newb 3gun sighting in scope question

[Mike21STI]

I'm looking for some suggestions as to where I should sight my scope in. I picked up a trijicon 1-4 accupoint with the triangle reticle and am not sure where to start as far as sighting it in for 3gun. I will be shooting mostly local events with distances out to 300 or so. I also only have a 100 yard range to work with. Should I sight the scope in on 4x magnification at 100 yards? Or another distance. Any help is appreciated

Thanks,

Mike

Edited July 16, 2012 by Mike21STI

[co-exprs]

It might be difficult due to range restrictions, but figure out a way to get it dialed in at 300yds with your load. Then you simply use a 6 o'clock hold for everything between 50 and 250yds. How much you hold under will only be a slight variance. The other advantage to the 300yd zero is that you'll be just about spot on at 25yds, so you can go fast, fast on the close stuff. The TR24 is an excellent scope for inside 300yds. It only becomes less ideal when you commonly shoot beyond.

[Mark R]

With a 55 grain bullet, try to get hits 1 inch high at 100 yards, which will be dead on at 200 yards, and 6-8 inch low at 300 yds. This will be a 200 yard zero. At least it is in my gun with a 2.8 inch sight to barrel offset.

[Corey]

I zero at 200 yards. At 100, I'm about 1.5-2" high. With this, I can basically point and shoot any piece of steel I see out to 200 with out thinking about it. My personal load lines up perfectly with the first hash mark in my scope (Burris XTR) at 300 yards, so I can line that up and go. For anything in between I can bracket the target and be where I need to be pretty easily.

You'll want to find a good zero point, then try YOUR loads with YOUR rifle at a variety of distances from 5 feet to 300 yards to know the POA/POI differences. Sometimes you may need to hold a tad high, others a tad low. This can be critical when there are paper targets and no shoots around them.

[CJW]

Go here: JBM Ballistics Calculator

Find your bullet in the library list, plug in your muzzle velocity (if you haven't chrono'ed, don't just go off the ammo box; it may assume a much longer barrel than you use, and you can probably find out from posts here what typical MVs for ammo/barrel length combos are) and the height-over-bore of your reticle. Then submit and get a drop chart out to whatever distance you like...

But, of course, you haven't zeroed yet, so what's the use?

You will have people on here tell you to zero for 25yds, 50yds, 100yds, 200yds, 300yds, or whatever. There are decent reasons for doing any of the above. But that drop chart will tell you things such as a max deflection of 5 or more inches over point-of-aim at 175yds if you zero for 300yds. I have seen plenty of targets at that distance that are 8in discs---that means 4" radius and suddenly you may be missing high with a dead-center hold. If you are okay thinking of hold-unders, no problem, but...

So, run some charts, look at what they tell you, and then decide which will be easiest for you to shoot at a match. (Me, I zero for 50yds which lets me shoot effectively point-blank out to about 225yds---everything within +/- 1.5in of aim, covering most distances I see at matches I go to---and I worry about holdovers after that.) Also, if you decide to zero at 200+ yds and your range doesn't have that, the drop chart will tell you exactly what that zero should give you at 25, 50, 75, 100yds, which you can verify.

ETA: As for magnification, that should have nothing to do with your zero. Pump it to max zoom, sight it an at your distance of choice, then run the zoom ring back and forth a few times to make sure it holds zero between magnification changes.

Edited July 16, 2012 by CJW

[co-exprs]

Problem is fellas, that the TR24 has a thick post under the wide triangle. I found any hold over's to be challenging with the TR24. Holding under was much easier. Not only can you see your target better with hold under on that scope, but you are more likely to see your hits as well.

[Lead-Head]

Problem is fellas, that the TR24 has a thick post under the wide triangle. I found any hold over's to be challenging with the TR24. Holding under was much easier. Not only can you see your target better with hold under on that scope, but you are more likely to see your hits as well.

You know with that reticle a 300yd zero might be the trick. Works great for irons guns.

[Mike21STI]

Thanks for the info, it seems that a 50 yard zero with a 6 o clock hold will be the way I go since most distances I will see will be less than 200 yards anyways.