A friend of mine zeroed his scope at 30 yards and I told him he better check it at 100. He didn’t. Said it was good to go. A couple days later the biggest buck he has ever seen walks out at about 75 yards. He was one of those types who only needs the bullets that are in his rifle. He emptied his rifle, 5 shots right over the deers shoulder. The buck never moved he had no idea what all that noise was. Out of bullets, he got mad at himself and climbed down out of his stand and started walking back to his truck. Yes, the buck just stood there looking at him as he walked back to his truck. Lesson learned.

In the Marines, we zeroed at 30 yards, and it was the equivalent of 300 yards (M16A2 with iron sights). This is based on the trajectory of the 5.56. The bullet crosses your sight line at 30 yards on the way up, and it again crosses your sight line at 300 yards on the way down. It was pretty spot on for that rifle and that ammo.

I never got the chance to hunt growing up, nor to meet my dad or grandpa. I always enjoy Ron’s videos. I feel like he would be just like my grandpa. His knowledge rings true almost every time.

I've been doing this on family and friend's rifles over 30 years. I bore sight at 33 yards and shoot once. I then make scope adjustments ( measuered inches) X 3. That puts me Really close at 100 while only shooting one round. You can then fine tune at 100-400 yards.. I like 2+3 inches high at 100 in my .308. thats puts me close at 200 and only 5-6 low at 300.👍

Hello Ron,

I've used a 50 yard zero for years, after lots of shooting with different caliber rifles I've found that is the best over all zero for me. Thanks Ron for another great video.

I like to use the ballistic chart for the ammo I'm using to find what close range I can zero at to get me close at 100 yards. I'm glad Ron covered this in the video.

Ron, note that the average man of 5'10" - 6'1" has a 30" step; the D.S. pounds that into your brain during BCT. To move your target back 5 yards, you need to take 6 steps, not 5. The Army used 25.5M(1000") for the M16A1-2 when I was in; FM 3-22.9 will get you there. Keep up the good content, 99% of your stuff is spot on.

I’ve had good success zeroing my rifles at 50 yards; that’s everything from 17 HMR right up to 30-06. All is hand loaded hunting ammo. I don’t worry too much about chronographs; they can confuse and create issues that may not really be there, which can lead to chasing phantoms. Cheers from Down Under.

Hey Ron, another great video, sir. I know AR-15s aren't Your thing,however in the Army back in the 80s when an AR-15 (M16A1) with 55 grain FMJ was zeroed for qualification the two position rear sight was flipped to Long Range 300 meters and fired in a 3 round group at 25 meters and once a proper zero was achieved then the soldier went to the qualification range with pop up silhouette targets from 50-300 meters. While the 5.56 is relatively flat shooting cartridge the difference between the 0-200 and L for long made the difference that mattered, and I still remember a picture in our individual soldiers manual of the trajectory arc of the round at 25 meters thur 300 meters. Again thanks Ron for all of your great work, sir !

In the Army basic training, we started with the Garand at 25 yards. Many of the recruits have never fired a rifle before and this was close enough for beginners.

So many people hate on mossberg rifles. If they are good enough for Ron they are good enough for me. I certainly like mine.

I've always preferred having around a 2 to 3" high point of impact at 100 yards for most of my rifles. It sure makes longer shots easier to take, out to a reasonable distance of course. My Son took his longest shot on a deer at 366 yards and didn't need to hold off of the deers body. Good Content Ron. Thanks for sharing.

Great video Ron. What I did this year is I set up a target at 200 yards and sighted in my .308. I’m shooting 3/4 of an inch high at that range, so I’m probably bang on at 225 yards. At 100 yards, I’m roughly 2.25 inches high. To me, 2 inches high at 100 yards is almost ideal if you are using non BDC reticles.

Great video, as usual. I stumbled onto this knowledge a few years ago while playing around with distances at the range. I was already zeroed for 200 yards with my 6.5 Creed, but I decided to take some shots at 50 yards to see where it hit. To my surprise, it was nearly dead on. Since then, I've started by zeroing my new guns at 50 yards (since my local range only has 50-yard increments). This gets me on paper and within a few inches of where I need to be when I back it up to 200. Point being, it's a good way to save some ammo whether you have a long range to shoot at or not.

Good infothanks Ron

Take the MV of the ammo in fps and divide it by 100. That give the range in yards to set the target and sight in. It helps to use a chronograph to get the starting velocity. I've used this method of sighting in for at least 35 years.

Lol; pure joy in the bang and the punch on the sholder. Ecstatic when the group is sub-moa from a cold barrel and a well developed load.. A day at the range can be a wonderful day of walking. So much more fun when it's just you and the target, and there is no rush, and you've no better place to be. Hunting is the fruition of premeditated preparation. The tales you will gleefully share. The meals prepared just right, or the teaching dreams that cause you to wake in the middle of the night. Such is the lore of the hunt. A return to the primitive nature of your soul. I will survive.

I've been military and civilian shooting over 40 years. These short range "zero" ranges only really get you close enough... close enough to do it at the range you really want it zeroed at. The further back you go the more accurate it gets. Of course you have to be capable of shooting consistently at distance of course.

Man, that Mossberg is one good looking rig. They seem to be steadily improving all the time.