Hold Over/Hold Under....It's as clear as mud to me.

Itsnotarealgun

Itsnotarealgun

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Hi, I'm zero'd in at 25yds from where I sit to where the ratties usualy feed & most of my shots are kills. My problem is, Recently I see the things at the top of my lawn which is approx 15yds. Now....do I aim for their toes, or their ears, because as much as I hate them, I don't want to wound them. Scope is atn x-sight & it's zero'd with no magnification first & then zero'd at full magnification.
I'm asking for help because tonight I took 2 shots at 15yds & all I succeeded was to scare them to death. Surely I don't have to keep altering the zero from 25 to 15yds each time I shoot.
atb
Mal.
 
Use an APP like Chairgun, if you are anything like me a visual representation is much easier than a spreadsheet.
If you are zeroed at 25 that should be the second zero, so you may find 15 is still nearly zero.

Tell us the calibre, and velocity, pellet and I'll stick it in chairgun quickly for a rough guide.

Oh and probably best to move this to the hunting forum.
 
Here you go -

Screenshot_20230824-212857~3.webp


As you can see a near and far zero

Near at about 13 - 14 yards and far at 30 yards.

Each pellet weight and fps will give a different hold over or under.

If you don't have a ballistic calculator, go old school and set out targets from 10 through to 25/30 yards.
 
Stick a bit of card with a dot in the middle at 15 yards, take a few shots at the dot without changing the zero. Measure the distance from dot to where you've hit. Also, if you have mildots or other marks on your cross hairs have a look at where the shots go I relation to them.

Do the same at a few ranges and make yourself a range card.
 
Lots of variables - calibre, power, scope height etc

Easiest thing to understand is aimply to put out cards at known distances every few yards / metres.
AIm for the Bull as normal and see where your group ends up.
Over simplified example - if your group at 15 yards is ½" low then aim ½" high.
You might have mildots etc on your scope to help.
 
Personally rather than apps like Chairgun I just set out targets at 5yd intervals and note down drops and holdovers from there.

Just practice at your common ranges pal and I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it quickly
 
Mike-H said:
You will need to hold over but by how much is down to many variables, speed of the pellet, scope height, scope magnification (unless ffp), zero distance etc. I would put a target out at 15 yards then you will know for certain.
Click to expand...
Would that not be hold under with a 25 yd zero? pellet will be going up from the secondary, closer zero. So at 15yds I’d imagine he’ll need to hold under. The pellet will be flying over their heads. Edit, Maybe not, calibre dependant that could be the top of the curve as such 🤔

As for the OP, get some cards out at different ranges and aim dead on at them, you’ll see where you hit and get your aim points from them.
 
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IMO the only way to learn your hold points is to stick cards out along your range and shoot at each. Personally I prefer the method of taking one shot to bull at each range card for several passes, rather than a few shots at each card in turn, as the brain likes to make unconscious corrections and you don't get the information you're after...
J
 
Drake267 said:
Would that not be hold under with a 25 yd zero? pellet will be going up from the secondary, closer zero. So at 15yds I’d imagine he’ll need to hold under. The pellet will be flying over their heads. Edit, Maybe not, calibre dependant that could be the top of the curve as such 🤔

As for the OP, get some cards out at different ranges and aim dead on at them, you’ll see where you hit and get your aim points from them.
Click to expand...
Sounds right to me, but I wouldn't have thought there was enough of a difference to miss, it could be down to head position when moving for the closer shot.
Definitely best to put out some targets where you'll be shooting.
 
Just fire several shots at a target at 15 yards and see/measure how low the pellets land. Then how far out is that on your scope graticule.
Repeat for any range you want
 
Useful article here: - https://life.hawkeoptics.com/how-to-use-aim-off-to-keep-your-airgun-on-target/

You should not be shooting live animals until you are confident you can consistently hit the kill zone in all real world conditions.
Hold over and hold under are basically "aiming off".
Eg: if the pellets point of impact (POI) is above the point of aim (POA) you need to aim lower, (Hold under).
If the pellets POI is below the POA you need to aim higher (Hold over).
Its useful if you have a basic understanding of the airgun pellets "loopy" trajectory and near and far zero.
This is where an airgun app is useful, eg: Chairgun, Mero, etc as they show you graphs of where the pellets should land at given ranges using various pellets.
As above simple way to learn is to put out targets at 10m, 15m, 20m, 25m, etc and shoot the bull/target at each range without changing anything, eg: scope set-up, zoom, etc. This will show you how the pellets POI changes with different ranges.
 
Your poi would have gone low at 15 yds if you’re zeroed at 25 👍
but by how much you might be thinking … I don’t believe in chairgun and graphs and all that bollox … I believe in real life so just put a target out at 15 yds and shoot … measure the mil dots on your scope and that’s your answer 👍
 
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The benefit you get from a ballistics app is you can play "what if" with adjustments to your setup, zero, pellet, magnification, scope height, etc. Its essentially o short cut to finding a setup which works for you... saving time but still needing verification by shooting. There are some neanderthals technically-challenged who can't cope with the technology, others who will give you answers without asking basic questions: calibre, pellet type and power for starters. Do it the long way if you prefer but, as a minimum, you need to map your trajectory one way or another.
 
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