204 bullet drop

[shawn700]

i have a remington 700 sps 204 and i have a vx3 8.5x25x50mm leupold. I was wondering how far i could kill with it? if i could shoot a 2 liter jug at 600-700yards i will be happy. Is this possible with my setup? i am shooting factory hornady 32gr. My scope is the target scope with the adjustable turret but i am good at 300 yards then the bullet drops. I would like to know how many clicks to turn the scope so that at 600-700 i can hold dead on and hit. Please help. And my rifle is zero in at 200yards

[nitis]

enter all your info in the link below and when the data pops up the very bottom shows your adjustment in moa remember 1 moa is 4 clicks I am pretty sure this is how it works may not be dead on but it should get you close

http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resou ... calculator

[Rick in Oregon]

Shawn: Nobody can tell you where to hold for your load or how many clicks for a certain range; you'll have to chrono it yourself to establish bullet speed, then you can work up some "come-up" charts using ballistic software as shown below for YOUR load at the ranges you intend to shoot.



Make your charts in MOA, and it will be much more easy to connect on those distant targets. Just remember that you always have to allow for wind, no matter what the range.

The chart shown above is for one of my 223's, not a 204.

[Hotshot]

Shawn,

You have got the right equipment for your task. But, I think you've chosen the wrong bullet to do the job. Myself and others have reported on long range shooting with the 204 on this forum. The 39 and 40 grain bullets perform well to beyond 500 yards. I've been pleased with the 39 Sierra out to 600 yards and others have reported good results to that distance. In other words the bullet is still stable that far away when fired from a 204 cartridge. My experience with 32 grain bullets has been good to about 400, maybe 450, then they seem to lose stability. Even if your rifle-load combination will shoot 32 grain bullets accurately to 500 plus yards, there is so little energy left that humane kills on anything besides a milk jug would be doubtful. Just one man's opinion.

[shawn700]

i got the bullet drop ballistics from hornady and called them. He told me that if the scope i had was 1/4 moa then that meant that at 100y 1 click is 1/4in at 200y 1 click is 1/2 at 300 1 click was 3/4in so on...... Ok the bullet drops 4in at 300 yrds he said take 4 and divide it by .75 (3/4) and it came up to 5.33. He said move your scope up 5 clicks and it would be right. Does that sound right?

[BabaOriley]

Welcome to the board Shawn.

I don't believe that at any distance far enough that it matters, you can take any bullet drop data as how your rifle will shoot a certain load, even factory loads. I'd recommend shooting your rifle at 100 yard increments out to the furthest reasonable distance for a given bullet/load. That's the only way to know how many "clicks" YOUR setup will require.

[Hotshot]

The advice you got should be right. If you want to use that method(RIO calls it dial a rat) then you should study it well so you can apply it in the field at any distance.

[OldTurtle]

First determine your load's velocity...The more consistent and smaller velocity spread you can achieve with hand loads, the more accurately you can determine your 'come ups' on your scope settings..

Secondly, match your bullet weights for the distances you plan to shoot...The heavier the bullet, the slower the speed and the greater the drop, but much better wind resistance...The lighter bullets can obtain a higher velocity and flatter trajectory, but are more subject to wind deflection...

Bullets tend to become more unstable as they pass through the point of being below the speed of sound..

[shawn700]

ok today the wind was blowing about 5mph. I set up a target at 400y and 500y at 400y the wind was moving the bullet about 8in. At 500y it was way off. Is this normal because i hardly ever see a day when the wind aint blowing some. Would the 40 grain be more stable if so how much? please help. Thanks. By the way the ? that i asked about the drop at 400y it drops bout 8in at 500 bout 25in

[Hotshot]

Shawn,

Good job on the trajectory.
Bullets with higher BC will fight the wind better than lower BC. Therefore the 39 and 40 grain 204 bullets should do better than the 32 grainers from your 204. I'm not aware of any cartridge that won't be affected to some extent at 400 yards and farther. Do the same ballistic charts to see the wind drift as you did for the drop.

[shawn700]

ok thanks. How do i figure for the wind as far as clicks? when i was shooting today at paper at 400y it was about 8in to the right then i knew how many clicks to move the scope but in the field one shot is all you get?

[OldTurtle]

If you are using 1/8" clicks, move 16 clicks @ (@ 400 yards, each click will equal 1/2")... If you have 1/4" clicks, cut that in half,,8 clicks..= 8"

Shooting in the wind and wind speed estimation is one of those things that is as much intuition, as scientific application... The ability to determine exact wind speed takes a lot of practice and natural ability... to some, it comes almost second nature and others never get it... I fall somewhere in between...I can come reasonably close at times, others I'm way off...

You almost need to take some readings with a wind speed meter and compare them to the degree of bend in a stalk of prairie grass or tree branch that will likely be in the distance and keep that information in the back of your mind...or the rate of fall/spread of dust/dirt out of your hand....I've run into some people that can stick a wet finger in the air and come real close, but it's never worked for me..

Unfortunately, you can't stick wind flags out on the hunting sites...

[jo191145]

ok today the wind was blowing about 5mph. I set up a target at 400y and 500y at 400y the wind was moving the bullet about 8in. At 500y it was way off. Is this normal because i hardly ever see a day when the wind aint blowing some. Would the 40 grain be more stable if so how much? please help. Thanks. By the way the ? that i asked about the drop at 400y it drops bout 8in at 500 bout 25in

Shawn
It may not entirely be the wind causing that shift. If your scope is mounted with just a touch of cant you'll get the same effect

[Rick in Oregon]

Unfortunately, you can't stick wind flags out on the hunting sites...

We always do!



I use a set of Russ Haydon's wind flags mounted on video tripod light stands to keep an active eyeball on wind speed and direction. Once you coodinate with a handheld anemometer, you can tell wind speed just by a glance at the flags. Ideally, we put them out at the firing line, and some downrange to really keep tabs on the pesky wind. Works most excellent in the PD or squirrel patch.

[OldTurtle]

I really had in mind the more 'critical' shooting/hunting situations...

but in the field one shot is all you get?

Such as a Deer, Elk, or Bad Guy...