Altitude Compensation

[mnhoundman]

Question for the experts out there. If my 270 is sighted in an inch high at 100 yds here in Minnesota, when I get to the high country about 10,000 ft. How much higher will it shoot? Or how do you figure that? I have heard that it will shoot an inch or two higher. Just wondering if it changes enough to worry. Thanks!

 

[libidilatimmy]

Hornady's website has a great application for figuring this stuff out. You can plug in your ballistic data where you sight in and just change the atmospheric conditions to see the difference. I doubt the change would be very significant until 600-700 yards. The biggest thing that buggers people up in that kind of terrain is accounting for the shooting angle.

 

[mnhoundman]

Thanks, I'll have to check that out!

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Hornady's website has a great application for figuring this stuff out. You can plug in your ballistic data where you sight in and just change the atmospheric conditions to see the difference. I doubt the change would be very significant until 600-700 yards. The biggest thing that buggers people up in that kind of terrain is accounting for the shooting angle.

Got it right. Don't worry about it.

For years I had my 30-06 sighted in for 1" high at 100 yds at 200' above sea level and hunted at 8 to 10,000' and never compensated at all. It shot exactly where I pointed it.

 

[mnhoundman]

Thanks CC!

 

[Musket Man]

I dont worry about it either. Unless your shooting a long ways its not going to effect it enough to worry about. We are at about 1500' here and I zero my 270 at 200 yards and go hunting!

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Funny thing, been hunting big game for 60 years and never thought a thing about altitude compensation. It really never was anything anyone thought about until the last few years with all the interest in ultra long range shooting. Guns, optics and ammo were never really good enough to consistently kill an animal over 4 to 500 yards out. Even when I shot BP single shot competition at 1000 yards we sighted in before every match at the range we were shooting at. With the improvement in everything and computers being used to plot all the ballistics, accuracy at distances even double 4 & 500 yards have became very doable. I still am not comfortable at anything over 500. My longest shot was an antelope kill with my 25-06 in 2012 that was 471 yards.

 

[Boehunter]

like the guys said unless your serious long range shooter i think you will be fine. Ive taken my set up which is sighted in at 4000ft elevation to the bighorns of wyoming at 8000 to 9000 and never noticed a change. A friend of mine however just got back from a dall sheep hunt in alaska said when he arrived his rifle was shooting 2 inches higher lol i didnt know how to take that.

 

[mnhoundman]

Thanks guy's for the help! Just the answers I was looking for.