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tx50cal

40 Cal.
Joined
Aug 25, 2004
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I shoot a .54 with .530 roundball, pilow ticking patch, and 80 Gr. FFFg. I limit my shots to 100 yards. So I am thinking of zeroing my rifle for 75 yards. My local ranges do not have a 75 yard target. So my question is how high should I be at 50 yards to be dead on at 75 and how low will I be at 100 yards? Thanks for the help.
 
mrfishnhunt said:
I shoot a .54 with .530 roundball, pilow ticking patch, and 80 Gr. FFFg. I limit my shots to 100 yards. So I am thinking of zeroing my rifle for 75 yards. My local ranges do not have a 75 yard target. So my question is how high should I be at 50 yards to be dead on at 75 and how low will I be at 100 yards? Thanks for the help.
Without knowing more than that about your situation, I can only take an educated guess, but it won't be far off. Assuming a 28" barrel, zero at 75 yards will mean you'll be about 1" high at 50 yards and about 3" low at 100.

I usually sight similar guns at 100 yards, even though it will be a special situation before I take a shot even that long. Sighted at 100 yards, I'm less than 2" high at 50 and 75 but only about 3 1/2" at 125 yards. The difference is that I can forget about ballistics and trajectory when the deer shows up, just point and shoot at anything from the muzzle out to 115 yards, the point blank range. Sighted at 75 yards, point blank range is only about 90 yards.

Spence
 
What Spence said X2; i sight my .54cal elk rifle at 75yds. with 90gr-3f and get a similar trajectory. 36"GM barrel.
 
Spence has got it. Lyman's "Black Powder Handbook and Loading Manual 2nd Edition" shows 1590 fps for your rifle and load. The FIRST edition Lyman book shows a trajectory at 1600 fps as zero at 50 yards, -1.61 at 75 and -5.09 inches at 100 yards. Whatever change you make at 50 yards is twice that at twice the range (100 yards) and so 1.5 times as much at 75 yards. 1 1/8" (1.125) high at 50 yards times 1.5 equals 1.68 higher (or zero) at 75 yards. and 1.125 times 2 or 2.25" higher at 100 yards. 5.0 minus 2.25" raises the 100 yard impact to minus 2.75". Don't worry about the decimals, these guns don't shoot that close. Full inches is good enough, as Spence said.
 
I sight for 100 yds, and take my shots at 50 yds with a slight 6 o'clock hold.

If I misjudge the distance and it's a bit longer i'm still in the kill zone.
 
George said:
Assuming a 28" barrel, zero at 75 yards will mean you'll be about 1" high at 50 yards and about 3" low at 100. Spence

That's just about zackly what I get with the same 80 grain 3f load from my 54's, whether 28" or 32" and 1:48 or 1:66.

About the most useful sight-in and trajectory for my hunts.
 
Herb said:
Spence has got it. Lyman's "Black Powder Handbook and Loading Manual 2nd Edition" shows 1590 fps for your rifle and load. The FIRST edition Lyman book shows a trajectory at 1600 fps as zero at 50 yards, -1.61 at 75 and -5.09 inches at 100 yards. Whatever change you make at 50 yards is twice that at twice the range (100 yards) and so 1.5 times as much at 75 yards. 1 1/8" (1.125) high at 50 yards times 1.5 equals 1.68 higher (or zero) at 75 yards. and 1.125 times 2 or 2.25" higher at 100 yards. 5.0 minus 2.25" raises the 100 yard impact to minus 2.75". Don't worry about the decimals, these guns don't shoot that close. Full inches is good enough, as Spence said.

I think I agree. Kinda . . . Cause . ..

I shoot a .54 with 85 gr FFFg. I'm sighted 1-1/2" high at 50 yards and on at about 85 yards. Though by then it's hard to tell. ;-)
 
I sighted my GPR to shoot 2" high at 50yds with a .530 ball, .018 patch & 90gn FFG. That puts me roughly 1" high at 75yds & 3" low at 100. I can hold the same point of aim on any deer out to 100yds without worrying.
 
Why not stick a cardboard box with a target on it at 75 yds and shoot for center?
 
Can't do that at my local range. You can only shoot targets on their backstops.
 
2.5 to 3 inches high at 50 should put you about dead on at 100. go about 1 inch high at 50 to be dead on at 75 and about 3 low at 100.

I sight at about 2.5 high at 50 for dead on at 100. Makes any shot out to about 120 yards pretty much a point blank target of six inches in diameter.

Not sayin I can regularly shoot that foar. :haha:
 
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