Zero Your Scope Max Point-Blank Range – Zeroing your scope for Maximum Point-Blank Range will make you a more successful hunter. A lot of people ask me how they should zero their riflescope for coyote hunting. Most of the time they ask should they zero the scope at 50 yards, 100 yards, or 200 yards? My answer is usually none of the above.
The best way I have found for zeroing a thermal scope or a traditional rifle scope for hunting (not target shooting) is to zero it for maximum point-blank range (MPBR). MPBR is the distance over which a shooter can hold his sights on the center of the target and hit it.
Check Prices on Leupold Scopes at our Affiliate Pages on Amazon
The kill zone (heart/lung area) on a coyote is roughly four inches in diameter, so your scope should be set where the bullet trajectory is no more than 2″ above or below your line of sight from the muzzle to the target. The MPBR distance will be determined by the caliber of the rifle. Higher velocity rifles will generally have a longer MPBR than slower velocity rifles shooting bullets with similar ballistic coefficients.
Let’s look at a couple of very good coyote cartridges and see how they compare when zeroed at the point-blank range. I have a Modern Sporting Rifle in 5.56/.223 caliber that shoots a 55 grain Vmax at 3000 fps. I also have a 22-250 bolt action rifle with a 24-inch barrel that shoots the same bullet at 3700 fps. The 55 grain Vmax bullet has a ballistic coefficient of .255 so I can plug in velocities on the Hornady Ballistic Calculator and compare the PBR trajectories.
| Caliber | Mid Range Trajectory | Trajectory @ 100 yds | Point Blank Range |
| 223 | 1.9″ | 1.5″ | 230 yards |
| 22-250 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 280 yards |
In the examples above, you see the real advantage of the 22-250 over the .223. If you zero both rifles for maximum point-blank range, the 22-250 has a 50-yard advantage over the .223. If you zero both rifles at 100 yards, you will lose much of the extra range advantage of the 22-250.
Setting your scope for MPBR is even more important for Thermal Scope Shooters because it is much harder to estimate range at night, and thermal scopes have a lower magnification range than most traditional scopes.
Instead of trying to estimate holdover when things get exciting, you can just relax and when Mr. Coyote gets within your MPBR, you will make the hit. Many hunters estimate coyotes to be farther away than they really are, try to compensate by holding high, and shoot over them.
It is a lot easier to hit a target with a thermal scope or low-power traditional scope if you can just hold the crosshair or dot in the center of the target and shoot. Seconds count when hunting coyotes, especially in the middle of the night.
Thermal scopes have low base power magnification in the 2-3X range. It is harder to precisely aim a low-powered scope at night when a coyote is a couple of hundred yards away. It is easier to just hold the center of the coyote and take the shot using MPBR.
See our Christmas Gifts Suggestions For Women
To zero most rifles used for coyote hunting for MPBR, the scope should be set for your bullet to hit about 1.5″ high at 100 yards. The target above is made to help you zero your rifle for a 4″ target. Download the PDF version, not the image above so it will be the correct size. Place the target at 100 yards. While aiming at the square bull, adjust your scope to hit the circle above the square. That will put you 1.5″ high at 100 yards. Your MPBR will be about 225 yards for rifles shooting in the 3000-3200 fps range. For rifles shooing 3500-4000 fps range, your MPBR will be around 280 yards. Even my 6.5 Grendel with a velocity of only about 2500 fps has an MPBR of 200 yards. Use the Hornady Ballistic Calculator if you want to check your specific caliber and ammo.
A hand warmer or 2″ piece of reflective tape will fit over the large 2″ black square in the center if you are shooting a thermal scope.
If you are zeroing a new scope for the first time, save ammo and get your bullets hitting the paper at 25 yards before moving your target to 100 yards. You want your bullets to hit about 1.5″ below the point of aim at 25 yards. If you have a standard hunting rifle with a scope mounted 1.5″ above the bore, use the bull on the left. If you are shooting an AR or rifle with scope 2″ above the bore, use the bull on the right. This will get you on paper at 100 yards, but you still will need some fine-tuning at 100 yards to hit the circle above the bull.
Using the Point Blank Range method will probably help you bag more coyotes. It has certainly helped me.
Visit The Old Deer Hunters on Youtube for Scope Reviews and Hunting Videos.
