which leupold scope?

[tlbrooks]

I recentally had a custom 260 Rem built on my old 700ADL action. Fully blue printed with a 25" #4 Shilen SS Select Match, 1-8" twist barrel screwed on. Neil Jones did a rework on my trigger and set it at just over 2 lbs. (Mr. Jones does VERY nice work at a reasonable price) Everything bedded in a B&C Medalist stock. I want to use it for 500-600 yard coyotes, deer and pronghorns. i own two leupold VXIII's 30mm side focus scopes. One is a 4.5-14 x 40 and the other is a 6.5-20 x 40. I want to use Leupold's custom turret system. Which would be considered a more all around scope? Also, both scopes have the varmint reticle, good or bad? Can the custom turrets be easily moved from one scope to another? Would I go with the custom elevation turrets only or do I need custom windage turrets too? Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

 

[WildRose]

I recentally had a custom 260 Rem built on my old 700ADL action. Fully blue printed with a 25" #4 Shilen SS Select Match, 1-8" twist barrel screwed on. Neil Jones did a rework on my trigger and set it at just over 2 lbs. (Mr. Jones does VERY nice work at a reasonable price) Everything bedded in a B&C Medalist stock. I want to use it for 500-600 yard coyotes, deer and pronghorns. i own two leupold VXIII's 30mm side focus scopes. One is a 4.5-14 x 40 and the other is a 6.5-20 x 40. I want to use Leupold's custom turret system. Which would be considered a more all around scope? Also, both scopes have the varmint reticle, good or bad? Can the custom turrets be easily moved from one scope to another? Would I go with the custom elevation turrets only or do I need custom windage turrets too? Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

Both are good quality scopes but if it were me I'd sell one of them and move up to the 6-20x50. The extra time the 50mm obj gives you early and late can really make the difference especially on a cloudy day where light is slow coming in the morning and lost rapidly in the evening.

Custom elevation turrets work very well as long as you don't change loads or change elevation by more than about 3,000ft.

I see no utility in a custom windage turret as long as you have MOA turrets to begin with.

Just dial up the appropriate MOA for the range and wind as your ballistic calculator or range card dictates and let'r rip.

 

[davewitt]

Are those scopes bottlecap models? You can put a stoney point 1/4 moa knob on it midway part#899-510 or send it(6.5-20) to Leupold and have a target turret installed and a custom dial to match your load,I think mine cost me $140.00. Hope this helps. Dave

 

[Timber338]

You can put a stoney point 1/4 moa knob on it midway part#899-510 ... Hope this helps. Dave

I installed these exact stoney point 1/4 moa knobs onto my leupold 6.5-20 that I have on top of my 22-250.

They do have a tiny bit of backlash due to way the stoney point turret contacts the coin slot of the scope... there has to be some clearance to allow the spindle to engage inside of the slot... so I placed a very small dab of epoxy to the spindle where it contacts the coin-slot of the scope dial. Now it works perfect, zero backlash. Overall I am happy with them.

 

[winmag]

4.5-14. You live in Auburn Wa. So let's say for one reason or another you can't make it to the good side to hunt, & you have to go near where you live..... Clearcuts are about the only place where you can even come close to taking advantage of 4.5-14 let alone a 6-20 power. Warehauser, or Plumcreek, is your only shot.

I live, & hunt in central, & eastern Oregon, & also hunt Idaho. I'm in everything from timber to sagebrush on a daily basis, & I personally wouldn't put a scope on a hunting rifle that started any higher than 4.5.
The 6 power & up, is just way too much for brush or dark timber imo.
Now if it was strictly a dedicated LR ONLY rifle, or comp rifle then ya use the bigger one. But for coyotes & deer out to only 5-600 4.5-14 all the way.

I own two VX-III, 4.5-14x40 A/O's (1 Tactical pre mark 4, & one regular), & one VX-III, 3.5-10. The 14's both have varmint hunter duplex, & the tac has turrets as well, & the 10 has the B&C.
I also have a Burris 4.5-14x42 A/O, B-Plex.
I have yet to use a 6-20 power on anything for hunting. There nice for really stretching it out there, but not nesicary or practical for even my LR rifles for my style of hunting. May e your style is different. I dunno.
I lived in Enumclaw, for a while, & hated it, cause there's just no room to do anything, let alone shoot LR. The ravensdale gunclub is a joke, & you can't shoot at mud mountain dam anymore. Wheeler sold thier gravel pit out by Black Diamond, Greenwater is too thick with brush etc. Pierce county isn't any better. Where do you go to practice?

 

[Rem700]

I recentally had a custom 260 Rem built on my old 700ADL action. Fully blue printed with a 25" #4 Shilen SS Select Match, 1-8" twist barrel screwed on. Neil Jones did a rework on my trigger and set it at just over 2 lbs. (Mr. Jones does VERY nice work at a reasonable price) Everything bedded in a B&C Medalist stock. I want to use it for 500-600 yard coyotes, deer and pronghorns. i own two leupold VXIII's 30mm side focus scopes. One is a 4.5-14 x 40 and the other is a 6.5-20 x 40. I want to use Leupold's custom turret system. Which would be considered a more all around scope? Also, both scopes have the varmint reticle, good or bad? Can the custom turrets be easily moved from one scope to another? Would I go with the custom elevation turrets only or do I need custom windage turrets too? Thanks for any suggestions.

Tom

I like a higher power scope than some guys would use but i go by the mantra of, it's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. I use a 5.5 x 20 scope on my 280ai and some of my shots are around 100yds but if i hunt at work i can shoot 800 yds. And given that you'll be shooting yote at those distances, the 20x would be nice to have.

IMO, If you are going to you to use the turrets for elevation and windage, i wouldn't waste your money on those reticles unless it was mil-dot. Those reticles just generic markings and based off factory ammo and rifles.

 

[Rem700]

I installed these exact stoney point 1/4 moa knobs onto my leupold 6.5-20 that I have on top of my 22-250.

They do have a tiny bit of backlash due to way the stoney point turret contacts the coin slot of the scope... there has to be some clearance to allow the spindle to engage inside of the slot... so I placed a very small dab of epoxy to the spindle where it contacts the coin-slot of the scope dial. Now it works perfect, zero backlash. Overall I am happy with them.

You should post a how-to with pics, i'd like to see how you did it!

 

[Timber338]

You should post a how-to with pics, i'd like to see how you did it!

slammed at work this week and packing to camping this weekend, but will definitely post some pics next week.

 

[Greyfox]

I have used both of the Leupolds you have described. For 500-600 yards either scope will work fine. I actually prefer the 4.5x14 and have no problem hitting coyotes at that range with this power. Because shots at deer and coyotes have to be rather quick, I prefer using the lower power which will be less sensitive to parallax adjustment. Also, reticle holds are a lot faster than turning turrets and can be very effective for the range and game you are hunting. Doing all that scope manipulation sounds nice on paper but these animals usually don't sit around while your playing with your scope. With minimal work you can determine the proper range/reticle holds with your varmint hunter reticle for both elevation and windage. I have used the Stony Point turrets on the short turret Leupolds and have had mixed success. They will certainly enable you to easily adjust your scope but you need to make sure that the adjustments within the scope are responding to turret change. These scopes were not designed with the intent of spinning turrets for every shot and I have found that some of the scopes do not accurately respond to quick and repeated changes. The scope will need to be tested if the used this way. iMHO.

 

[Timber338]

I have used the Stony Point turrets on the short turret Leupolds and have had mixed success. They will certainly enable you to easily adjust your scope but you need to make sure that the adjustments within the scope are responding to turret change. These scopes were not designed with the intent of spinning turrets for every shot and I have found that some of the scopes do not accurately respond to quick and repeated changes. The scope will need to be tested if the used this way. iMHO.

I agree with greyfox on this. My scope with the stoney point turrets is mounted on my 22-250 and I obviously do not use it to hunt big game. I have tested the scope out to 500 yards and the clicks are usually 1 moa all the way out, sometimes 1.5 moa... so definitely not nearly as repeatable as scopes that are made to click. But 1 moa at 500 yards will still kill a coyote, and mostly I am plinking for fun with this gun so the scope works for what it's used for.

Also, I have found that even when I am coyote hunting, the 20 power is just too much magnification for me anywhere within 350 yards. It is nice to look at prairie dogs far away, but other than that I prefer a smaller magnification especially on a big game rifle. For a big game rifle I would go with the 4.5-14... just my preference.

 

[winmag]

I had Leupolds Custom Shop install every one of those reticles.
You may consider them a waste of time, but I find them more than adequate on my 338win with 225gr bullets (B&C reticle), 270WSM with 140gr Accubonds at 3100, & 300WSM with 180gr Accubonds at 3100, & used to have one on my old 300wby with 180gr Accubonds at around 3100 (varmint hunter reticles) for shots out to 5-600 I don't even bother wasting time dialing. Simply range, & shoot. Read up on the different ways adjust for propper MOA & you'll see they're almost tailor made for each of those cartriges. The elevation change while out hunting at those modest ranges, changes poi so little its not worth fussing over unless you go out of state from say almost sea level Georgia to Colorado at 8k +++++. Then you'd have some issues for sure, but none that couldn't be dialed in when checking zero.
I don't bother dialing unless its 700 plus, & even dialing changes from Georgia to Colorado....
Nah, ill keep my Reticles, & Turrets. They're way too handy where I go, & for what I hunt.
But I guess some folks have different styles of hunting, and see them as a waste of $money anyway. that's ok too. My way isn't perfect for everyone

I think greyfox worded it much better than I did, but "ditto on his post".