Zero day — objectives and running order

What this morning has to produce, and the order to do it in. Nothing here certifies anyone: a shooter is cleared when Kimble watches him do it, not because a page says so.

What the morning has to produce

1. Every hunter confirms zero with the rifle and the exact load he will hunt — Junior suppressed, since that is how he hunts.
2. Every hunter proves a field-position hit — 3 of 3 inside an 8-inch circle at his own max range, off tripod, pack or knee. Not a bench.
3. Austin gets a real first session — rifle fit, his own zero, and honest recoil coaching on a borrowed magnum.
4. Junior trues his ballistic solution — if the range reaches 400+.
5. Kimble clears each shooter, or says plainly that someone is not cleared yet.
6. If it is cold: chronograph a suppressed string before the barrels warm — that closes the last open variable.

Running order

1. Set up and safety brief. Muzzle discipline, target ID, everyone's position, cold range vs hot range called out loud.
2. Cold bore first — before any warm-up. One round each, from a field position, at your max range. Log it. This is the only shot all day that resembles a shot at a bull; do not spend it on a warm barrel.
3. Chronograph (if cold and one is available). Junior, suppressed, before the barrel warms.
4. Confirm 100-yard zero — 3 to 5 rounds each, hunting load, exact hunt configuration. Adjust only if clearly off center.
5. Austin: fit check, then zero, then the flinch check. See below.
6. Stretch out — 200, then 300 if the range allows, confirming dope matches at each distance.
7. Junior: true the solution at 400+ if available.
8. Field-position check — 3 of 3 in an 8-inch circle at each shooter's max.
9. Under stress — short hard effort, then build the position and fire within 60 to 90 seconds.
10. Clear each shooter, commit out loud to passing marginal shots, then police brass and targets and write the data down before leaving.

Truing — velocity only

Before the first shot: confirm the 100-yard zero, lase the exact distance with the KILO10K, put Kestrel temperature, station pressure and humidity into the app, level the rifle, same lot, suppressed, low wind.

1. Dial the predicted elevation for the lased distance.
2. Shoot 5 rounds minimum, 10 is better. You are measuring group center, not a hit — a 0.75 MOA rifle already prints about 4 inches at 500.
3. Measure the group center's vertical offset from point of aim — easiest in mils through the reticle.
4. Group low → lower the muzzle velocity. Group high → raise it. Use the app's calibrate function if it has one, otherwise adjust and re-run until prediction matches impact.
5. Rule of thumb: about 10 fps equals 1 inch at 500 yards.

Austin — borrowed Bergara, 7mm Rem Mag

1. Fit check before firing. Length of pull and comb height — the rifle was set up for his dad, and poor fit makes recoil worse and consistency harder.
2. Recoil plan: slip-on pad, doubled ear pro, and low round counts with rest between strings. Never grind 40 magnum rounds off a bench — that is how a flinch is manufactured.
3. Zero at 100, his own zero, not his dad's.
4. Ball-and-dummy check: have someone load randomly with a dummy round. If the muzzle dips on the click, that is a flinch — better found today than on an elk.
5. 200-yard hard cap — 150 if 200 is not proven. The limit is the shooter, not the rifle.

Write these down before you leave

Truing: date and time · temperature · station pressure · humidity · lased range · predicted dial · group center offset · old MV (3,005) · trued MV.

Per shooter: zero confirmed · max range proven · 3 of 3 in 8 inches · performed under stress · cleared by Kimble.

Cold bore: distance, position, and where the first round landed — for every shooter.

A date on a calendar does not establish competence. What establishes it is a logged cold-bore hit, a confirmed zero with the actual hunting load, and someone watching you do it.