How much should I hold over?
Get a ballpark for bullet drop at distance so the numbers aren't a total mystery in the field. This is a rough, generic estimate to build your intuition - it is not a substitute for shooting your own rifle and load at the range and writing down real come-ups.
Aim that far above the spot you want to hit, or dial it into your scope.
How this works
- Each setup is one named factory load. Its drop table was computed with a G1 drag model (the same solver as our Dope Card) from the muzzle velocity Hornady publishes, with the ballistic coefficient fitted so the solver reproduces Hornady's own trajectory table: every published row matches within 0.1 in.
- Drops are relative to the line of sight, with a scope 1.5 in above the bore (0.5 in for the slug gun, as in Hornady's table), at sea-level standard air. Distances between table rows are interpolated in a straight line.
- Muzzleloaders have no table here: their speed depends on the charge you load, so the Dope Card with your chronographed speed is the honest answer.
What it leaves out:your barrel length, real muzzle velocity, altitude, temperature, shooting angle and wind. A different load of the same cartridge can land a few inches apart at 300 yards - confirm on paper before you hunt.
Sources: Hornady, 308 Win 150 gr SST Superformance · Hornady, 350 Legend 170 gr InterLock American Whitetail · Hornady, 450 Bushmaster 250 gr FTX · Hornady, 12 GA American Whitetail 1 oz rifled slug
These are generic approximations, not your rifle's data. Real drop depends on your exact bullet, velocity, barrel and conditions, and this ignores wind entirely - which past 300 yards often moves the bullet more than drop does. Confirm everything on paper at the range before you ever hold over on an animal, and only shoot within the range where you can place every shot in the vitals.
Choosing a cartridge for the game you hunt? See the cartridge & energy guide.
Zeroing gear
The holdover table is only as good as the zero it starts from.
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