LAST EDITED ON Oct-07-16 AT 08:53PM (MST)[p]For me, it depends on caliber, muzzle velocity, & bullet weight. Once I know those variables, I try to maximize my point blank range, which is different depending on whether I'm hunting deer or elk. For deer, I want to keep the point blank vital zone inside of 6 inches, and for elk, I use 8 inches. So for deer for example, I want the bullet trajectory to maximize at three inches over point-of-aim, and then I figure out what distance it crosses at three inches below point-of-aim. For my rifles, the average point blank range is about 320 yards (25-06, 7mmRM, & 300WSM). Thus, I know that out to 320 yards I'm confident that I'll put a bullet in the deer's vitals by just holding the cross hairs in the middle of those vitals (about 1/3 the way up the shoulder crease), without making any adjustments for distances. This method takes almost all of the guess work out of any shots inside of 320 yards. Once I've got that down, I practice enough at longer distances that I know how much my bullet will drop at 350, 400, 450, and 500 yards. This method worked pretty well with factory loads, and I've since been able to fine tune when I started hand loading.
If you want to share what caliber and bullet weight you're shooting, I do have book that I can reference that can give you a good starting point on how high you want your bullet to hit at 100 yards to maximize your point blank range. I've found it to be a pretty good starting point, and I usually only have to make minor adjustments to it at the range.
