Zero Stop, use it or not

[Sinclair]

It appears that several of you are quite fond of Vortex Scopes. Some of them have a zero stop feature, does anyone use it? If yes, do you set it exactly on the zero of your favorite load or do you set it a little lower for some fudge room if needed? I ask because I have a SWFA SS 10x42 Quad Mil for which I have obtained a set of shims to set a zero stop. What appears to be my best load is exactly two turns above the bottom of my adjustment range. Do I install the two turn shim or the 1 3/4 turn stack?

Why do I want to do this? Same reason as I installed a flash suppressor, Just in case I find myself in a situation where it would be good to have.

Sinclair

[RobUrban]

I have a athlon ares scope that has the zero stop feature. I set it right at zero and love the feature.

[Bigs28]

My turrets are set to my hunting loads zero but my zero stop is set 4 clicks past hunting zero to be able to zero for american gunner. I think it's a good feature but not required.

[grayfox]

Couple of mine have the zero stop but I don't actually use them. I'm zeroed for the load I'm going to hunt with. Kinda lucky on a couple rifles 'cuz 2 or 3 loads all shoot to same zero. The other ones, if I take 2 loads to the field then I have the delta elevation written down for them, and set at my first choice shooting load.
When I did that 1000-yd class they taught how to dial for distance so I used it then. But my hunting ranges, I have a dope table for each load with me and can hold over for what I find distance-wise.

[Klem]

I use it but only when hunting. There's too much variation at the range with zero drifting from different ammo and different temps.

I set it to one or two clicks below zero. All the way back and forward one or two clicks offsets any lash or sticky mechanisms. Probably don't need to do this but it's peace of mind.

[maxxmojo]

When I can, I set the zero stop to somewhere a bit under the actual zero, so I can come up to it. It gives me some wiggle room for POI shifts from different ammo and I'm always coming up to the zero, much like when I'm dialing in at some other value.

[Sinclair]

I use it but only when hunting. There's too much variation at the range with zero drifting from different ammo and different temps.

I set it to one or two clicks below zero. All the way back and forward one or two clicks offsets any lash or sticky mechanisms. Probably don't need to do this but it's peace of mind.

That I was not expecting to hear. I no longer hunt so the range is my only shooting outlet. Was hoping to find a zero that would allow some wiggle room for different ammo/temp/etcetera. However I do like the idea of setting a few clicks low so that I am always coming up to my setting. Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Watch your back trail and keep your powder dry.

Sinclair

[LRRPF52]

All my scopes with TGT turrets have zero stop and I use it every time I shoot with them unless I'm only doing short range zero confirmation (where I don't dial many clicks that would make me add anything close to a full turn).

It's a very useful feature that used to only be on Schmidt & Bender PMIIs and maybe 1 or 2 others, then everyone else started wising up to it due to demand.

[centerfire]

Mine are set .3 Mil under.

[imaguy3]

I use them on all my scopes, I also set it so it's a little below my actual zero, to allow me to go below if I have to, but not over rotate and get it lost.

Perfect example of why you want it...

My buddy bought a Vortex Viper used and did not have the shims, I told him to call Vortex and get the shims for free but he was too lazy and didn't think he needed it. Well come deer season and somehow his turret got rotated an entire rotation away from zero from the last time he shot the gun. He thought it was on his initial zero (he forgot which line his actual zero was). He shot and missed way high. Come to find out he was an entire revolution high, had he had a zero stop he could have easily ensured his turrets were where they were supposed to be.

Likewise if you find yourself dialing a lot of elevation, you can get lost in your adjustments and forget.


A zero stop is essentially a fail safe to ensure you can't dial down too far and loose your zero setting.