressure, wind, and other variables to make the shot as accurate as possible.

And as you prob know, the targets are rarely ever at 200, 300, and 400 yds. They are usually mixed at odd ranges. Thats where the Strelok comes into play very nicely.

That's almost exactly what I've found. I zero my 75's at 175 with the center dot and they are very close at the longer ranges. I also use the Strelok calculator which reinforced what I had already verified on paper. The really cool feature is how it shows the wind hold with your reticle.

[Vespid_Wasp]

If I zero using my 400 meter hash mark, at 400 meters using my 75 gr handload, my BDC holds true enough to keep me on target.

BDC is calibrated for M855.

Optic is a TA33 ACOG.

There is a SLIGHT discrepancy at 5 and 600 meters, can't recall exactly how much but it's on the range card.

[waktasz]

I shot my new scope zero'd at 100 and the 300 yard line was perfect for hitting a 9" IPSC mini target. There's no 400 yard ranges close to me that I can shoot at so this will have to do. I'm pretty happy with it so far. Definitely need more practice though.

[Running Dog]

You need to zero for your ammo and have that zero be flexible enough that you don't have to deal with crazy hold offs & too much math under stress. Like Wasp said BDC is calibrated for M855 and with that ammo a 50 meter zero would be a little over 1" high @ 100m and 1.5" high @ 200m, but with that zero @300m your hold off would be over a foot ! Not good! Sounds like you got it workin' ........Punch some holes & have some grins!