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.17 HRM Sighting in Question

Michael Baquet
I have a Savage bolt action Heavy BBL .17 that I intend to squirrel hunt with. I am currently zero'd at 100 yds and shooting 5 shot groups (with 0 wind) inside a dime. With a 10 mph cross wind, that opens up to about an inch to an inch and a quarter.To utilize its effective range and flat trajectory (taking acount for fairly mild to no wind inside the woods), what would be the best distance to zero this rifle? It is possoble to see squirrels out to 150 yds in some places. Also I would be shooting at fairly steep angles up into the trees. Would this affect my POI? Anything you wish to add would be appreciated.
Thanks
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • MIKE WISKEY
    hi mike (i like the name), welcome. the 100 yd sight in should work well, try shooting at 150 with the 100 sight in to see how far the bullet drops (should be about 6-8" low), also try at 50 & 75 yrds (should be 1-2" hi. if you want to eat the squirrels go for head shots. shooting up (or down) at extream angles will cause your shots to go hi compaired to shooting level at the same range.
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  • Contender Man
    M-W's advice is spot on. But thought I would give you a "trick" I use in teaching students the difference between flat and angled shots.

    I put them into situations where they are making high angle shots, from a rested position so they can see the difference. Much better than trying to illustrate the point through drawings and dialog.

    For your situation use a weighted line to heave a light line over upper tree branches. Hoist up a milk jug weighted with sand that has a 1 to 1 and a 1/2 inch dot, or a squirrel profile marked on it. Then practice shooting at these targets from the ranges you are interested in. That way you can lower the "target" to better examine your groupings.


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    If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!
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  • Michael Baquet
    About shooting at 150 yds with the 100 yd zero...I have done this and it shoots about 1/2 inch low. That is typical becayse another friend shoots a ruger .17 and he claims about the same.

    About shooting in a tree at a target...that's a good idea. Thanks.

    Mike Baquet
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  • heavyiron
    Hi Mike,

    Just to add a little info to this thread, please look at the following link.

    http://www.remington.com/ammo/rimfire/premier_17hmr.htm

    According to the Remington ballistic data, the .17HMR will be 0.0 inches at 100 yards and -2.6 inches at 150 yards.

    Regards,

    Heavyiron[8D]
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  • tocamoha
    Sighting in any rifle for hunting requires that you select the right size vital zone for the game hunted.This maximizes the potential of your trajectory.For squirrels a two inch vital zone should work well for head shots.To achieve this with the .17 HMR zero your rifle at 130 yards.with this zero your bullet will be in the vital zone out to 145 yards.If you are sighting in on a 100 yard range zero your gun to hit 1 inch high at 100 yards .When hunting aim at the center of the vital zone and you will make a clean kill at any distance from 10 yards to 145 yards. I have my .17 HMR sighted in this way and it works great
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