Where do you aim................

when shooting bullseye targets at 25 and 50 yds,I hold 6 o'clock on the small bull and just under the 10 ring on the large bull at both yardages,thought it would be interesting to what hold others use on these targets

 

opps..............should have read "interesting to hear where others hold,please excuse the typo

 

My guns are set up for hunting. I want them to shoot where the sights touch visually, not a half a bullseye above that point. If I place the sights 2 inches behind the shoulder of a deer that is where I want to hit, not above thatpoint.

Set the sights up for target shooting and then aim at a tin can and you will find yourself shooting high for some reason, wonder why?

 

[Ohio Joe]

I use fixed sights on all my rilfes and I zero in to be 1/2 inch high of center at 25 yards... I have found that with my .45's, and .50's, my point of impact at 50 yards is mostly dead center and at times 1/4 inch low of center...
When shots must be taken beyond 50 yards, I just estimate the elevation and I seem to have success with this...
I might also mention that I throw the book out, (Lyman Black Powder Handbook) when it comes to the printed word of where certain loads at given ranges will hit...
The Lyman book is a good book for starting points, but has no real value to me at the sea level which I live, and the level of humidity I live with pretty much year round, which is low...

 

Because targets vary so much from place to place it's hard to answer. But I'll try ta say what I do for practice.
I six o'clock also,,my target has a 2 1/4" black bull with a 1/2" white X, 1/4" rings beyond the bull are 7-6-5. It's an "air-gun" target. I use the same paper out too 100yrds.

I have learned as rote the "hold over" and "spread" from 50 too 100 only because I shoot a bunch.

I have "bullseye fever",,,,that dang X,,,,,,,

sumone said sumthing about a pop can. I'll hit a pop can at 40yrds,,where it lands I'll hit it again,,I'll even hit what's left of it the third time!! But if you put a "Bullseye" at that same spot,,,money is 3 to 1 I'll miss the X.!

 

[musketman]

sumone said sumthing about a pop can. I'll hit a pop can at 40yrds,,where it lands I'll hit it again,,I'll even hit what's left of it the third time!!

Ever have a unopen can of warm pop?

Shake it up well and then place a round ball through it at about 40 yards...

You'll know when you get a "HIT"... :haha:

I too shoot a target over and over where it falls, mostly because I'd rather be shooting than setting up targets...

 

[LRB]

I'm with Ghost on this one.I want the bullet to strike where I put the sight. I sight mine at 50yrd and make allowances if closer or farther.

 

[roundball]

Don't shoot competition...everything I do is oriented towards hunting and with the exception of a 'squirrel rifle' being zeroed at 25yds, all other sidelocks are zeroed at 50yds, using a dead center point of aim...adjust accordingly for the rare longer shot

 

[tg]

I don't really target shoot as such anymore but sight my guns for hunting with a six o'clock zero at say 80-100 yds (or closer with smoothies)so when I shoot at a deer I hold where I want to hit and from the muzzle out to the zero point the ball will land either right on or a bit high or low but well within the kill zone, I always test the trajectory with each gun to confirm.

 

[Wayne Combs]

For paper,gongs,hunting,etc hold the sight right where I want to hit at 50yds. adjust from there.Wayne.

 

[atr]

I shoot competitive handgun under ISSF rules in 1800 and 2600 matches mostly . My pistols for bullseye competitions are sighted for a 6 o'clock hold . The black center sits on top of the front sight and i shoot the center . (sometimes) All other handguns and rifles are sighted for center hold . Shooting and sighting center hold at a known distance makes shooting at other distances much easier as you know your trajectory so you can hold under or over at various ranges without the aid of a calculator . Say you sight your rifle in dead center at 100 yards . You know from experience or from refering to a loading table what your trajectory will be at 25 yards increments from 25 to 150 yards . Now if you sight the same rifle in at 100 yards using a 6 o'clock hold you'll be shooting 3 to 5 inches above your point of aim depending upon your bull size . Now that your balls or bullets are hitting up to 5 inches above your point of aim at 100 yards , where are they going to hit in 25 yard increments from 25 to 150 yards ? Target shooting works well using a 6 o'clock hold as it offers greater visability of the target . Watch any olympic target shooter and all of thier open sighted rifles and handguns are sighted for 6 . They shoot bullseye targets only . Most of us shoot stuff and things and critters where a center sighted center hold is much better . Your milage may vary .

 

Whether you use the six o'clock hold or dead on doesn't matter on a nice sunny day (for 25 yards and 50 yards offhand bull's-eye target shooting) but if you're shooting in the shade or your target is partially shaded you're sights can get lost in the silhouetting of the bull's-eye where if you use the six o'clock hold , you can get an excellent sights picture against the white of the target. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Huntinfool]

I have my rifle sighted in to hit about an inch high at 50 it's a hair low almost dead on at 100 and pretty much dead center at 25. That's with about 70 grains of fffg Swiss measured by volume! Swiss is a little heavier than Goex per volume and as a result it shoots a little hotter plus it's a little more refined and seems to clean up easier too!

Funny you should mention a pop can yesterday I was giving my 12 year niece old a lesson with my .50 cal. long rifle. She's a big gal she's about 5' 4' tall and pretty thick also. I loaded it up with about half charges 30 to 35 grains of fffg Swiss. It's still too heavy for her to shoot offhand but she did OK from a rest.

She was scared at first because her step-dad gave her lessons before deer season last year. With heavy 30-30 bullets kicked her pretty good I guess. He didn't provide her with hearing protection or let her shoot a small caliber first for training.

I promised it wouldn't hurt her and she soon realized I was being truthful with her and she began to connect. I promised to take her huntin' this fall.

My neighbor was drinking a soft drink and stuck the empty can in a tree about 40 yards away. I hit it dead canter first shot. Not meaning to disagree with anyone but knowing where she prints is more important than if she prints a little high in my humble opinion.

YMH&OS
Chuck Goodall
"The Original Huntin' Fool"
&
Kanawha Ranger Scribe

 

[shmrck1]

Kaintuckkee
my loads for hunting & my loads for target shooting are entirely different. i urge you to work up a load for both with your partictular b/p weapon.
snake-eyes

 

[TwoShadows]

Forgive me for weighing in on this subject...boredom and old age have me collared this morning. "Target load" and "hunting load" ?? They are the same to me. I shoot the same load for target as for hunting....first of all I am a simple man....by shooting the same load every time I dont have to remember different loads...or different sight patterns etc. I am not one to shoot ridiculous heavy loads for hunting ....I know their limits of range and drop with this load...and it is not uncomfortable to shoot target with. I have a lifelong friend who is an excellent shooter....but I never fail to out shoot him because he "thinks" too much....he is constantly adjusting loads for what he percieves as the distance to targets ......I just load the usual load and fire away....I guess his ability to judge distance gets him in trouble too...put him to shooting at the same target several times and he is a tough competitor....but vary the distance of each shot and he outwits himself every doggone time....just shakes his head and continues doing the same thing. As an example...I shoot 80 grains of 2f in a 1x48 twist .60 caliber barrel...I am good for squirrel close up...a buffalo at 40 yards...whitetail at 100 yards...and never have to second guess what I have down the barrel or get distracted with what a measure is set for. I DO cut the sights for dead on at 25 yards...and know what the drop is at 50 or 100 (or 150 for that matter). That way I dont have to vary my sight picture other than to allow for drop...maybe that is the infamous Kentucky windage. Perhaps all the experimenting and conjecture is good...dont know....but the above described practice has fed me well for more years than I care to admit and brought home more than my fair share of "the bacon" from the shooting matches around the country.I will close this post with a suggestion that has helped me muchly through the years. Learn to judge distance! You can do this anywhere and it is so simple I hate to divulge it as "wisdom" ...wherever you are walking...be it the mall or across the yard...choose an[url] object...decide[/url] what you think the distance is and then count your steps to the object....vary the distances to the object and see how close you can come to being correct...you will eventually be able to get real comfortable with this type of "rangefinding" variable terrain...uphill and down will take on new meaning for you too insofar as judging what your rifle will do.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Forgive me for weighing in on this subject...boredom and old age have me collared this morning. "Target load" and "hunting load" ??

I have a "squirrel load" and a "deer load." In my .54 that works to a 42 gr charge that allows me to hold at 6 o'clock on a squirrel's chin at 25 yards, and, without adjusting my sights, be 1-1/2" to 2" high at 50 yards with 80 gr. for deer hunting with PRB.

I've been toying with a bone measure that is throwing 63 gr. of FFg and is nicely accurate in my .54 but I fear it's too weak at around 850 ft lbs to be a deer sized game harvester. For just walkin and shootin it's the berries.

 

[roundball]

Maybe you could be used as a "half/double" measure...63grns for targets & small game, double it (126grns) for big stuff...120grns FFg in a .54cal has been an excellent Deer load for me

 

[bob1961]

i'll shoot as much as i need to get the aim dead on at 50 yds where i aim....then move to the 100 yd range and see where it shoots....then i know where it hits from 50 to 100 yds.................bob

 

[Whitesmoke]

I hunt with a scope on my inline, so I want it to hit where the crosshairs meet. That's a dead center hold on targets. I sight in at 75 yds...that leaves me about 1" high at 50yds and 1" low at 100yds. 0 to 100, I'm good to go. I also know it drops 6" at 150yds, so I feel safe out to that range, but no more.

 

[roundball]

Same here...most recently zeroed a new .58cal GM barrel at 50yds with 100grns Goex FFg / 279grn Hornady ball, grouped 3" low at 100yds