The Distance to Sight in For Cape Buffalo?

[Foxi]

This is a good point. I urge people to test their DG calibres at these varying ranges. I cannot tell you how many times I have had buff under 25 yards for the first shot...

yes, but then he gets suspicious about something, crosses the dry riverbed and secures over to you at 70 m in the black burnt miombo. Black body in the black bush. With open sights of a double rifle..........hm

 

[Jim Golden]

I zeroed my .375 Weatherby at 80 yards because that's how long my range is. Would have used 100 if I could get it. Need to clear some trees...

 

[Rafiki]

50 yards. I shoot with iron sights.

 

[KuduKiller]

I sighted dead at 50 and know where you are at 100. I shoot a 375 Ruger with 270 gr.

 

[Fatback]

I have my 404Jeffery sighted in dead in at 50 yards and I’m about an inch low at 100 yards. This is with 400 grain projectiles at 2150ft/sec MV.

On my 375 H&H and 416 Rem I am dead on at 100 yards with 300 grain and 400 grain projectiles. These are moving faster so that is why the difference in sighting options. I really don’t want to shoot a buffalo past 100 yards anyway. If we can’t get closer than that then it’s ok for the buffalo to win sometimes too.

 

[PARA45]

I'll be hunting Buffalo in Jun, and since I'll be hunting other animals, I will be taking a 375 H&H with Barnes TSX 300 grs. I'm dead on at 50 yds, and 1" or so at 100 yds. I told my PH I'd like to shoot the Buff within 50 yds or so. His reply, "I will get you in close for sure". LOL!!!!!

 

[dogcat1]

They are not hard to hit, just hard to kill.
I sight in for 100 yds and check it at 50yds. So far, many dead buff, but you have to place the bullet.

Also, I suggest knowing where your .375 HH hits at 200 yds, then have in mind where it should hit at 300 yds. I have taken a few longer shots at baboons and others at 200+ yards. Knowing your bullet helps.

 

[Frederik]

It all gets complicated when using a 375 H&H which has te ability to reach further than other large bores stick to .40 calibers and more and you are good to go with 50 meter zero. Being close enough to smell them buffalo is just part the game.

 

[PARA45]

It all gets complicated when using a 375 H&H which has te ability to reach further than other large bores stick to .40 calibers and more and you are good to go with 50 meter zero. Being close enough to smell them buffalo is just part the game.

Funny you said that. I actually told my PH that I wanted to be close enough to smell him and see the ticks on his ball bag.

 

[ftrovato]

Funny you said that. I actually told my PH that I wanted to be close enough to smell him and see the ticks on his ball bag.

For me, I don't want to shoot a buffalo if I cant see the red in his eyes!

50 yard zero, covers any followups needed as far as one should shoot a buffalo.

 

[wvfred]

My 416 stays sighted in at 50 yards but I also shoot it at 100yards to see the difference.

 

[Nhoro]

Zeroing at 50 m would result in a worse trajectory from 0 to 50 and then worse from 50 onwards. The bullet starts at roughly 1.5 inches low. If you zero at 100 m, the barrel will be more steeply angled upward and the bullet will climb quicker to zero and be less than a half inch from zero from probably 30 m to 100 m. 50 m zero will climb at a shallower angle to 50 and then drop off. Basically it will be below zero for all of that, only touching zero at 50 and it will be further from zero pretty much all the way. So 100m zero will actually be closer to zero at 10 m than a 50 m zero and closer to zero for most of 0 to 100m and beyond. Download the Hornady app and play with the zero distance and see for yourself.

 

[Rafiki]

Zeroing at 50 m would result in a worse trajectory from 0 to 50 and then worse from 50 onwards. The bullet starts at roughly 1.5 inches low. If you zero at 100 m, the barrel will be more steeply angled upward and the bullet will climb quicker to zero and be less than a half inch from zero from probably 30 m to 100 m. 50 m zero will climb at a shallower angle to 50 and then drop off. Basically it will be below zero for all of that, only touching zero at 50 and it will be further from zero pretty much all the way. So 100m zero will actually be closer to zero at 10 m than a 50 m zero and closer to zero for most of 0 to 100m and beyond. Download the Hornady app and play with the zero distance and see for yourself.

Exactly right!

 

[dogcat1]

Don't overthink this....
Sight in dead on at 100 yds, check at 25 and 75 yards.
Shoot the buffalo....
Not hard.

 

[Spearhead]

I think this is the one he’s referring to. Looks like the hunter had a very unique experience but I don’t think it’s a good advertisement for the outfitter

All I can say is WOW . That was a very intense 4 minutes.

 

[Green Chile]

Some buff don't give up easily but there was a lot of hesitation on those follow up shots. Sometimes when another bull comes in and gores them, it gets their juices flowing. They are tough and that's why insurance shots are mandatory.

 

[pilar]

I like dead on 100 yards, but some folks other then me have a different view on how to hunt in Africa, BTW I hate this video because I don’t consider it hunting or sport

 

[BryceM]

Oh come on. If you sight in at 25, or 50, or 100 yards it doesn't matter. We're talking about an inch or two.

In a charge......
- Are you really aiming through the scope? Really?
- Is the buffalo bouncing up and down?
- Are you steady?
- Are you on sticks?
- Is your heart beating?
- Is your adrenaline amped up?

Are any of these things going to be more significant than the range you chose to sight in?

In a charge, save the shot until you can't possibly miss. There's no sense in shooting at 20 yards. Even with a double there won't be enough time to recover from the recoil for a second shot. Wait until 5 yards or even closer. Point it like a shotgun. You won't miss.

 

[Flipper Dude]

Oh come on. If you sight in at 25, or 50, or 100 yards it doesn't matter. We're talking about an inch or two.

In a charge......
- Are you really aiming through the scope? Really?
- Is the buffalo bouncing up and down?
- Are you steady?
- Are you on sticks?
- Is your heart beating?
- Is your adrenaline amped up?

Are any of these things going to be more significant than the range you chose to sight in?

In a charge, save the shot until you can't possibly miss. There's no sense in shooting at 20 yards. Even with a double there won't be enough time to recover from the recoil for a second shot. Wait until 5 yards or even closer. Point it like a shotgun. You won't miss.

Well, I won’t say you won’t miss. But it won’t be because you were sighted in at 50 instead of 100.

 

[sgt_zim]

Shooters Calculator and Hornady's ballistic calculator show a 50 yard zero and a 100 yard zero, with a 1.5" sight height and fired at 2500 fps, with no more than a 0.1" separation in ballistic arc at any distance from 0 - 100. I even set up the calculation on Shooters Calculator in 5 yard increments.

You'd have to get down to the MV I get out of my 45-70 with 405 gr or heavier at around 1600 fps to get any appreciable separation in arc for 50 vs 100 yd zero.

Even at 200 yards, whether 50 or 100 yard zero, the arc difference is still quite a bit smaller than the diameter of the projectile.

I worked up some 308 loads for both my sons' 308 Wins, 180gr Speer Grand Slam, about the same BC as 300 gr TSX, and right at 2500 fps, maybe 2525. Dead nuts on at 50 with that load was also dead nuts on at 100. And I did test that load at both 50 and 100, and got the results predicted by the ballistic calculators

If the BC is the same, and the MV is the same, then the ballistic arc is the same. And under 100 yards, BC isn't even relevant.

I've used both of those calculators pretty extensively for long range shooting, I find them both utterly reliable out to around 400 yards, and still close enough to true beyond that I was rarely off by more than .2 mrad, give or take a little.

But all that said, there's nothing like getting out to the range and confirming it.

If you're THAT concerned about a 5 or 10 yard shot being an inch+ high, then go with low rings for glass with a 24mm objective.