Understanding Point Blank

Some firearm terms are so misused by the media that even better-than-average shooters can become confused by what they actually mean. “Point blank” is a prime example, having been turned into the newscaster’s mark of evil, rather than being used as what it actually is: an aimingconcept that every hunter and handloader should be familiar with as they pick their riflechamberings, develop their loads, and set their zeroes.

If one were to define the term as it is used by every reporter in America, you might employOxford’s one and only definition of point blank as “fired from very close to its target.”  This characterization is usually accompanied by the implication that the proximity between target and shooter is so close, no aiming is necessary… which is exactly the opposite of point blank.

Point blank, you see, strives to make shooting out to distance as simple as possible.

In order to understand this, let’s begin with point blank’s etymology, as it was born by French cannoneers during the late sixteenth century. De pointe en blanc referred to the test firing of a cannon with a level aim (“pointe”) at empty (“blanc”) ground to measure how far its ballwould fly without any elevation applied to the firearm. With this initial piece of information, these early cannoneers could then begin to add elevation and chart farther drops through trial and error. Hence, the early definition of point blank was purely a measure of distance. Nonetheless, many of the cannons of the period had a point-blank range of several hundred yards, with the Spanish claiming that their largest “Class 1” cannon could surpass 1700 yards when fired levelly from fortress to sea.

I don’t think that anybody would classify a one mile shot as “close to its target.”

By the mid-1800’s, the military textbook Instruction Upon the Art of Pointing Cannon further clarified point blank as “the range obtained when the line of [the barrel’s top] metal is horizontal” to the ground, but with an added notation that the muzzle of a cannon was smaller than its breech, thus forcing a slight elevation upon the mechanism. This elevation created a “trajectory in two points” that “is very small in comparison with their length; so that, practically, these two lines may be considered identical.”

This distinction thus incorporated the calculation of a projectile’s rise and fall into the definition of point blank. “Hence,” this textbook went on to clarify in italics, “the point–blank range is considered equal to the distance [of a projectile’s rise and drop] comprised between the gun and the farthest of these two points, at which the trajectory intersects the natural line of sight.”

Note that the above definition implies that only a projectile’s rise above the aiming point mattered. Today, however, most marksmen also take into consideration the few inches below the aiming point when calculating their hunting rifle’s point-blank distance.  

It’s worth mentioning that point blank mattered in these early days of cannon because eyeballing the exact range of a distant warship on the flat sea was difficult at best. And, even if the range could be properly called, inconsistencies in powder, projectile, and the guns themselves made long-distance shots as much a matter of luck as skill. That is, unless the target was known to be within a particular cannon’s point-blank zone, and then the apparatus could simply be fired directly at the target.

But this isn’t the 1500’s, now, is it? With all of our modern laser range finding whodads and ballistic drop calculating whizbangs, why should point blank matter in the modern era?

It matters because a modern hunter sometimes still needs to make a fast shot!  

A hunter wants to be prepared for when that eight-point whitetail steps out of the brush for a mere moment, and he only has time to identify two things: the edge of that clearing is known to be just under 200 yards away, and his bolt-action has a 230-yard maximum point-blank range.He’ll simply lay the crosshairs on Joe Buck’s vitals, squeeze the trigger, and enjoy his venison – because he knew his gun’s point blank.

Thus, I consider a more modern definition of a firearm’s point blank to be “an idealizedzone that designates a bullet’s path of travel based on horizontal distance as well as its vertical trajectory above and below the point of aim, sized relative to the marksman’s accepted level of accuracy, based upon the size of the target.”

Notice my addition of “based upon the size of the target.” In the cannoneer’s textbook quoted above, the goal was to “hit the hull at a given distance” of “men-of-war, of all nations,”but I am going to guess that readers of The Blue Press are aiming at a bit smaller of a bullseyethan the broadside of a warship.

As a rule of thumb, many hunters consider three inches of rise and drop relative to the aiming point to be an acceptable span, as 6” in total will encompass the vital zone of most game. That said, if you’re hoping for some squirrel soup, then a well-aimed shot that lands three inches low may leave your stomach growling, so adjust your point blank accordingly.

The distance of point blank also needs to be considered based on the ballistics of the projectile, itself, with velocity being a major player in that calculation. Velocity can be adjusted – and thus the point blank adjusted – by using your powder measure to modify the amount of powder dropped into a cartridge: more powder equals faster velocities that equal farther point blanks. To hyper-illustrate this point, please refer to the accompanying drop chart as we analyze an identical 55-grain Hornady V-Max bullet fired from two very different chamberings: .223 Remington and .220 Swift.

The .223 Remington version is moving at an impressive speed of 3200+ feet per secondand will have a maximum point blank just past 250 yards if the gun is set with a standard 200 yard zero. 

The .220 Swift, however, has a barrel scorching 500 foot per second advantage over the .223 Remington. With the same 200-yard zero, the Swift will gain a few yards of maximum point blank; however, point blank can be further adjusted by modifying the gun’s zero (i.e., its “natural line of sight”) to conform to the cartridge’s most efficient point-blank zone. A 275-yardzero will reward the hunter with a bullet apex of 2.8” at 160 yards, after which it will travel all the way out to 320 yards before dropping below three inches.

That is a nice point blank!

Which brings us back to good ol’ Oxford’s point-blank definition of “fired from very close to its target.” I think I’d like to go shooting with those Oxford lexicologists. They must be some pretty good marksmen to consider 320 yards as very close!