Best bdc turret

[sodwyer]

I shoot a 300 win with a VXIII 6.5x20x50 and I am pretty close to haveing my load dialed. thinking about a custom turret anyone have experince with kenton industries turrets or sould a guy stick with leupold custom shop ?

 

[LouBoyd]

I find it difficult to understand why anyone would want a scope with Ballistic Drop Compensation (BDC) knobs, whether they're custom or not. They can only be correct for one rfile, one load, and one atmospheric condition. Everything is is approximate. BDC knobs don't help in determining range or wind. You still have to twiddle the knobs for each change in distance and wind.

I can understand using a custom BDC reticle so you don't have to change knob settings. Or you can use a "factory" BDC reticle and adjust your loads to match the reticle. The Zeiss Z system attempts to match one reticle to many cartridges using variable magnification which sort of works. You still have to measure, estimate, or guess the range and wind velocity but doesn't require frequent references to a lookup card or calculator.

My favorite system is a mil grid reticle such as used by Horus Optics. It does require a lookup table or calculator for drop and wind deflection, but it is accurate for any rifle/cartridge/atmosphere and doesn't require knob twiddling other than zeroing it.

I can't offer advise on currently available BDC Turrets. The only BDC turret I've used which I thought was reasonable was on a Leatherwood Vietnam era scope. It was calibrated in yards but the associated drop was adjustable with a flexible cam and set screws. At least it could be set to match a rifle/cartidge/atmosphere (within it's limits) but it took some effort to adjust the settings correctly. It still required knob twiddling for each shot.

 

[Len Backus]

anyone have experince with kenton industries turrets

I do. I highly recommend them.

And on the matter LouBoyd brought up, it is VERY easy to make minor adjustments with a custom BDC set up for one set of conditions when yo are using a rifle with a different load and different conditions.. In fact, I shot a coyote at 300 yards out in WY 3 days ago. The screen print below shows the BDC parameters (243) and my actual load and conditions on the hunt (6.5-284). The white backgrounded numbers are in MOA.

There are 2 ways you can compensate. One is to have a cheat sheet for adding or subtracting so many clicks at different ranges. The 2nd is to simply zero the rifle at a different range than the BDC assumes. You can also do a hybrid combination of the 2 methods.

My brain is dead from driving 12 hours straight through today to get back. So if necessary maybe a fresher brain among you can take my example further -- or point out my errors and correct them.

I will be using this rifle and load with the 243 turret next month out there for deer hunting. I will be comfortable taking an 800 yd shot using the concept. Again, brain dead, so maybe my actual sighting range, etc, isn't correct.

 

[Bravo 4]

I find it difficult to understand why anyone would want a scope with Ballistic Drop Compensation (BDC) knobs, whether they're custom or not. They can only be correct for one rfile, one load, and one atmospheric condition. Everything is is approximate. BDC knobs don't help in determining range or wind. You still have to twiddle the knobs for each change in distance and wind.

This is just one man's opinion (and he is totally entitled) about one method of accomplishing an end result. But, don't let it deter you from using this method if that's the method you wish to use. The Leupold M3 scopes we have on our M24SWS utilizes a BDC turret and I have never felt like it was a hindrance. It is just a number on a turret to reference off of. Ours are generic and not even for the load we use but it works! You just need to try to shoot it for the conditions you plan on hunting in…and keep good records.

Example: The BDC for the M3 is actually for the 168gr M852 round, however the Army uses the 175gr M118LR. The turret is calibrated in meters but the ranges on Camp are in yards. Plus it isn't made for that particular rifle's muzzle velocity. So you have to take good notes. With all that said the turrets are usually within one or two "clicks" (which are 1 MOA on this scope) from the number on the turret. You just have to write down something like 3+1 for a 300yard shot, or 6-1 for a 600yard shot. The point is this: use what you want, but just know how to use it -whether it's dialing turrets with MOA/MIL adjustments, using a BDC turret, using a reticle for hold overs/ hold off, or a combo…and guys are always gonna voice their opinions or argue because they think their way is better.