Scope question

hyoi5

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Joined
Mar 26, 2016
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23
Location
Warren, Mn
So my brother in law and I are doing an elk hunting trip in Colorado in October this year and I'm starting to pick out ammo and start shooting so I'm comfortable. I have my rifle zeroed at 200 yards and as I look at ballistic data for my ammo I know the bullet will drop 7.4 in at 300 yards and 21.6 in at 400 yards. I've verified my ammo still has 1500 ft lbs of force at 400 yards. I want to start practicing some shots at that range so if I'm forced to shoot that far, I'm comfortable with making it. I'm using a redfield revenge 3x9 (1/4 moa) i don't want to waste a bunch of ammo shooting at 400 yards while dialing in the scope so my question is, is it as simple as turning my dial "x" amount of clicks? I ask because 1/4 in moa is for 100 yards so at 200 yards it's 1/2 moa and so on. Can I just turn it 43 clicks ( 22.5 in at 1/2 in moa) and be close or does that number change because at 300 yards it's 3\4 in moa and at 400 yards it's 1 in moa) would that reduce how many clicks I go? I'm telling myself it's not that simple and has to be more complicated. Haha any tips or advise are appreciated!
 
I'm assuming that your ballistics data is based on your 200 yard zero. If that's true, with the 1/4 moa click elevation adjustments on the scope you'll need 29 clicks at 300 yards and 86 clicks at 400 yards. (calculated bullet drop *4)
If your Redfield has 1/4 moa turrets I don't understand how you get the 1/2 moa in there. 1/4 moa is 1/4 moa regardless of the distance.
Keep in mind that your ballistics calculator data must be validated with actual range performance. You can only use the ballistics calculator data for "rough" sighting. You will find that actual strikes on target will require that you adjust your dope sheet.
 
Couple of things:
Not all scopes are true with dial up's and and down.
Make sure springs are true.
You may must wanna practice hold over if you have BDC type scopes. You may not have time to dial up to make a shot.
You didn't mention caliber you are shooting but for most Elk calibers 200 yard zero and a 400 yard shot isn't that high of a hold over if depending on bullet, load, etc...

I run 4 apps to get me close and none of the 4 are dead on accurate with numbers. They are close. One is very close. But you are unfortunately gonna have to spend time at the range sending rounds down to know.
 
Couple of things:
Not all scopes are true with dial up's and and down.
Make sure springs are true.
You may must wanna practice hold over if you have BDC type scopes. You may not have time to dial up to make a shot.
You didn't mention caliber you are shooting but for most Elk calibers 200 yard zero and a 400 yard shot isn't that high of a hold over if depending on bullet, load, etc...

I run 4 apps to get me close and none of the 4 are dead on accurate with numbers. They are close. One is very close. But you are unfortunately gonna have to spend time at the range sending rounds down to know.

I'm using a remington 721, .270. I'm shooting 150 gr federal fusion rounds.
 
Yes, the turrets are 1/4 moa( my scope box says 1/4 moa at 100 yards). Based on that, i had googled what that meant for longer distances. I had read an article(which could have easily been wrong) that said if it was 1/4 moa at 100 yards, it doubles every 100 yards you go out. Here's what I was going off of: Minute of Angle (MOA) | National Shooting Sports Foundation

Perhaps this will help.
MOA (Minute of Angle) is 1/60th of a degree and it works out to 1" per 100 yards.
Actually, it's 1.047" but the fraction isn't worth worrying about. 1 MOA remains 1/60th of a degree, regardless of distance. Because the angle doesn't change the "MOA" remains constant and reveals itself as an increase of 1 inch for every 100 yards down range. So 1 MOA at 100 yards equals 1 inch,
1 MOA at 200 yards eqauls two inches, and 1 MOA at 1000 yards equals 10 inches. They're all "1 MOA" but their value increases as the distance increases.
When you say your rifle shots 1 MOA groups it is assumed that your group would prove to be inside of 1 inch at 100 yards and inside of 5 inches at 500 yards. A 1/4 moa adjustment on your scope at 100 yards can be expected to move the impact on target by 1/4 inch (1/4 moa). If you don't change anything else in the scope settings and fire a shot at a target 200 yards away the impact on target can be expected to move 1/2 inch (still 1/4 moa) because 1/4*2=1/2 (.25*2=.5)
 
Yes, the turrets are 1/4 moa( my scope box says 1/4 moa at 100 yards). Based on that, i had googled what that meant for longer distances. I had read an article(which could have easily been wrong) that said if it was 1/4 moa at 100 yards, it doubles every 100 yards you go out. Here's what I was going off of: Minute of Angle (MOA) | National Shooting Sports Foundation

Go to YouTube and query for "Understanding MOA". Ryan Cleckner made a video for NSSF and describes what FNW is talking about.

Good luck!
 
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