Zeroing The Steyr Scout

Most folks zero their rifles for too short a range which severely handicaps them should a target appear at longer range. The key to determining a good zeroing range is to first decide on what size the "vital area" of the target is. Most shooters use 6 inches for this measurement. Thus the best zero range is one that will allow you to hit inside that area over the greatest distance by holding to its center without the bullet passing above or below the area (in this case ± 3 inches).

The table below shows the differences in trajectory between three different bullet weights in typical .308 Winchester loadings. The muzzle velocities are based upon published data and the different velocities are what can be expected for the different bullet weights in the .308 from the Steyr Scout. The bullets are commercial softpoint flat base bullets from the same manufacturer. Notice that the 180 gr bullet, even though it started out 200 f/s slower than the 150 gr bullet, is traveling faster at 500 yards and beyond and its shows less drop at very long range.

Approximate Trajectories of Typical .308 Win Loads With a Max Bullet Rise of +3"
	Typical 150 gr Bullet		Typical 165 gr Bullet		Typical 180 gr Bullet
Range (yds)	Vel (f/s)	Bullet Path (in)	Vel (f/s)	Bullet Path (in)	Vel (f/s)	Bullet Path (in)
0	2820	-1.4	2700	-1.4	2620	-1.4
25	2750	0.1	2640	0.2	2570	0.2
100	2550	2.9	2470	2.9	2420	2.9
150	2420	3.1	2360	2.9	2320	2.9
200	2300	1.8	2250	1.4	2220	1.3
250	2180	-1.2	2150	-1.8	2125	-2.1
300	2060	-5.9	2050	-6.8	2000	-7.4
400	1840	-22	1860	-23	1860	-25
500	1630	-48	1670	-50	1690	-52
600	1450	-86	1510	-89	1540	-91
700	1290	-143	1360	-144	1400	-146
800	1160	-220	1230	-217	1280	-218
900	1070	-323	1130	-314	1170	-311
1000	996	-457	1054	-437	1090	-430
	Max Rise=3.1" @ 132 yds PB Range=272 yds Zero=233 yds		Max Rise=3.1" @ 127 yds PB Range=265 yds Zero=226 yds		Max Rise=3.1" @ 124 yds PB Range=261yds Zero=223 yds

Now of course your mileage may vary, but you can see from the above table that no matter what bullet weight you choose if you zero for about 3 inches high at 100 yards you will have a point blank range of between 260 and 270 yards. You'll be about 6 to 7 inches low at 300 and about 2 feet low at 400 yards. This should be easy to remember and all you'll have to do is "hold 'em and squeeze 'em." (By the way the 3 inches high at 100 yards zero also works very well for the .30-06 and other similar cartridges with velocities in the 2600 to 3000 f/s range.)

Most of the Steyr Scouts I have seen print dead on and about 1 to 2 inches high out of the box with most ammunition so simply adding a an inch or two of elevation will get you pretty close to ideal

For more information on external ballistics and zeroing click here to go to Fr. Frogs home page and visit the ballistics links.

As you know the thick reticle can make precise zeroing difficult on a standard target. These target inserts were designed to overcome that problem. At 100 and 200 yards there will be just a sliver of white showing on either side of the horizontal and vertical thin sections of the cross hairs when they are properly centered. All you need to do is to adjust the center of your group to be about 3.0 inches high at 100 yards. Also included is a 100 meter target, thanks to Greg Wilson.

These targets are available in MS Word 6.0 format for downloading along with data on the top of this page on zeroing the .308 Winchester Steyr Scout, in a "zipped" archive format. Click here to download the "Zeroing Target" file.

Disclaimer

Neither Fr. Frog, the hosting service for these pages, nor this page is officially associated with Steyr Mannlicher, or SteyrUSA. This page provided by Fr. Frog as a service to the friends of Jeff Cooper, the folks Steyr, and the shooting community. Fr. Frog is not responsible for any errors, omissions, nor your inability to hit what you aim at when using this rifle. As far as I know all the information presented is correct and I have attempted to ensure that it is. However, I am not responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages resulting from the use or misuse of this information, nor for you doing something stupid with it. (Don't you hate these disclaimers? So do I, but there are people out there who refuse to be responsible for their own actions and who will sue anybody to make a buck.)