I am going to use my AR .223 for hunting this year and have decided to try a 36 yard zero since most of the deer I have taken have been less than 50 yards and everything seems tight at this zero on out. My question is what would be point of impact at say 10 yards with a 36 yard zero? I took one last year at 10 yards, 27 yards, and 60 yards.
62 gr soft tip .223 ammo out of a 16" carbine is my tool this year
thanks for any help and I'm pretty firm on 36 yards

I don't see the point.  The holdover distance at ten yards is going to be indistinguishable whether you zero at 36,50, or 100.

Why not keep the zero at 100 and just shoot the deer??

less thought at holding over/under at most ranges is a pretty good argument for 36 yards in my opinion

i generally use 150 yards zero for hunting at every distance, with .223 there is no much drop so you shouldn't have problems, i see the 36 yds zero useful oly if you consider head or neck shots

that's exactly why I am considering it, neck shots on game. I have never had to track one in all my years of hunting and I want to get it right with this one too

About an inch low at 10 with a 36 zero. Without checking a ballistic calc.

ETA: check the ammo forum faq for the zero thread

Thank you sir thats what I wanted to know! I'll check the ammo forum as well thanks again!

i don't like neck shots too much but with .223 i would consider them too. If you need surgical precision, then zero the rifle for the distance you will probably shoot...the only reason why i would consider a 36 yards zero would be if my threestand were exactly 36 yards from the feeder/bait and, even in that case, i'd keep my 150 yards zero. Anyway, it won't be much different so it's up to you :)

i"m with ya man, my stand is 30 yards from the feed pile which sits right beside the trail. They walk that trail morning and evening and have been for years consistently and my 30.06 just tears them all to hell that close. I get the occasional one that comes in very close like 10 yards or less but you can expect them to be in the 25-50 yard range almost every time. I figured by talking to some friends that use this zero and watching some videos that it will be an optimal zery for where I hunt and could still be used for further range if need be. thanks again

I actually was going to just use a red dot because it works well on my crossbow hunting in the same area but I had a 1.5-5x40 scope lying around I there on there to gather more light.

i prefer maginfied scopes over red dots for hunting animals (different thing for humans)..the fine reticle permits you to place the shot just where you want and good scopes can be really efficient even at night, you just need a bit of moon light!!

I would zero it at 50 yards and not even worry about it.  50 will keep you good on anything you might run into,  no real hold under at 36 yards,  I would not shoot in the head or the neck, makes a hell of a mess, put in the bread basket and don't worry about it.

Yep, and it keeps you holding on hair past 200.

That's why I don't like the 36 yard zero.  You still have to hold over up close and rhen you have to hold under from 100-200, then back on somewhere around 300.

But if you really need to hold over 1/2" less, do whatever you need to do to make hits count at 30 yards.

Topic Moved

Why not shoot a target at that distance and measure?

OP, I have done a lot of hunting with the 300BLK since it came out and tried a lot of different things.  I know you are using .223, but the physics is similar.  Most of my shots are < 25  yards given the woods that I hunt in, but there are chances that I might have to take a 100-150 yards shot in a corn field.  My suggestion is go with a standard sight in, like 25 or 50 that is well documented in terms of performance at range.  A 50/200 zero for 223 essentially means you can take dead aim at anything in range and hit within 2".

25, 50, 36yd, etc. doesn't make that the much difference in trajectory at the close ranges since you are always dealing with the same 1.5" sight offset over bore (the bullet is rising relatively to the point of aim), but makes a bunch of difference at longer ranges.

Try this, go get some water balloons and fill them up so you have something the size of a baseball, maybe 3" in diameter.   Hang those at various ranges that you think you are most likely to shoot a deer, so 10, 15, 25 yards, etc.

Aim dead on (not hold over) and see if you bust the balloons at the various ranges.  My guess is you will.   That 3" balloon is basically the same as the heart / lung shot that is a well established kill shot, and could also be representative of a high shoulder, or even a neck shot.

This is especially helpful if you are using a red dot with a 2 or 4 MOA dot.

I've pasted a sample ballistics graph for my 300BLK loads.  If you want I can plot your .223 hunting loads if you tell me what you are using.   Notice that inside of 15 yards the lines are almost indistinguishable, meaning there is no practical difference at close range.

Attached File

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