H&R Ultra 20 w/Nikon Prostaff SG sighting in

[stokes8718]

I know this has probably been covered more than a few times.

I just purchased a new H&R ultra slugger 20 and a brand new Nikon Prostaff shotgun scope 2-7x 32mm and Werna Rings. I had the gun bore sighted today. I purchased 3 boxes of the Federal Trophy copper solid 3" 275g sabots. 1900fps. I am 100 new to sighting in a scope other than my bb gun. All pointers are appreciated or any links to an older discussion would be great too. I attempted to navigate the forums and find a decent thread but was unsuccessful.
Thanks in advance.

 

[inkd]

I know this has probably been covered more than a few times.

I just purchased a new H&R ultra slugger 20 and a brand new Nikon Prostaff shotgun scope 2-7x 32mm and Werna Rings. I had the gun bore sighted today. I purchased 3 boxes of the Federal Trophy copper solid 3" 275g sabots. 1900fps. I am 100 new to sighting in a scope other than my bb gun. All pointers are appreciated or any links to an older discussion would be great too. I attempted to navigate the forums and find a decent thread but was unsuccessful.
Thanks in advance.

Start at 25 or 50yds to see where you are hitting. If you have a lead sled or a good padded shooting jacket, it will help on flinching.

Bring cleaning gear and clean after every couple shots. My H/R would foul terrible after 3 shots and I was amazed at how far off the 3rd or 4th shot would be. I even read about it in a magazine that tested it years ago and didn't believe it but after shooting one, it's true.

Know the amount of clicks to turn your scope for adjustments. Never ceases to amaze me how many people get it wrong and send lead flying all over the target, all the while over correcting.

Bring tools to check to make sure your mounts are staying tight. If you throw a shot way the hell out, check your mounts before you adjust your scope.

Take your time. If it isn't something you can devote time to, wait until you have the time.

If your gun likes those slugs, stick with them. I'm sure in a little while everyone will come in and say what their gun liked. That's great for their gun. But, if you are putting lead on target and happy with it, stick with it. Deer don't care if they get shot with a Hornady, Lightfield, Remington or who gives a damn what else.

Put the bullet where it needs to be and it will do it's job.

I wish I never sold my H/R.

That's about all I can think of right now.

Maybe a good set of binoculars, a sharpie marker/pen/pencil, notebook, target pasters, staple gun, stapler, eye pro, hearing pro?


In fact, make a list. Nothing worse than getting to where you are going and realizing you forgot something critical.

 

[Melnic]

You can save some $$ by buying a box or two of sluggers (rifled slugs)
Shoot at 50. Have someone watch where its hitting if not on paper.
Remember 2x the clicks @ 50 yards vs 100. If scope is 1 click 1/4" then its 8 clicks per inch at 50. Get about an inch or two high @ 50 then switch to sabots.
figure out the drop from 50 to 100. depending on the distance you will hunt, your zero point may vary.

You may need to clean between shots.

 

[tomandjerry00]

Nice thing about a break-open gun is how easy they are to sight-in. After you mount your scope (torquing all screws little by little and evenly in a star fashion), open the gun and look through the rear of the barrel. Line up the target (25 or 50 yds) with the middle of the barrel and then adjust your scope to the middle of the barrel. In my experience, if don't carefully, this can be extremely effective and your first shot shouldn't be far off.


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[joemac]

Any firearm that I can see down the barrel and has a telescopic sight can be turned in pretty close by doing this. I even did it with my muzzleloader and my AR. It will definitely get you on paper.

To the OP, shoot three shots at 25 yards, adjust, move to 50, repeat, adjust, move to 100 repeat, adjust. It's a very simple process. With the right ammunition that H&R should be a 200yd deer killer. Good luck and we want to see pictures in a couple weeks.

 

[bman940]

scope

I have had the pleasure of shooting Nikon's Slughunter scopes with BDC reticle on multiple 20 ga slug guns. I think you will be very impressed with the accuracy you are able to achieve. That scope has a return to zero capability, lift the turret after getting your zero and turn it to zero, that way you know where you need to be if you choose to dial in your distance after zero.
I have added a sample pic from Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Program. A great place to check out and see what your sabot is doing after it leaves the barrel. It is also a huge help when sighting in too. Notice I used target distance of 25 yards and zero distance of 75, it then tell you where you need to impact at 25 yards for a 75 yard zero. You can click on Generate ballistic reports and get the number of clicks to dial out to a known distance. I have used Spot On's data to impact 6 inch steel plates at 176 yards using a Browning 20ga slug gun so don't be surprised if you get excellent accuracy from your rifled slug barrel. So much better shooting a well made sabot instead of a slug out of a smooth bore. Drop me a note of you have any question's.

 

[Pablopac]

I have a bore sighter if you want to use it next week. Gets you pretty close, so you at least start on paper.
pablo

 

[Chris]

Nice thing about a break-open gun is how easy they are to sight-in. After you mount your scope (torquing all screws little by little and evenly in a star fashion), open the gun and look through the rear of the barrel. Line up the target (25 or 50 yds) with the middle of the barrel and then adjust your scope to the middle of the barrel. In my experience, if don't carefully, this can be extremely effective and your first shot shouldn't be far off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Poor Man's Bore Sighter and It Works. Chris

 

[traveller]

Came back from sighting in my A-bolt slug-gun earlier tonight.

Just one thing: Don't plan on making use of your shoulder for a couple of days

 

[nedsurf]

If its the BDC 200 reticle, you sight the crosshairs in at 50 yds. The other ranges are covered by the BDC "circles" below the crosshairs. If you can get access to a lead sled, use it. What a flinch developer these guns are. It does not help that I bought the light 5.5 lb. 20 ga. H&R version. It shoots nicely offhand in the woods though.

 

[stokes8718]

If its the BDC 200 reticle, you sight the crosshairs in at 50 yds. The other ranges are covered by the BDC "circles" below the crosshairs. If you can get access to a lead sled, use it. What a flinch developer these guns are. It does not help that I bought the light 5.5 lb. 20 ga. H&R version. It shoots nicely offhand in the woods though.

The 50 yard zero part was messing me up because the slug box shows the ballistics on the back and they are for a 150yd zero I believe. so just couldn't get my head around how the rest of the yardages would work out. I had it bore sighted at Chesapeake outdoors but the bore sight was not a laser but grid that was in front of the scope that mounted in the barrel and swung up to the scopes field of view. anyway I still have not shot yet, I need to take a day off of bow hunting and go to the range but I just cant seem to stay out of the woods.

 

[RobSky]

If you dont get a good and consistant group, you may want to try the Remington Accu Tip slugs. I tried a number of differnent brands, but accu tip did the best.

 

[traveller]

The 50 yard zero part was messing me up because the slug box shows the ballistics on the back and they are for a 150yd zero I believe. .

I would consider 150 as the limit of its useful range, not a good number for zeroing. You would have to 'hold under' at all other ranges. 75 yd should be pretty close to the apogee so the bdc works from a here on out.

 

[midnightSGT]

don't worry about sighting it in! I'll take it off your hands as-is. lol

 

[outrider58]

OP's gun is already bore sighted. One thing about the scope. If it ain't loose, don't tighten it. Over torqueing will F up a scope's aim, so be careful in that regard. Just make sure it isn't coming loose. If locktite was used, shouldn't be an issue. If you have the opportunity, buy at least 3-4 brands of slugs and see what shoots the best once you are on paper. Also, while shooting, give the barrel time to cool down. Slug guns ain't worth a dang when they're hot and will give you false negatives as far as accuracy is concerned. It would probably be wise to make a couple range trips to be sure of things. Proper cleaning is essential when shooting sabots due to the vinyl build-up. Two things I've found to be good for this are, Sweet's 7.62 solvent and good 'ol carburetor cleaner.

 

[stokes8718]

So I did some shooting finally.
50yds. federal 3" trophy copper solids 10mph wind right to left
1st shot 12" low 12" right
2nd shot 8" low 8" right
3rd shot 4" low 4" right
4th shot level 1" left
5th shot level 2" left
6th shot 2" high 1" left

100 yards. same shells same wind
1st shot 8"high 8" left
2nd shot 4" high 3" left
3rd shot 3" high 4" left
4th shot 3" high 5" left
5th shot 5" high 5" left


When shooting the 100 yards I am using the designated 100yard circle on the reticle. I don't understand why that is happening I am using the shells recommended for the Nikon Prostaff shotgun scope. I ran a patch through the barrel each time after I noticed it full of debris. that seemed to help quite a bit. The wind drift for the shots seem dead on accurate for the 10mph wind. just not sure about the rise in elevation.

 

[inkd]

So I did some shooting finally.
50yds. federal 3" trophy copper solids 10mph wind right to left
1st shot 12" low 12" right
2nd shot 8" low 8" right
3rd shot 4" low 4" right
4th shot level 1" left
5th shot level 2" left
6th shot 2" high 1" left

100 yards. same shells same wind
1st shot 8"high 8" left
2nd shot 4" high 3" left
3rd shot 3" high 4" left
4th shot 3" high 5" left
5th shot 5" high 5" left


When shooting the 100 yards I am using the designated 100yard circle on the reticle. I don't understand why that is happening I am using the shells recommended for the Nikon Prostaff shotgun scope. I ran a patch through the barrel each time after I noticed it full of debris. that seemed to help quite a bit. The wind drift for the shots seem dead on accurate for the 10mph wind. just not sure about the rise in elevation.

If you are shooting off of a rest, are you resting the barrel or the fore grip on the rest?

 

[traveller]

just not sure about the rise in elevation.

Did the barrel get warm ?


(just to understand you correctly, did you adjust the reticle from shot to shot during those series or were they with unchanged settings on the turrets ?)

 

[HogCommander]

I had a similar result with my 12 ga Ultra Slug Hunter and Nikon Slug Hunter scope with BDC reticle. After sighting in at 50 yds with Hornady SST slugs, it grouped high at 100 yds. When I used the center crosshairs at 100 yds, that brought my group back down to my point of aim...consider another try using the same reticle for 100 that you used for 50 yd sight in.

 

[outrider58]

The previous questions are important to answer. Also, realize that your scope is not shooting your slugs, your barrel is. As stated before, buy several different brands and types of ammo and see what shoots best. It doesn't sound as though your gun likes what you were shooting. Make sure that when you are sighting in, the only part of the gun that should be resting on the sandbag is the forend, not the barrel.