Sighting in rifle once in hunting area

R

RN Flatlander

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Mar 12, 2017
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Southern IL
I was talking to a guy at work and he said I would have to shoot my rifle to check and see if its sited in once I get to Wyoming since it will be a different elevation than I will be shooting it here in Illinois. He hunted private land in Colorado, so he was able to do this easily. I didn't know if public land hunters from primarily flat areas do that out there. What do other flat landers do?
 
I personally don't do anything and I sight my rifles in at 2500' and hunt up to 10,500' and killed animals as high as 9500'. Never had an issue but that is just me.
 
I have also not had an issue. I'd be more inclined to check zero because of $:!;!;$:$# baggage handlers if you are flying.
 
I'd check my zero every time I travelled like that. Lot can happen to the sights during that time.
 
RN Flatlander.

I was wondering the same. I live by Alton and 500' is a lot different than 9,000'. I am getting ready to shoot my 7mm mag and my 300 win mag to get ready for 2nd rifle season in Colorado this fall. I need to find a range or a friendly farmer that has a spot to shoot out to 300-400 yds. or so.

blacksheep
 
Coming from a couple hundred feet of elevation and driving to 6500 in Montana made my 6.5 Creedmoor shoot almost 3” high. When combined with the CDS Dial system it made a mess out of my rifle. I learned the hard way to always confirm your zero when you travel.
 
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The smart thing to do is check it. I've never had a problem checking mine once I get to where I'm going.
 
Just do like this old timer did in CO a couple years ago. Run half a box through your 300 whatever right there at camp, the day before 2nd season. You won't have to worry about seeing elk anywhere near your camp.
 
Lower air pressure wouldn't impact the trajectory of the bullet, just the terminal velocity (even this is probably negligible).

A scope could get mis-aligned due to getting bumped while traveling though.
 
I just ran the numbers through my ballistics app. between 1300 ft and 9700ft there is .6 MOA diference. so at 500yds you're looking at roughly 3 inches higher impact at elevation.
 
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Addicting said:
Coming from a couple hundred feet of elevation and driving to 6500 in Montana made my 6.5 Creedmoor shoot almost 3” high. When combined with the CDS Dial system it made a mess out of my rifle. I learned the hard way to always confirm your zero when you travel.
Click to expand...

When you ordered your CDS dial did you tell them the two altitudes you would be hunting at. Or you could have got two dials.
 
TimeOnTarget said:
I just ran the numbers through my ballistics app. between 1300 ft and 9700ft there is .6 MOA diference. so at 500yds you're looking at roughly 3 inches higher impact at elevation.
Click to expand...

As pointed out here the trajectory differences under 500 yards are pretty minimal. It's mainly zero height that is affected thus changing the trajectory sometimes substantially. I always like to at least check zero and adjust accordingly.
 
pabearhunter said:
When you ordered your CDS dial did you tell them the two altitudes you would be hunting at. Or you could have got two dials.
Click to expand...

I ordered the dials for the area I would be hunting in based off from the custom shops guidance. The gun shot really well out to 400 at my home range in in Michigan. It was significantly warmer when I shot it but the dial was pretty consistent 1” high at every 100 yards. I took a target with us west and we had a 50 degree difference in temps and a gain of 6000 feet of elevation. I’m no ballistic calculator guy, I am more of a no chit holes in the target guy. On the target I was 3” high at 200 and it got worse the further I shot if I used the dial for what I ranged. I forgot the little Allen wrench so I had to make up a ballistic chart to know where it was shooting. I will not make that mistake again as there was a lot of headaches that could of been prevented.
 
Addicting

Your experience is exactly what I was referring to. Had you had the alien wrench you would have been able to adjust your 200 yard zero and your dial would've been very close to about 600.
 
I would shoot my rifle regardless just for the added confidence when you get to where you are hunting, plus no excuse that way if you miss. I do it everytime I get to where I am going to hunt obviously not in the direct area I am going to hunt but same thing with my bow this year when I got to the trailhead and my sight got bumped and everything was hitting about 3 inches low simple adjustment and I was back on out to 60 always best to check imo.
 
We set a target up on a creek bank near our campsite on some BLM to check zero.
 
It will make difference!! At close ranges not so much (200 and closer) but at longer ranges it will change. I shoot at a range where I can shoot longer distances. 1 click of the scope at 500 yards makes a big difference, do it at home somewhere to see for yourself. Then find a place out west to shoot, even if its 1500 feet lower than where you will be actually hunting, especially if you live at low altitude. I live at 1400' and see a lot of difference.
 
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