It's great to see the rise and fall of the shots on the card. That makes for a great range card, to go by. The only downside to airgunning is when the wind blows. Nice one.
@@airgunsniper-elite7385 not entirely true, my best practice rounds are in the wind, I shot a practice round on my home club HFT course in the storms just before Christmas and it was a fantastic challenge, and scored a 68/80 so no too shabby out to 55 yards 👍🏻
Interesting.....however I'll stick with my usual zero. I've found over the years that keeping all the variables...Rifle, Scope, Zero, hold and clothes ... the same along with as much practice as possible, the more consistent I get. I've tried many Zero points over the past 15 years and have finally decided to stick on .... believe it or not, 50m. BTW I'm a masochist who only shoots Springers ... a superbly tuned HW 98 for HFT.😉 Keep up the great work...always producing interesting and informative content
Happy New Year! It looks to me like you have given every shot an automatic 7mm hold over. This has increased the amount of targets that fall in your "target area" without having to introduce a manual holdover
"This was such an insightful video! 🎯🔭 The scope setup trick for HFT shooting is a game-changer, and your explanation makes it so easy to understand. It’s amazing how small adjustments can make such a big difference. Thanks for sharing this valuable tip-it’s going to help a lot of us hit those targets with confidence! 🙌✨
Great video, food for thought. I struggled for my first half season of HFT. One of the lads i shoot with conviced me to change my zero to 40 yards, and to make a range card (as i was shooting from memory) and my scores massively improved. Range finding is still a head scrather for me tho 😂
Hi Chris, I could never shoot without a range card, my memory just isn't good enough anymore. 😄 Good to hear you're making progress with your HFT, good luck in 2025! 🙂👍
Yes you're right. I thought about that. My strategy would be make a pellet mark, shoot at it to see the 7mm drop, shoot it again to check the third shot lands on the second. Or you could just measure the drop with the reticle. Not ideal I agree. 🙂👍
Looking at your results you could probably get away with setting your scope 1 or 2 clicks lower and increase your hits at the longer ranges ? Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing 👍
Quite interesting, a lot of pistol shooters use a similar but reverse method, they set zero about 11mm high, this is easier as aim point is in the light part of the target and sights are visible, much harder to see both sights against the darker scoring area.
Hi. I have just bought a rifle and scope and am booked in at the range on Wednesday for setting up and zeroing so you've given me something to think about. I was wondering how you created the target you used in this video as having different size kill zones on one target would certainly help me, and others, work out our aim points. I could use a stencil to do it I suppose but using a computer and printer seems more efficient. Thanks
I would recommend beginning with a standard 25 m/yrd zero to begin with until you're familiar with your kit. My targets are created with a very simple desktop publishing program. I just create circle measured against the graduated sidebars but a technical drawing stencil with different sized circles will work; I use one of them too. 🙂👍
Dropping the zero 7mm at 25yds just means you need to hold over for all distances, and the top of the kill zone gives you the amount of holdover. Obviously the smaller kill zones give you a smaller amount of holdover, and the bigger kill zones give you more. This only breaks down once you get to 32yds or so, where the drop of the pellet is becoming more pronounced, and you need even more holdover as a reult.
Surely you want to ensure the pellet to strike near the center of each kill zone to allow for human error? To this end wouldn’t it make more sense to have two zero points with the mid point about 1/4 inch above the sight line - that way you can aim dead center over a greater range of distances both near and far? Or am I missing something?
Very interesting but it seems to me that what you are doing is dailing in about 1/2 mildot holdover at 25 yds and aiming at the top of the kill zone at the close targets (
I just thought it was an interesting suggestion by a viewer to check out. Take of it what you will. If it helps to just use it on the close shots then great.
Then you will get results almost identical to zeroing at 25 yards. Have a play with a ballistic calculator like Mero or Chairgun and you'll see for yourself. 🙂👍
Happy New year Jeff, I hope its a great 2025 for you and your family 👍❤️ Oh yeh can you run all that information and test by me again please cause I'm a dumb ass and I didn't understand most of it... 🤣🤣🤣 👍✌️👌
I’m very new to thinking about this sort of thing, but at 21:45 when you summarise what has been achieved I couldn’t help but think; why don’t you then set it up so you have 2 Zero points? If the trajectory intersects the level line of the scope twice, then you will have a +/-, rather than just a - , if you aim the cross hair at the targets true centre will you not hit a “kill shot” on more ranges than either of these tests? *Like I said I’m new, and just getting to grips, this channel is an excellent source of knowledge for me, and I’m very interested at getting in to this sport.
Hi Thanks for your question. The reasoning is that by just having one zero point then you will only have hold-over aim points on your range card. If you have both a near zero and a far zero, then between those points you will need to hold-under between those ranges. Some people can get confused about when to hold-under or hold-over so the single zero is a good start for beginners. I have a video #6 on my channel that explains it graphically if you want to check that out.
Thanks for making this video! Mind boggling. I Actually can't get my head around why this works. Its as if the pellet trajectory has been flattened. In my mind the zeroing for shoot 1 and 2 are effectively the same. Because in method 2 you are zeroing for 7mm below the target level and then lifting the line of sight to land 7mm higher at 25m (top of kill circle) are the two not equivalent? You're still getting a dead centre shot at 25m in both methods which indicates you've zero'd to 25m in both instances. Just in the second instance you are lifting the rifle to line the reticle up to the top of kill circle rather than the centre. What has changed?
Yes, it took a while to get my head around it too. The rifle zero range hasn't changed only the point of impact at that range, allowing you to use the top edge of the target as the aim point. 👍
Oh, that old chestnut! Have you seen my video where I address the 'rifleman's rule'? So long as you're always ranging horizontal distances (not angled) then shooting an elevated target is no different to a level one. 🙂👍
@@hftshooter Firstly I do not shoot H.F.T. But can I thank you for your reply. I do roost shoot Pigeons in trees though. I shoot on Downland . So every shot is angled. Shooting pigeons in trees I aim high. Using this method you have kindly, shown in your video. I would have to aim well high. Thank you again
Are you sure the chap didn't mean you raise the point of impact at 25 yards by a quarter of an inch ? To avoid hold over which with a fairly light grain pellet would seem to make more sense to me . Than lowering the point of impact which would make the hold over greater ?!? I'm confused
I quoted his comment as I received it, so I think I did what he suggested. I guess there are many variations on a theme. The important thing is to find something you're comfortable with. 🙂👍
@hftshooter that's fair enough mate 😊 I wasnt criticising what you did mearly thinking that if the chap wanted less or no hold over it would have been the other way round that's all 😊 and your right it is literally what works for you that counts . Keep up the good work mate 👍
Absolutely nothing! Different approaches work for different folks. Stick with what works for you. No harm in me checking out the suggestions of others though. 🙂👍
@ I think the fact you are getting your point of impact so close to the outer edge of the kill zone by aiming this way gives greater credence to missing the shot, I shoot HFT and I use hold over and under as i shoot SWEFTA rules here in Cornwall, so we shoot out to 55 yards, on 12x mag and we can guess the yardage and adjust parallax before shouldering the gun, so whatever aim point I’m using say 1 mil dot is always centre target so in my mind gives a better chance of a kill?🤷♂️ hey it’s horses for courses everyone is comfortable with different techniques. Interesting take on it though.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. It's a very elaborate way of avoiding the simple act of working out your holdovers for each range. It leaves you shooting well off center on many shots, which will reduce your hit rate. Why would you do this? Also, the zero point where you have no hold unders will vary depending on the velocity of your pellet. It won't always be 25 yards. With my gun, I zero at somewhere around 22 yards and I am within a tiny fraction of zero all the way out to almost 30 yards. There are two zeroes in this case. All of this just seems like a silly way to avoid making a simple holdover and hold under chart that will always be aimed at the center of the kill. Is it so difficult to make the correct holdover for each distance? I give up on this channel.
There are many different ways to approach targeting an HFT course. I know many very good HFT shooters who never aim at the centre of the kill zone. If I'm correct about the identity of the commentor then he is also a very accomplished airgun shooter. My intention with this video was to test his suggestion. It may resonate with some folks but clearly not with you. My video has provoked a lot of comments and discussion which is a good thing; I like to challenge what may be considered normal thinking now and again. Thanks for visiting my channel and giving it a try. If my content is not for you then that's fine. All the best! 🙂👍
It's great to see the rise and fall of the shots on the card. That makes for a great range card, to go by. The only downside to airgunning is when the wind blows.
Nice one.
Thanks for commenting! 🙂👍
@@airgunsniper-elite7385 not entirely true, my best practice rounds are in the wind, I shot a practice round on my home club HFT course in the storms just before Christmas and it was a fantastic challenge, and scored a 68/80 so no too shabby out to 55 yards 👍🏻
Interesting.....however I'll stick with my usual zero. I've found over the years that keeping all the variables...Rifle, Scope, Zero, hold and clothes ... the same along with as much practice as possible, the more consistent I get. I've tried many Zero points over the past 15 years and have finally decided to stick on .... believe it or not, 50m.
BTW I'm a masochist who only shoots Springers ... a superbly tuned HW 98 for HFT.😉
Keep up the great work...always producing interesting and informative content
Good to hear from another springer shooter. I agree, once you find what works for you then you should stick with that. All the best. 🙂👍
Happy New Year! It looks to me like you have given every shot an automatic 7mm hold over. This has increased the amount of targets that fall in your "target area" without having to introduce a manual holdover
Exactly that! 🙂👍
"This was such an insightful video! 🎯🔭 The scope setup trick for HFT shooting is a game-changer, and your explanation makes it so easy to understand. It’s amazing how small adjustments can make such a big difference. Thanks for sharing this valuable tip-it’s going to help a lot of us hit those targets with confidence! 🙌✨
Glad you found it useful. 🙂👍
23 degrees here. That's why I am in side watching this video. Thanks for this information.
My conditions were a bit more 'tropical' in comparison then . 😄
Great video. Very interesting to see the results.
Thanks! 🙂👍
That was a great test from a great idea. Food for further thought and experimentation. Interesting & well produced video. Thanks.
Thank you! 🙂👍
Interesting Clever test 👍
Thank you! 🙂👍
Happy New year, I'm still trying to get my head round it, i must be thick, thanks for taking the time again to try and help someone, cheers.
Happy new year! 🙂👍
Mind bending but logical Jeff,will give it a try next outing! Happy New Year👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎😎😎
Same to you! 🙂👍
Very Interesting. Thank You for taking the time to do the test. I always enjoy your videos.
Thank you! 🙂👍
Great video, food for thought. I struggled for my first half season of HFT. One of the lads i shoot with conviced me to change my zero to 40 yards, and to make a range card (as i was shooting from memory) and my scores massively improved. Range finding is still a head scrather for me tho 😂
Hi Chris, I could never shoot without a range card, my memory just isn't good enough anymore. 😄
Good to hear you're making progress with your HFT, good luck in 2025! 🙂👍
Makes checking the zero a complete bastard though what a performance!
Yes you're right. I thought about that. My strategy would be make a pellet mark, shoot at it to see the 7mm drop, shoot it again to check the third shot lands on the second. Or you could just measure the drop with the reticle. Not ideal I agree. 🙂👍
Looking at your results you could probably get away with setting your scope 1 or 2 clicks lower and increase your hits at the longer ranges ? Interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing 👍
Yes, the idea is worth playing around with to get the best out of it. 🙂👍
@hftshooter definitely. A job for a retired person who has the space and understanding neighbours 👍
Happy New Year to you and those you love Jeff. Again a very interesting video which must have taken a long time to make and edit.
Thanks Ian. Happy new year to you too. 🙂👍
Quite interesting, a lot of pistol shooters use a similar but reverse method, they set zero about 11mm high, this is easier as aim point is in the light part of the target and sights are visible, much harder to see both sights against the darker scoring area.
That makes perfect sense, thanks for sharing! 🙂👍
Hi. I have just bought a rifle and scope and am booked in at the range on Wednesday for setting up and zeroing so you've given me something to think about. I was wondering how you created the target you used in this video as having different size kill zones on one target would certainly help me, and others, work out our aim points. I could use a stencil to do it I suppose but using a computer and printer seems more efficient. Thanks
I would recommend beginning with a standard 25 m/yrd zero to begin with until you're familiar with your kit. My targets are created with a very simple desktop publishing program. I just create circle measured against the graduated sidebars but a technical drawing stencil with different sized circles will work; I use one of them too. 🙂👍
Dropping the zero 7mm at 25yds just means you need to hold over for all distances, and the top of the kill zone gives you the amount of holdover. Obviously the smaller kill zones give you a smaller amount of holdover, and the bigger kill zones give you more. This only breaks down once you get to 32yds or so, where the drop of the pellet is becoming more pronounced, and you need even more holdover as a reult.
Exactly. Well summarised. Thanks! 🙂👍
Surely you want to ensure the pellet to strike near the center of each kill zone to allow for human error?
To this end wouldn’t it make more sense to have two zero points with the mid point about 1/4 inch above the sight line - that way you can aim dead center over a greater range of distances both near and far?
Or am I missing something?
There are many different strategies for zeroing your rifle and this is just one of them. You need to find the one that suits you best. 🙂👍
@
That’s true,I find these different ways of doing things interesting 👍
Very interesting but it seems to me that what you are doing is dailing in about 1/2 mildot holdover at 25 yds and aiming at the top of the kill zone at the close targets (
I just thought it was an interesting suggestion by a viewer to check out. Take of it what you will. If it helps to just use it on the close shots then great.
What if you just zero it at 26 yards ?
Then you will get results almost identical to zeroing at 25 yards. Have a play with a ballistic calculator like Mero or Chairgun and you'll see for yourself. 🙂👍
Happy New year Jeff, I hope its a great 2025 for you and your family 👍❤️ Oh yeh can you run all that information and test by me again please cause I'm a dumb ass and I didn't understand most of it... 🤣🤣🤣 👍✌️👌
Happy new year to you too mate. Yes, took me a while to get my head around it too. 🙂👍
I’m very new to thinking about this sort of thing, but at 21:45 when you summarise what has been achieved I couldn’t help but think; why don’t you then set it up so you have 2 Zero points?
If the trajectory intersects the level line of the scope twice, then you will have a +/-, rather than just a - , if you aim the cross hair at the targets true centre will you not hit a “kill shot” on more ranges than either of these tests?
*Like I said I’m new, and just getting to grips, this channel is an excellent source of knowledge for me, and I’m very interested at getting in to this sport.
Hi Thanks for your question. The reasoning is that by just having one zero point then you will only have hold-over aim points on your range card. If you have both a near zero and a far zero, then between those points you will need to hold-under between those ranges. Some people can get confused about when to hold-under or hold-over so the single zero is a good start for beginners. I have a video #6 on my channel that explains it graphically if you want to check that out.
Will do, thanks 😅
Thanks for making this video! Mind boggling. I Actually can't get my head around why this works. Its as if the pellet trajectory has been flattened.
In my mind the zeroing for shoot 1 and 2 are effectively the same. Because in method 2 you are zeroing for 7mm below the target level and then lifting the line of sight to land 7mm higher at 25m (top of kill circle) are the two not equivalent?
You're still getting a dead centre shot at 25m in both methods which indicates you've zero'd to 25m in both instances. Just in the second instance you are lifting the rifle to line the reticle up to the top of kill circle rather than the centre. What has changed?
Yes, it took a while to get my head around it too. The rifle zero range hasn't changed only the point of impact at that range, allowing you to use the top edge of the target as the aim point. 👍
I do'nt think it will work on elevated targets. Try ?
Oh, that old chestnut! Have you seen my video where I address the 'rifleman's rule'? So long as you're always ranging horizontal distances (not angled) then shooting an elevated target is no different to a level one. 🙂👍
@@hftshooter Firstly I do not shoot H.F.T. But can I thank you for your reply. I do roost shoot Pigeons in trees though. I shoot on Downland . So every shot is angled. Shooting pigeons in trees I aim high. Using this method you have kindly, shown in your video. I would have to aim well high. Thank you again
Are you sure the chap didn't mean you raise the point of impact at 25 yards by a quarter of an inch ? To avoid hold over which with a fairly light grain pellet would seem to make more sense to me . Than lowering the point of impact which would make the hold over greater ?!? I'm confused
I quoted his comment as I received it, so I think I did what he suggested. I guess there are many variations on a theme. The important thing is to find something you're comfortable with. 🙂👍
@hftshooter that's fair enough mate 😊 I wasnt criticising what you did mearly thinking that if the chap wanted less or no hold over it would have been the other way round that's all 😊 and your right it is literally what works for you that counts . Keep up the good work mate 👍
What mag is your scope set at mate
Usually 10x 🙂👍
Please explain what is wrong with the 2-zero (near/far) technique that's been popular?
Absolutely nothing! Different approaches work for different folks. Stick with what works for you. No harm in me checking out the suggestions of others though. 🙂👍
Interesting, but, it sounds and looks like a good way to miss your target…..🤔
Don't see how when you've got a more defined point to aim at!
@ I think the fact you are getting your point of impact so close to the outer edge of the kill zone by aiming this way gives greater credence to missing the shot, I shoot HFT and I use hold over and under as i shoot SWEFTA rules here in Cornwall, so we shoot out to 55 yards, on 12x mag and we can guess the yardage and adjust parallax before shouldering the gun, so whatever aim point I’m using say 1 mil dot is always centre target so in my mind gives a better chance of a kill?🤷♂️ hey it’s horses for courses everyone is comfortable with different techniques.
Interesting take on it though.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. It's a very elaborate way of avoiding the simple act of working out your holdovers for each range. It leaves you shooting well off center on many shots, which will reduce your hit rate. Why would you do this?
Also, the zero point where you have no hold unders will vary depending on the velocity of your pellet. It won't always be 25 yards. With my gun, I zero at somewhere around 22 yards and I am within a tiny fraction of zero all the way out to almost 30 yards. There are two zeroes in this case. All of this just seems like a silly way to avoid making a simple holdover and hold under chart that will always be aimed at the center of the kill. Is it so difficult to make the correct holdover for each distance? I give up on this channel.
Totally agree.
There are many different ways to approach targeting an HFT course. I know many very good HFT shooters who never aim at the centre of the kill zone. If I'm correct about the identity of the commentor then he is also a very accomplished airgun shooter. My intention with this video was to test his suggestion. It may resonate with some folks but clearly not with you. My video has provoked a lot of comments and discussion which is a good thing; I like to challenge what may be considered normal thinking now and again. Thanks for visiting my channel and giving it a try. If my content is not for you then that's fine. All the best! 🙂👍
@@hftshooter Sorry for the negativity. I should have kept that to myself.
No worries. 🙂