223 Scope Zero

[capreppy]

I'm looking to use three different .224 55gr bullet profiles: Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint, Hornady SP, & Sierra HPBT thru an AR with a 5.56 NATO barrel (24" 1-8 Twist).

Should my zero be the same for each of these bullet profiles or will there be differences for each? My plan is to zero at 100 yards.

 

[jem375]

Zero first at 50 and then you can fine tune it at 100....

 

[capreppy]

Zero first at 50 and then you can fine tune it at 100....

Sorry, yes start at 50, but finalize at 100. But the zero will be set for 100.

 

[jmr40]

You will have to shoot all 3 rounds and see where they hit. At 100 yards here probably won't be much if any difference. At longer ranges the bullet with the higher BC will likely shoot a little flatter, assuming you load them to the same velocity. But you won't know for sure until you get to the range and actually shoot. You will probably find that 1 of them will prove to be more accurate than the others. But once again you won't know until you shoot them. All guns will be a little different.

 

[RSVP2RIP]

All bullets will hit at a different point of impact, how far apart is only something you can determine by shooting them. It might be that a couple of them group very close together and how close is close enough to be acceptable will have to be determined by you. In my gun, 55gr remington fmj and 55gr ballistic tips hit about 2 inches apart at 100 yards. 50 gr remington HP and 77gr sierra HPBT hit in the same spot, go figure.

 

[capreppy]

All bullets will hit at a different point of impact, how far apart is only something you can determine by shooting them. It might be that a couple of them group very close together and how close is close enough to be acceptable will have to be determined by you. In my gun, 55gr remington fmj and 55gr ballistic tips hit about 2 inches apart at 100 yards. 50 gr remington HP and 77gr sierra HPBT hit in the same spot, go figure.

Interesting. I knew that BC would have some impact and thus my question. The same POI of a 50gr HP and a 77gr HPBT is indeed unique. Not what I would have expected.

I guess I'm going to need to keep track of the different zeroes and the deltas between each so I can quickly switch if I need to change bullet profiles.

 

[RSVP2RIP]

I'd like to know why you need three types of expanding/fragmenting bullets? It would seem to my that one of the types would do well. I'd pick the tipped bullet as it wouldn't deform as much from the magazine and buy it in bulk. It also isn't much more expensive than the HPBT you list and is more aerodynamic. That would mean you could have just one 55gr load to worry about.

 

[Sky]

IMO if you zero at 25/300 mine usually shoot a tad bit high at 300. 50/200 zero is what many use. The problem as you know are that the different weighted bullets shot at longer ranges POI changes; in some cases changes quite a bit. So my solution was to zero with the type of round I predominately use in my hunting set up.

I hunt with several different weapons so for my simple mind I just zeroed at a range I expect to use the weapon for. AK is 100, SKS is fine tuned at 200 and ARs are set for 300 except for a short night scoped AR which is set at 100. Everything is a compromise but the weight of the rounds make a big difference in POI IMO. If I only had one weapon I would probably just zero for 50/200 and get used to impact point of various distances. Just my thoughts but most of my shots are taken at pigs so 3 inches is not that big a deal for me..

 

[capreppy]

I'd like to know why you need three types of expanding/fragmenting bullets? It would seem to my that one of the types would do well. I'd pick the tipped bullet as it wouldn't deform as much from the magazine and buy it in bulk. It also isn't much more expensive than the HPBT you list and is more aerodynamic. That would mean you could have just one 55gr load to worry about.

The three different bullet profiles are mission specific: Varmit, SP (practice rounds and getting familiar with the AR platform) and the HPBT for precision once I am a little more familiar with the AR platform. The SP profile is the cheapest and likely to be the most used. The Nosler Ballistics will only be used in the field due to cost and it isn't likely that I would switch between profiles except maybe go to an SP for plinking while in the field.