Select your cartridge and zero range to see a bullet drop chart at 100–400 yards. Includes max point blank range for hunting.
| Range (yds) | Velocity (fps) | Time of Flight (s) | Drop from Bore (in) | Path vs. Zero |
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This is a simplified ballistic model for hunter reference — not a precision long-range tool. Results assume standard sea-level conditions, no wind, and a scope mounted 1.5″ above bore. Verify your specific load at the range before hunting season.
The moment a bullet leaves your barrel, gravity begins pulling it toward the ground. A bullet fired perfectly horizontally will hit the ground in exactly the same amount of time as one dropped from the same height — physics does not care how fast it is traveling sideways. What determines how far the bullet falls before it reaches your target is time of flight, and time of flight is determined by muzzle velocity, the distance to the target, and how much the bullet slows down along the way due to air drag.
For deer hunting inside 200 yards, bullet drop is nearly a non-issue if your rifle is properly zeroed. Step out to 300, 350, or 400 yards and the picture changes fast. A .308 Win loaded with a 150-grain bullet and zeroed at 100 yards drops roughly 21 inches at 300 yards and over 40 inches at 400. That is more than three feet of vertical correction needed — aim dead center on a deer's shoulder without adjusting and you shoot clean under the animal. Most missed or wounded deer at longer ranges come from hunters who never looked at a drop chart for their specific load before going to the field.
Bullet drop is not the same as bullet path. Your path is the trajectory relative to your line of sight through the scope. When you zero at 100 yards, the scope is adjusted so the bullet crosses your line of sight at exactly 100 yards. The bullet actually launches slightly downward from the bore, arcs up to cross the scope line at zero, then continues falling. Your path number is what tells you whether to hold over, hold under, or dial on a turret — and that is what the "Path vs. Zero" column in the table above shows.
The "Drop from Bore" column shows how many inches below the bore line the bullet has fallen at each range. This is a physics-only number with no zeroing applied — useful for understanding raw trajectory but not directly useful in the field. The "Path vs. Zero" column is the one you care about: it shows where the bullet hits relative to your point of aim with your selected zero. A positive number means the bullet is that many inches above your aim point at that distance. A negative number means it is that many inches below. Max point blank range (MPBR) is the farthest distance where your bullet path stays within ±3 inches of aim — inside MPBR you can hold dead-on any shot presenting a 6-inch vital zone and connect without holdover. If you are bowhunting as well, check out our Arrow Spine Calculator for archery-specific trajectory guidance. After the shot, our Wild Game Aging Calculator helps you time the hang before processing.
Ballistic coefficient (BC) measures how efficiently a bullet cuts through air — specifically, how well it retains velocity compared to a standard reference projectile. A higher BC means the bullet loses speed more slowly. A 6.5 Creedmoor 140-grain at BC 0.530 retains velocity far better than a .223 Rem 55-grain at BC 0.243, which is why the Creedmoor dominates at 300-400 yards despite launching at a slower muzzle velocity. Because drop depends on time of flight rather than initial speed alone, a high-BC bullet that stays fast reaches the target sooner and falls less. This is the core reason many hunters are switching from old-school magnums to high-BC precision cartridges — flat trajectory at hunting ranges with less recoil.
A 100-yard zero is the standard for hunters who shoot mostly inside 200 yards — deer woods, wooded ridges, food plots. It is simple to verify at any range and requires almost no math at typical distances. A 200-yard zero makes more sense if you routinely hunt open country where 250-350 yard shots occur. With a 200-yard zero, most centerfire hunting cartridges rise only 2-4 inches at 100 yards, sit at zero at 200, and fall 8-15 inches at 300 depending on cartridge — which is a much easier mental adjustment than a 100-yard zero's 20+ inches at 300. The downside: a 200-yard zero requires you to remember you are slightly high at 100 yards, which can matter on a small target. Try both in the calculator above and see which zero gives you the flattest usable trajectory for your hunting conditions.
Holdover means you aim your crosshair at a point above the animal to compensate for bullet drop — for example, aiming at the top of the back when the bullet will drop 10 inches and your vital zone is centered on the shoulder. Holdover is fast and requires no scope adjustment, making it the right choice for hunting situations where the shot opportunity may last only seconds. The limitation is that most hunters are not practiced enough with holdover to be confident at 6, 8, or 12 inches of elevation correction on a live animal under pressure. Dialing your turret to the exact yardage is more accurate but takes 10-15 seconds. As a practical rule: if your bullet path stays within ±4 inches out to your shooting distance, hold center. If you need more correction than that, either dial or limit your shots to ranges where you do not have to.
Wind drift is not shown in this calculator because it varies with conditions and is actually a bigger problem than bullet drop for most hunters shooting at distance. A 10 mph crosswind can push a .308 bullet 9-10 inches at 300 yards and nearly 17 inches at 400 — far more than most hunters account for. The same 10 mph wind moves a 6.5 Creedmoor 140-grain only about 7 inches at 300 yards, which is one of the reasons high-BC bullets are genuinely better for field hunting in variable conditions. The practical advice: if you cannot accurately estimate wind speed and direction, keep your shots inside the range where a full-value crosswind would still keep your bullet in the vital zone. A 6-inch vital zone with 5-7 inches of wind drift at 300 yards is not a shot most hunters should take.
Yes — higher altitude means thinner air, which means less drag. Bullets retain velocity better at elevation, arriving at the target sooner and dropping less. At 5,000 feet above sea level you might see 5-8% less drop at 400 yards compared to sea level, and at 10,000 feet (elk country in the Rockies) the difference can approach 10-15% for a long poke. This calculator uses sea-level conditions. If you are hunting elk or mule deer in high country, your real-world drop will be somewhat less than what you see here — meaning you need to confirm your zero and drop data at elevation before the hunt. A quick afternoon at a high-altitude range the day before opening day beats trying to figure it out on a trophy animal.
The 6.5 Creedmoor has earned its reputation for a reason: the 140-grain at BC 0.530 drops roughly 13 inches at 300 yards with a 200-yard zero, is mild to shoot, and is accurate from budget-friendly rifles. The .300 Win Mag and 7mm Rem Mag push heavier bullets faster, which helps at 400+ yards in wind, but the recoil is significant and the practical advantage over the Creedmoor inside 400 yards is modest. The .270 Win with a 130-grain load is an underrated flat shooter — similar trajectory to the Creedmoor with more energy at extended range. The .308 Win remains the gold standard for all-around hunting inside 300 yards: slightly more drop than the Creedmoor at long range, but excellent terminal performance and the widest selection of hunting ammunition in existence. Check our Deer Antler Score Calculator once your harvest is on the ground, and use our Wild Game Aging Calculator to time your hang for the best table quality.