Newbie question here...
Supposed I go to Elite Shooting Sports and zero my new rifle at 100 yards with Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor 147 gr ELD®Match ammo...
I shoot my box of 20....
Do I need to re-zero if I switch to 140 gr or 120 gr (or any other ammo) for the next box?
Also, do I need to re-zero each time I go to the range?
Thanks in advance!
-Delane
It is recommended to zero with the ammunition you plan on shooting regularly out of your rifle. What I recommend doing if you are shooting factory ammunition is to buy a box each of different brands in different bullet weight grains, then go shoot them slowly and see which load your rifle likes. Once you find the load that shoots acceptable 5 shot groups, then zero with that load.
Your rifle should, for the most part hold the zero from range trip to range trip, unless you bang the scope. Most people zero at 100 before shooting long range, then dial the scope for the long range shot, but some people trust they’re zero and dial in for long range without regular 100 yard zeroing, sooner or later they’re doing some 100 yard work and zeroing... My deer rifle I check the zero in early November and 90% time it’s good. My long range rifles are shot once a month at least at close or far so I have a good handle on where they’re at, if possible I will check my zero at 100 before shooting long range.
One thing to consider is buying a few boxes of rem core lokt or Winchester (lower cost hunting ammo)to sight the rifle in, also break you and the rifle in to each other. It may take 30 or so rounds to settle down the new barrel, depending on how clean the throat is after the manufacturing process.
Sounds like a plan! Thanks for the response.
I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier and reply. I've shot for several years out on R4 and continually mentor R4 shooters so I have a couple thoughts. My comments assume you're primarily shooting precision long range.
The 6.5CM is a great round that while it seems to prefer the 140gr class of bullets (good balance between velocity and accuracy), it shoots just as well with the 130gr Hornady ELD-M to the 147gr ELD-M.
Since you've zeroed you rifle with the 147gr, it would be best to keep that baseline zero and work off of it by adjusting for other loads you may be shooting. The 147 ELD-M, as a heavier round, will generally have a slower velocity than a 140 or 130. As such, we can plot the drop curve out to 1,000 yards for the 147gr bullet, and then adjust it (at longer distances) based off real world results..A 140gr round will generally have a slightly higher speed, maybe 25-50 feet per second, which means those rounds will strike higher on the target than would the slower 147gr bullet. As such, we simply plot a differing drop curve to keep you on target, while keeping the same zero for the 147gr bullet.
Hopefully this makes sense. If you come out to R4 and want to explore this further, just make sure you try and track me or an RSO down so we can work with you.