# SCOPE & .223 BALISTICS



## NCGMAN (Oct 28, 2006)

AS I SAID BEFORE I "DON'T" SHOOT SCOPES WELL AT ALL, BUT I PUT ONE ON MY SAVAGE .223... BUSHNELL WITH MIL-DOT. I SHOT TODAY AT 100 YARDS; FINALLY GOT A GROUP AT MAYBE 3 INCHES, BUT COULD HIT THE COKE BOTTLE WITH NO PROBLEM. + HAIR IS ZEROED AT 100 YARDS "RIGHT" ,, OK SO I MOVED OUT TO 200 YARDS, THEN I AIMED WITH THE FIRST DOT UNDER THE + HAIRS,, SHOT WAY HIGH,, THEN I PUT THE + HAIRS ON IT AT THIS DISTANCE BOOM THE BOTTLE EXPLODED...

SO DOES THE .223 SHOOT THE SAME AT 200 YARDS THAT IT DOES AT 100 YARDS???? IS IT THAT FLAT???
IF "YES" THEN THE FIRST DOT UNDER THE + HAIR MUST BE FOR 300 YARDS;;;; RIGHT?????


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

NCGMAN said:


> AS I SAID BEFORE I "DON'T" SHOOT SCOPES WELL AT ALL, BUT I PUT ONE ON MY SAVAGE .223... BUSHNELL WITH MIL-DOT. I SHOT TODAY AT 100 YARDS; FINALLY GOT A GROUP AT MAYBE 3 INCHES, BUT COULD HIT THE COKE BOTTLE WITH NO PROBLEM. + HAIR IS ZEROED AT 100 YARDS "RIGHT" ,, OK SO I MOVED OUT TO 200 YARDS, THEN I AIMED WITH THE FIRST DOT UNDER THE + HAIRS,, SHOT WAY HIGH,, THEN I PUT THE + HAIRS ON IT AT THIS DISTANCE BOOM THE BOTTLE EXPLODED...
> 
> SO DOES THE .223 SHOOT THE SAME AT 200 YARDS THAT IT DOES AT 100 YARDS???? IS IT THAT FLAT???
> IF "YES" THEN THE FIRST DOT UNDER THE + HAIR MUST BE FOR 300 YARDS;;;; RIGHT?????


The difference in drop will depend on what bullet/velocity combination you have. For example the Nosler 55 BT at 3000fps drops 3.38" at 200 yards with a 100 yard zero. So depending on where you were aiming on the coke bottle it would appear that the bullet did not drop much. A coke bottle is not a very good indicator of how much drop you are getting.

It is hard to say where you will hit with the first dot. That too is going to depend on bullet/velocity combination as well as what power you have your scope set at. The space between the dots is different depending on the power setting. You would have to refer to your scope manual to determine the distance between dots and at what power.

huntin1


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## LeviM (Dec 3, 2006)

my .223 shoots the same at 100 as it does 200. I just shot it last week at some targets and didn't notice any difference.


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## NCGMAN (Oct 28, 2006)

THANKS HUNTER1, YOU HAVE CONVINCED ME THAT THE CABELA'S TACTICAL SCOPE IS WHAT I SHOULD GET, ALL THAT DROP STUFF IS ALREADY CALCULATED FOR YOU :  I WAS SHOOTING 55 GR. SPEER GAME KING; IMR 4064 POWDER COMPRESSED LOAD.

THANKS LEVIM; THATS WHAT I WAS THINKING!!!

ANYBODY!!!! WHICH WOULD BE BEST A 3-12 OR 6-18 SCOPE???


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

LeviM said:


> my .223 shoots the same at 100 as it does 200. I just shot it last week at some targets and didn't notice any difference.


Physics would indicate differently. Does not matter what .223 you have gravity acts on the bullet as soon as the bullet leaves the bore. The further it gets from the bore the more pronounced the effect is. It would be physically impossible for the bullet from any 223 to strike the same point of aim at both 100 and 200 yards (oops, forgot to finish. should include, "with a 100 yard zero")

Don't know what's happening in your case. Unless you are compensating with your point of aim and not realizing it.

huntin1


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## TheDogSlayer1 (Dec 15, 2006)

This topic seems to come up a couple of times a year and it always amazes me how so many people are out there hunting with centerfire rifles and have no understanding of trajectory. So I am going to explain it again in some detail with hopes that someone will learn something.

I am going to start with the definition of a couple of terms:
1) Line of sight - this is a absolute straight line that goes from the objective end of your scope to whatever your trying to shoot and beyond.

2) Trajectory or bullet path - this is the path your bullet takes when it leaves your gun until it path is changed due to hitting something or finally falling to the ground.

If your scope is properly mounted to your gun, it should be about 1 1/2" above the barrel. So when you look through your scope, your line of sight will be above your barrel, therefore your barrel needs to be at a very slight upward angle in relationship to the scope or line of sight so that your bullet will leave your gun at an upward angle and at some point cross the line of sight, then the bullet will continue to travle above the line of sight until gravity finally causes it to cross the line of sight agian on its now downward path. Therefore, if you have a centerfire rifle zeroed for 250 yards, your bullet actually has two zero points, on somewhere between 50 and 100 yards on its upward path and one at 250 yards on its downward path. What this means is, yes do have two bullet impact points at two completely different yardages. You have to remember that trajectory or bullet path is a very long arch that will cross the line of sight two times and it is absolutely critical that you know what those two distances are if you want to consistantly kill predator at ranges from 25 to 500 yards. Trajectory charts will get you close, but the best way and I believe the only way to really get your gun dialed in, is to practice shooting at different yards. I can tell you one thing, if your group is 3" at 100 yards, you have no real clue where your gun is zeroed. one and a half inches high with one shot at 100 yards, would mean your zero might be around 150 yards, but a bulleting hitting 1 1/2" low at 100 yards would mean you bullet would be a foot low at 150 yards, yet thats a 3 in group at 100 yards. In order to shoot tight groups at 250 yards, your gun need to shoot less then 1 inch groups at 100 yards. Can someone who shoots 3 inch groups at 100 yards, kill a coyote at 250 yards, absolutely, but you won't do it consistantly.

Sorry for the long reply and I didn't even get into wind drift yet. I will save that for another time.


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## 1shot1yote (Dec 23, 2006)

The information that TheDogSlayer1 gave is very good. I have some stuff to add. The faster a gun shoots the less you will notice bullet drop, in theory. Although this varies from caliber to caliber. That's why the army doesn't use the .223 from long range sniping they use the .308 the .338 and the .50bmg. This is because even though these bullets are traveling slower than the .223 they have a much much higher ballistic coefficient, this basically means a bullets ability to buck the wind. A good way to see bullet drop first hand is with a .22LR Take one out and shoot it at 25 and then 100yds you will see how much the bullet is affected at the different yardages. 
There is so much a guy could write about this it's not even funny. A good way to learn all this is to buy a reloading manual many have all this stuff in them.

Justin


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