What distance is best to sight in for squirrel hunting?
- Thread starter Dave T
- Start date
Shynloco
You can lead a horse to water, but ........
Dave T said:
Dave,
Let me throw this out for your consideration. I zero for 50 yds and then figure out where my POI for anything 25 yds away and again at 100 yds, BASED UPON THE AMMO I USE. Different ammo's will give you different POI's and you've got to figure out what you rifle does. And keep in mind every rifle is different. May not make all that much difference at 25 yds, but if you try and pop a squirrel at 100 yds, a couple of inches could make a difference. Just something to consider.
I was going to be a smartass, and recommend sighting in at the distance where the squirrels are, but...
Some squirrel hunters only take head shots. If you are one of those, as a starting point, you should determine the max range that your rifle and ammo combination can achieve a head shot and a clean kill. Next, assess your shooting capabilities with the same rifle ammo combination. Once you determine the maximum range that you should take a shot, I would select a zero at midrange and then determine your bullet drop for every 10 yard increment.
Some squirrel hunters only take head shots. If you are one of those, as a starting point, you should determine the max range that your rifle and ammo combination can achieve a head shot and a clean kill. Next, assess your shooting capabilities with the same rifle ammo combination. Once you determine the maximum range that you should take a shot, I would select a zero at midrange and then determine your bullet drop for every 10 yard increment.
Geronimo Jim
Gold $$ Contributor
When I read the title of this thread, the first thought that went through my mind .........."on this forum probably 600 to 800 yards"......... ;D
I zero for 50 yards with .22 high velocity,.22 sub-sonic and 17 Mach 2. rimfire revolvers and pistols get a 25yrd. zero for .22 LR high velocity or .22 magnum.Have to remember different holds with the rifles.RandyD's advise makes a lot of sense to me. The kill area on a squirrel is relatively small so determining you maximum effective distance is good advice and the humane thing to do.
I limit my shots to about 50 yards and under. I sight in for a 50 yard zero and I can keep about 95% of my shots in a 1.5 inch circle off my shooting sticks with my rifle / ammo combo at 50 yards. I use Federal American Eagle 40 grain solid lead hi velocity ammo. It knock them out!
There is one other issue you should consider - scope parallax. It's difficult to shoot accurately when the cross hairs are moving around. I've found that I can shoot noticably more accurately with a scope that adjusts for the proper parallax at these short distances. Recently I put a 4 x 12 on my rifle that has an adjustable objective so that I could adjust the parallax and it made a huge difference. Of course if you have a scope designed specifically for rimfire rifles, the parrallax is already adjusted for 50 yards so you should be fine.
I limit my shots to about 50 yards and under. I sight in for a 50 yard zero and I can keep about 95% of my shots in a 1.5 inch circle off my shooting sticks with my rifle / ammo combo at 50 yards. I use Federal American Eagle 40 grain solid lead hi velocity ammo. It knock them out!
There is one other issue you should consider - scope parallax. It's difficult to shoot accurately when the cross hairs are moving around. I've found that I can shoot noticably more accurately with a scope that adjusts for the proper parallax at these short distances. Recently I put a 4 x 12 on my rifle that has an adjustable objective so that I could adjust the parallax and it made a huge difference. Of course if you have a scope designed specifically for rimfire rifles, the parrallax is already adjusted for 50 yards so you should be fine.
K22: good point. I might add that lower-power scopes, such as, say, a 3 x 9 power won't need parallax adjustments. I use a higher-power scope, however, because a higher-power scope just works better for me. For squirrels, I don't feel that anything above 12x or 14x is required; Besides, these types of scopes add weight and, as you mentioned, will require parallax adjustment. Nothing wrong with a 3 x 9 for those closer 50-75 yard shots.
I had been using 40 Gr Power Point ammo by Winchester n my Ruger 10/22-based Clark Special, but there were a few jams, and the accuracy was not as good as the newer 36-grain HP 333 ammo by Winchester. The 333 OAL is a bit shorter than the Power Point (same case length, shorter bullet length), and since I have been using it, I get a flatter trajectory, the ammo is very accurate, and I get no jams. They sell it in boxes of 333 for around $14 at Cabela's. I now use the Power Points in my Ruger 77/22 with no problem.
Dave, as was mentioned by another poster, I would find out which ammo works best in your particular rifle. My own opinion is that a 50 yard zero is pretty much a good starting point. That way, you can always adjust easily for shots under as well as over 50 yards. Don't count too much on shots of 100+ yards, though, unless your rifle is super-accurate and unless there is no wind. I have made kills at 130 yards, but most of my successful shots, however, are at 75-yards or less.
But, if you are hunting in timber, etc., as you say you are, you might want to zero for closer shots. In open country, however, I would set the scope up for 50-75 yards, but that's for my rifle with my particular type of ammunition. Best thing to do is pick an arbitrary distance, set up for that distance, then adjust up or down. Write down the bullet drop figures on a piece of paper and tape it to your stock so you won't have to guess where to set the scope or where the reticle should be placed.
Personally, I used Kentucky Windage for my shots and have no problems, but then again, I might shoot a brick of .22 cartridges during a day's shoot, and I pretty much know where the bullets are going to land without having to horse around with changing the elevation or drift stuff on the scope.
I had been using 40 Gr Power Point ammo by Winchester n my Ruger 10/22-based Clark Special, but there were a few jams, and the accuracy was not as good as the newer 36-grain HP 333 ammo by Winchester. The 333 OAL is a bit shorter than the Power Point (same case length, shorter bullet length), and since I have been using it, I get a flatter trajectory, the ammo is very accurate, and I get no jams. They sell it in boxes of 333 for around $14 at Cabela's. I now use the Power Points in my Ruger 77/22 with no problem.
Dave, as was mentioned by another poster, I would find out which ammo works best in your particular rifle. My own opinion is that a 50 yard zero is pretty much a good starting point. That way, you can always adjust easily for shots under as well as over 50 yards. Don't count too much on shots of 100+ yards, though, unless your rifle is super-accurate and unless there is no wind. I have made kills at 130 yards, but most of my successful shots, however, are at 75-yards or less.
But, if you are hunting in timber, etc., as you say you are, you might want to zero for closer shots. In open country, however, I would set the scope up for 50-75 yards, but that's for my rifle with my particular type of ammunition. Best thing to do is pick an arbitrary distance, set up for that distance, then adjust up or down. Write down the bullet drop figures on a piece of paper and tape it to your stock so you won't have to guess where to set the scope or where the reticle should be placed.
Personally, I used Kentucky Windage for my shots and have no problems, but then again, I might shoot a brick of .22 cartridges during a day's shoot, and I pretty much know where the bullets are going to land without having to horse around with changing the elevation or drift stuff on the scope.
I zero .22 rifles at 50 yds with the best grouping ammo, then shoot at 25 yds to get P.O.I. Some landowners don't allow squirrel hunting on their property with a .22 rifle, but if they do, I prefer it to a shotgun. More surgical, good at up to about 60 yds, and no lead surprises to bite into. It's also more fun and a lot cheaper than shotgun hunting.
If I rimfire hunt past 60 -75 yds, I use a .22 Mag. zeroed at 100 yds and with a 50 yd P.O.I.
I have hunted with .22 pistols, but I zero them at 25 yds and get P.O.I. at 50 yds. With a good rest, a scoped .22 pistol is deadly out to about 40 yds. The limiting factor is that I just can't hold them as steady as a rifle.
I'm in the process of putting parallax adjustable (range focusing) scopes on my .22 rifles. Some good scopes are so badly out of focus at 25 yds or closer, the target will be so blurry that it doesn't matter how bad the parallax is. My favorite is an old 6X Burris Mini that has objective range focus.
Good hunting, Tom
If I rimfire hunt past 60 -75 yds, I use a .22 Mag. zeroed at 100 yds and with a 50 yd P.O.I.
I have hunted with .22 pistols, but I zero them at 25 yds and get P.O.I. at 50 yds. With a good rest, a scoped .22 pistol is deadly out to about 40 yds. The limiting factor is that I just can't hold them as steady as a rifle.
I'm in the process of putting parallax adjustable (range focusing) scopes on my .22 rifles. Some good scopes are so badly out of focus at 25 yds or closer, the target will be so blurry that it doesn't matter how bad the parallax is. My favorite is an old 6X Burris Mini that has objective range focus.
Good hunting, Tom
i zero mine for 25 yards using wolf match extra. this stuff shoots one hole groups out of my rifle at 25 yards and not much bigger at 50. since i shoot head shots, i really don't see a need to shoot much past the 25 yard mark but i do shoot out to 100+ on targets just for the fun of it.
I sight mine in at 35 yards and just hold high if there extremly close and then hold even higher if they are past my zero range. I only take head shots with sub sonic ammo. Another tip take a hand held crow call and take your rest if you need one, when the tree rats are in a clear spot on the limb blow it one time sort of loud they will freeze for a second, now shoot. you maght even score on a stray crow or 2.
Using hi velocity , 1260 FPS, ammo zero at 60 yards. The bullet arcs up to .5" low at 12 yards, passes thru zero at 20 yards, is .5" high at 40 yards, back to zero at 60, and .5" low at 65 yards.
For subsonic ammo, 10080 FPS, zero at 50 yards. The front end of the trajectory is about the same but the back end shifts closer, .5" high at 35 yds, zero at 50 , .5" low at 55 yards.
This way you should be within +- .5" from ~12 yards to 55-65 yards.
For subsonic ammo, 10080 FPS, zero at 50 yards. The front end of the trajectory is about the same but the back end shifts closer, .5" high at 35 yds, zero at 50 , .5" low at 55 yards.
This way you should be within +- .5" from ~12 yards to 55-65 yards.
I do a lot of small bore position shooting, and 50 feet and 50 yards are the same point of impact with standard velocity ammo @ 1050 - 1080 fps. With standard velocity ammo and a 50 yard zero, and using sight click values of 1/4", the come up for 100 yards should be 26 clicks, or 6-1/2".
ab_bentley
I fix stuff, sometimes....
Ledd Slinger
Silver $$ Contributor
I don't 'hunt' squirrels, but I do shoot them on occasion and I use my 22lr for gophers on the plains of Montana. I always zero my 22lr at 100 yards. Hold right on at 25, a couple inches low at 50, maybe an inch low at 75, then dead on again at 100. Using 38gr HP at 1240 fps or 40gr solid at 1200 fps.
I like zeroing at 100 because the rifle can easily do it. I'd rather make holds at shorter ranges. Easier to judge a hold at 50 than it is at 100. Gonna upgrade my scope this year to try and push the rifle to further distances. Maybe 150+
I like zeroing at 100 because the rifle can easily do it. I'd rather make holds at shorter ranges. Easier to judge a hold at 50 than it is at 100. Gonna upgrade my scope this year to try and push the rifle to further distances. Maybe 150+
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My 22 uses high velocity 22LR at about 1250 fps.
I sight dead on at 80 yards, it shoots 1.6" high at 60, 1.75" high at 40 and 9/16" high at 20. Bullet impact is -3.5" at 100 yards.
This is with a scope height of 1.38 inches.
I rarely shoot beyond 80 yards so that is where it is zeroed and I know how much to hold under to get a shot into the vitals.
I sight dead on at 80 yards, it shoots 1.6" high at 60, 1.75" high at 40 and 9/16" high at 20. Bullet impact is -3.5" at 100 yards.
This is with a scope height of 1.38 inches.
I rarely shoot beyond 80 yards so that is where it is zeroed and I know how much to hold under to get a shot into the vitals.
ChuckMiller
Silver $$ Contributor
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