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100 yd targets


RockyBlue

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I`m going to get a Marlin336 30-30 and i dont have but about 2 acres that i can practice shooting on,there`s a large hill about 300 feet fromwhere i can put targets,and i want to do it in a way that would be like hunting something that`s a 100 yds. away. and hope you can understand what i`m trying to do.

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RockyBlue,

Each rifle and each bullet have different ballistic characteristics within a hundred yards and beyond a hundred yards.

Savvy long range shooters know that some bullets don't even stabilize and settle down until they're past 100 yards.

It's common to see loads shoot tighter groups in terms of MOA at 200 yards than they do at 100 yards.

 

All rifle bullets fall victim to gravity the instant they leave the barrel. Therefore, a properly aimed shot must travel in an arc in order to reach its intended mark on the target.

The bullet will intersect the arc at two points as it makes its way to the target. A near point and a far point (the point of impact)

 

I think what you;re looking for is a way in which you can practice practical shooting at ranges less than 100 yards, but still maintain a zero for 100 yards.

 

Again, variables such as bullet stability will make the results imperfect, but you can get close enough to be able to practice your techniques until you can get to a longer range.

 

In order to calculate these two intersections, you will need some basic information about the loads you will be shooting and the conditions under which they will be fired.

You will then be able plug that data into a ballistics calculator and see where your 100 yard point of impact intersects at a much shorter distance.

 

What you need:

 

  • Ballistic information of your chosen round. This is usually available from the ammunition or bullet manufacturer. You'll need caliber, BC, bullet weight, muzzle velocity, and sight height.
  • Altitude - Your shooting location's elevation (relevant to sea level). If you don't know your elevation, you can find it by pinpointing your site on Google Earth.
  • Temperature & RH. The ambient temperature and humidity of your shooting range. It's not super critical, but you have to put something into the calculator, so think in terms of fair weather conditions and when you'll be shooting.
  • And of course, you need software to calculate the results. Federal offers a free program for their ammunition, but I like the one from JBM, because I don't always shoot Federal stuff.

I'm going to go ahead and run one in each application for you so the results will be clearer for you.

 

First, let's run my deer load, which is Federal, by the way.

So I fire up the Federal software and I choose my altitude, temperature, wind speed, increment (in yards), range (max yards, and zero point (100 yards). Then I choose my caliber and load(s). By choosing two loads, the software will let me compare them and graph the trajectories for each. Setting my max distance to 200 yards, the graph opens up enough to show me that these loads intersect the arc at 55 yards and 100 yards equally. So, if I can't practice at 100 yards, then 55 yards will get me real close to where I want to be.

 

federal-arcs.jpg

 

Now, let's run a load through the JBM calculator.

This is my pet load for my varmint rifle.

 

As you can see, I don't get a graph with this one, but I can still see that my bullet intersects the arc at about .4" low at 50 yards on a 100 yard zero.

Therefore, if I practice at 50 yards and shoot my groups about 1/2" low, then I can be pretty close to shooting dead on at 100.

 

jbm-arcs.jpg

 

Again, and I can't stress this enough, DO NOT rely on this information when hunting!

Find a way to shoot at the expected ranges for which you will be taking game and practice at those distances. Leave nothing to chance!

 

Shoot at whatever range you can and develop techniques for breathing, sight acquisition, trigger control, etc., then start shooting at greater distances whenever you can.

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I`m going to get a Marlin336 30-30 and i dont have but about 2 acres that i can practice shooting on,there`s a large hill about 300 feet fromwhere i can put targets,and i want to do it in a way that would be like hunting something that`s a 100 yds. away. and hope you can understand what i`m trying to do.

 

My above reply isn't all that relative to what you're asking, now that you have clarified things, but it's still good information for you to have.

 

Any target will do, but you'll be concentrating on shooting something that is the size of a deer's vitals at 100 yards.

 

Try the Grid Target With Sight Alignment Aid from this site.

http://www.mytargets.com/

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Shot placement on large game is something that generally follows two schools of thought. The older and most commonly used shot placement technique focuses on having the bullet strike the heart or lungs, aka the vitals.

 

While it's effective, you can see deer and other large game run for a good distance with both lungs blown out. A deer isn't smart enough to think about being shot. It just knows that it needs haul butt away as quickly as possible. Until the mechanics of its body's internals completely fail, it will keep going.

 

You've probably watched enough hunting shows to recognize that some deer kick like a bronco and then run away, leaving a blood trail to be followed in hopes of recovering the trophy. Sometimes, the hunter even has to come back the next morning to find his deer.

 

Other times, you'll see the deer collapse in its tracks and be dead by the time it hits the ground.

When that happens, you can bet that the shot was delivered to place shock and trauma on the deer's nervous system, not the circulatory or respiratory systems.

 

Shocking the nervous system is achieved with a well-placed shot to the upper shoulder of the deer. I call it the tri-pod area, because the spine and two front legs meet in a tri-pod that supports the animal's entire front end.

 

Breaking the tri-pod and shocking the spinal column causes the animal to freeze up and fall over immediately. You have shorted out his entire electrical system and knocked two wheels off the front end. There is nothing he can do about it, but lie there and die.

 

While everyone should know how to track wounded game, I don't think any deer hunter likes it more so than walking right up to their trophy, lying in the same spot he was standing when the trigger was pulled. :cool:

 

So practice making the high shoulder shot.

When you're scouting or when you see deer on TV, focus on where the bullet needs to be placed. The more you mentally practice this technique, the easier and more second nature it becomes.

 

drawskel.jpg

Edited by tucker301
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And I forgot to say it earlier, but that Marlin 336 is an excellent choice for a first deer rifle.

I had one when I was 17 and it was one of the most accurate and trouble-free rifles I've ever owned.

 

To this day, I still regret not hanging on to that rifle.

 

My brothers used to light M-80's and throw them across the ice on a frozen pond, but I would shoot them before they detonated. Pizzed them off, but they agreed that I was good with that rifle.

 

Yes, that was a LONG time ago.

We can't get M-80's anymore and the ponds never freeze. :mad:

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Good info from Tucker.

 

One item of note, my rifle has similar ballistics to Tucker's but I set my "zero" way out there. If you set your 100 yard bullet strike at about 2.5" to 3" high, your point blank range extends a ways out there, to about 250 yards.

 

That is, point blank means the elevation of the bullet does not deviate more than 3" above, nor 3" below the line of sight of your rifle scope.

 

But a good start is the ballistics tables, so you know what you're dealing with.

 

For deer, if you shoot at the heart/lungs, +/- 3", you'll hit something vital. I'm a traditionalist, as I go for the heart/lungs. Never had a deer run further away than I could see.

 

High shoulder shots are a tad less forgiving, but very, very effective.

Edited by timb99
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Most Winchester 30-30 150-170 Grain rounds are at + 1/2" at 50 Yds and at 100 Yds they are at ZERO? Really depends on which bullet ya go with. Hornaday is making some really accurate rounds for those levers these days! Amazing what a little info will produce, Good stuff Tucker:D

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