Trouble aiming WWII rifles

[22collector]

I've noticed both my Lee-Enfield and Czech VZ24 seem to shoot VERY high. Last time I had the VZ out, I was shooting about a foot below the target at 50 yds just to get on paper. Is this because the sights, which begin measurement at 300 yrds, cause the bullet to shoot high at shorter distances?

 

[THard6]

yeah, to shoot farther you will have to lift the muzzle of your gun to get the proper trajectory.
so if you're sighted in at 300 yards, 50 yards will be way low. my .02

 

[HavokCycle]

yeah, to shoot farther you will have to lift the muzzle of your gun to get the proper trajectory.
so if you're sighted in at 300 yards, 50 yards will be way low.

due to ballistic nature of certain rounds, specifically 5.56, 50yards = 300 yards. i cant speak for .303 tho.

 

[johntheplinker]

Yes, many WWII rifles will shoot high at closer range. Many nations trained their troops to aim for the enemy's belt buckle to be more likely to get a hit. A little high you get them in the gut or the chest, a little low you take out a leg.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Remember the battle zero of a Springfield 1903 is what, class?

Right 547 yards.

Remember the First Season of Top Shot where the greatest marksmanship on the face of earth came to the USA and defeated you all? Remember the big guy with the monkey butt? Remember how he went all Honey Boo Boo on the other team and ran his bacon hole about how he was tH3 aw3som3 and then fell on his monkey butt the very first competition?

Well, Mr. Honey Boo Boo forgot (or did not know) that the battle zero of the 1903 was 547 yards. VZ24 is likely battle zero'd the same.

Did you try to push the rear sight to 600 meters and see what happens at 50 yards?

 

[Kirk Freeman]

And now . . . a tribute to the winner of the First Season of Top Shot.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2r9t6l_eE8[/ame]



[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18bb-t7HRfM[/ame]

 

[22collector]

I will move the sights and see what happens. I presume if I do some handloads for these rifles that I can load light and cause the bullet to drop sooner.

 

[johntheplinker]

Light loads probably won't make much difference at close range. Your best bet is to either make your front sight taller or have the rear sight sit down lower.

 

[mkgr22]

One trick is to post two targets, with one bullseye about 10 inches above the other. Aim at the bottom one, and see where you hit in the top target. Then you can use the rear sight to adjust your point of impact up or down.

 

[Hoosier8]

Any gun sighted in at 200 yards will shoot high at 50.

 

[Mosinguy]

Another thing you might want to check out is if your rifles were sighted in with a bayonet affixed. That's how Mosins are.

 

[Shadow8088]

Another thing you might want to check out is if your rifles were sighted in with a bayonet affixed. That's how Mosins are.

Other than the extra weight countering the muzzle rise, i can't really wrap my brain around why the bayonet would change the targeting of the rifle.. the rest of the "zeroed at 200yrds" I can understand...

 

[Mosinguy]

Other than the extra weight countering the muzzle rise, i can't really wrap my brain around why the bayonet would change the targeting of the rifle.. the rest of the "zeroed at 200yrds" I can understand...

It has to do with barrel harmonics.

 

[Hiker1911]

My No 4. Mk 1 rifle was sighted in great for 50 yards, bulleye on the first shot using a rest. It has the "L" sight (peep).

 

[Stschil]

It has to do with barrel harmonics.

I don't remember Harmonicas being a part of the Russian Infantry's standard battle kit. ;-)

 

[ru44mag]

This thread has me really curious and a little confused. I have shot a lot of WWII rifles in the past and have owned several as well. Still have my 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. Thing is they all shot were I aimed. Most had a rear sight that ramped up for longer shots. My brother has a '03 Spingfield and a Garand. A friend of mine has every WWII rifle made. I had 2 303s. One made in 1903 the other in 1944. Shot a bunch. I'm going to have to check this out. Oh, the coolest was the MG-34 Rambo style.

 

[Hoosier8]

It has to do with barrel harmonics.

Like I said before, it depends what it is sighted for. If it is sighted for 200 yards it will shoot high at 50 yards. Think bullet drop.

 

[Mgderf]

Your problem is, you don't have any WWII targets to shoot at!


Yep, likely zero'd between 300 & 500 yards/meters.

 

[monitor51]

Mosin 91/30 are sighted for 300 meters if I remember correctly. I'd think that the small difference between yards and meters will add up to sighting problems over a distance. Stupid metric system :-)

 

[johntheplinker]

Mosin 91/30 are sighted for 300 meters if I remember correctly. I'd think that the small difference between yards and meters will add up to sighting problems over a distance. Stupid metric system :-)

Most are, with the exception of some Finnish built models being battle sighted for 150 or 200 yards. Much more practical.