Chris Gower

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Zeroing a Rifle – What Configuration is best?

For American cousins, deer stalking is the same as deer hunting, tracking and killing deer for sport or as a means to cull the local population. The only difference is deer hunting in Britain is traditionally performed with a pack of hunting hounds followed by unarmed riders. Hunting has decreased in popularity, whereas the often solitary practice of stalking is still an enjoyable pastime for many.

Chris Gower, a CEO of a headhunting company, is a deer stalker in his spare time and he has produced a short guide to zeroing rifles that is useful to beginners and veterans alike.  Other content from Chris Gower will continue to give handy hints for British deer stalkers as they prepare for the Christmas season. Venison is a great alternative to the traditional Christmas turkey after all!

MPBR or the Hold Over?

Given the average terrain of the British stalk, even with winter having cast most of the leaves to the ground, few shots are going to be made at more than 100 yards in the forests. Anything over this will make any shot more difficult to judge and taking the standard 100 yard zero for granted will leave stalkers scaring the deer off with a miss more often than not.

Hold over shots will require the most practice as knowing that a bullet is going to drop a number of inches over a certain distance is something that cannot be taught but experienced. Knowing the rifle and working out how to zero the sight for greater distances will be useful in overcoming this problem.

The maximum point blank range shot (MPBR) is the maximum distance that the rifle has been zeroed for where bullet drop will not be a problem. Attaining proficiency at this range is again, going to take time but will save time in the long run when stalkers are confident that they can hit a 4” target at the specified range.

1” over 100 Yards

Experienced stalkers will be aware of the optimum range to zero their favourite firearm but a commonly recommended setting for UK hunting is 1” high over 100 yards. Each rifle calibre is different but by zeroing a rifle in at this configuration, stalkers will be able to comfortably hit a small target with a point blank range of 241 yards with a far zero of 166 yards.

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An Introduction to Deer Stalking in the UK by Chris Gower

Chris Gower leads a busy and successful professional life as co-founder and CEO of the global executive search company Lawbrook Partners. Lawbrook Partners and Chris Gower online videos offer more details about the professional recruitment capacity of the company. A firm believer in both working hard and enjoying leisure time, Chris enjoys a variety of activities outside of the office including deer stalking reflecting a passion for the countryside. While deer stalking is an extremely common activity throughout the UK as a countryside management and sustainability measure, most of the general public never come across it as it usually takes place in the first and last two daylight hours for stealth purposes. Deer stalking can take place for any one of three reasons – sport, food or numerical/environmental control. In the Scottish highlands in particular deer stalking is a necessary aspect of land management to protect many indigenous species of flora and fauna from becoming extinct due to the almost chronic over-population of both Red and Roe Deer in the area which can cause longer term suffering to the general population.

There are six species of wild deer to be found in the UK – Red, Roe, Sika, Muntjac, Fallow and Chinese Water Deer. Of the six only the first two are indigenous, with the other four having been introduced throughout history through a variety of reasons. Deliberate releases or escapes from parks, farms and ornamental collections have resulted in both an increase in the populations of feral Red and Roe deer and the introduction of wild herds of the other four species. Fallow deer in particular, while not native to the UK, have been at large for over a thousand years.

Deer stalking, especially in Scotland, is not solely about the kill, but about the effective management of the land for the protection of other species of animal and plant which would otherwise be threatened with extinction. Organisers of deer stalking in Scotland have the aim of promoting responsible and sustainable activity which maintains a healthy population of deer without becoming too over-populated. As carnivorous predators which would naturally hunt deer have become extinct in the UK there is a need to cull the deer population in order to prevent it becoming chronic. Organised deer stalking takes place in order to maintain a healthy and stable deer population and each year a census is carried out. This census provides an age / sex profile of those deer which need to be culled, with priority given to injured or sick animals.