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joncatfishman Rookie Member
Joined: Feb 07, 2006 Posts: 1
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:30 am Post subject: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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Ive bought the 58gr v-max bullet from hornady to handload with varget powder the hornandy handbook say my feet per second should be around 3700 I dont have much rifle knowledge wondering what other people set there rifles for zeroing
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Dimitri Super Member
Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 9:42 am Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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PD shooting has another name its called "pest control"
Plus I hear some people eat PD's like eating squrrels.
Anyways as for the original post I have no idea sorry I'm not too good at balistics but I'm certian if you plug in all the numbers on Point blank it will be able to calculate it right
Dimitri
_________________ A thousand hills, but no birds in flight, ten thousand paths, with no people's tracks. A lonely boat, a straw-hatted old man, fishing alone in the cold river snow. |
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1895ss Super Member
Joined: Jul 21, 2005 Posts: 2612 Location: Not Here...!!
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:27 am Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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I generally zero my varmint rifles at 250 yrds.
_________________ A cruel truth is much more desirable than a really nice lie.
'Tis far better to walk alone than to follow a crowd or an a**hole going the wrong way. |
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DallanC Site Admin
Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 11:01 am Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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joncatfishman wrote: |
Ive bought the 58gr v-max bullet from hornady to handload with varget powder the hornandy handbook say my feet per second should be around 3700 I dont have much rifle knowledge wondering what other people set there rifles for zeroing |
I would plug the numbers into PointBlank (either download the PC version or use the online version here) and play with it, setting a zero where the top most part of your trajectory arc is only a couple inches high (pc version has a PBR calculator that does all of this for you :)).
Also, I've never been able to hit published velocities from reloading manuals so I'd subtract 50-100fps off of the published numbers if you dont have access to a cronograph.
-DallanC
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popgun Member
Joined: Jan 26, 2005 Posts: 735 Location: Mitchell, GA, U.S.A. (2007 pop. 191)
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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I would also recomend placing 4" in the PBR Calculator in Point Blank. Prarie dogs are small critters and any bigger spread in elevation in PBR would give you allot of misses.
Quote:: |
Plus I hear some people eat PD's like eating squrrels. |
Prarie Dogs are found to be infected with a plague more often these days so eating a PD is not recomended. Most would recomend that you not even handle them at all. Leave them as food for coyoties and other carrion eaters.
_________________ Safe shooting,
Chris Young, aka: popgun, Moderator
I don't know everything but I have made most of the mistakes already and lived through many of them. |
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DallanC Site Admin
Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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popgun wrote: |
Prarie Dogs are found to be infected with a plague more often these days so eating a PD is not recomended. Most would recomend that you not even handle them at all. Leave them as food for coyoties and other carrion eaters. |
They are moderately disgusting critters. You shoot one and sometimes the others will come out and start eating the dead one.
My dads favorite thing is to shoot his .22-250 right into the ground at its feet and the exploding bullet launches them 10ft into the air. They hit the ground dazed and amble back to their mound LOL
Sadly the bunny huggers are trying to get PDogs listed under protected species act... not because there is a shortage of them but rather that they are the food source of the endangered black footed ferret.
Utah actually has a season on PDogs now when you can and cant shoot them.
-DallanC
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Dimitri Super Member
Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 2:57 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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Quote:: |
Prarie Dogs are found to be infected with a plague more often these days so eating a PD is not recomended. Most would recomend that you not even handle them at all. Leave them as food for coyoties and other carrion eaters. |
Oh well thanks for the tip! Didnt matter for me too much as killing PD's would mainly have been for the 'pest' control part. Little Varmint (yes inculding squarrels) have always been in my head "eat only when nothing else is avalible"
Need to try squarrel though sounds tasty from what I've read/heard
Dimitri
_________________ A thousand hills, but no birds in flight, ten thousand paths, with no people's tracks. A lonely boat, a straw-hatted old man, fishing alone in the cold river snow. |
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kbis Super Member
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 312 Location: East, Texas
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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Squarrel is not to bad, but I think I would just as soon have a Big-Mac.
Ken
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coyotehunter_1 Member
Joined: Jan 25, 2005 Posts: 319 Location: Tennessee (USA)
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:00 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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joncatfishman,
Welcome to Hunting Nut
You should get a major "splat factor" with those 58's.
Chet
_________________ www.easterncoyotes.com/
I'm just an 'ol country boy who enjoys calling coyotes... nothing more, nothing less. |
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moose2 Super Member
Joined: Mar 19, 2005 Posts: 707 Location: North Idaho
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 2:47 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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On zeroing a Prairie Dog rifle, I keep my zero at 300 yds. Somewhat your zero would depend alittle on what maximum range you plan on shooting. As a minimum I would recommend 250 yards for a zero. And I'll echo the thoughts of others. Your .243 should make a very large splat on PD's.
Have fun--tr
_________________ tr |
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Dawgdad Super Member
Joined: Feb 08, 2006 Posts: 1065 Location: On the Prairie
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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I use the 58 gr. V-max in two .243 handloads. I run 3450fps using 48.0 gr. H414 and 3650 using 53.3gr. IMR 4064 (Federal 210M primers,WW brass.)
I am set up for coyotes and the zero is at 250 yards. This gives me a 4.5" point blank zero out to 290 yards which is where most of the coyotes I kill are taken at.
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DallanC Site Admin
Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:42 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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Welcome to the site Dawgdad, sounds like you have a good load going there. I'll have to give it a try in my .243
-DallanC
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popgun Member
Joined: Jan 26, 2005 Posts: 735 Location: Mitchell, GA, U.S.A. (2007 pop. 191)
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 7:41 pm Post subject: Re: zeroing my .243 for prairie dogs |
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_________________ Safe shooting,
Chris Young, aka: popgun, Moderator
I don't know everything but I have made most of the mistakes already and lived through many of them. |
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