30-338
Well-Known Member
scope considerations
Alot of good advice already given!
300 WinMag is indeed long range capable and you are right to investigate the proper scope. My first thought is if you get the Lupy VX3 4.5 x 14 x 40 you might want to consider getting the 50 mm obj. lens. On 14 power with the 40 mm objective lens you will only get 2.85 mm light as an exit pupil...a little more light I personally like to have.the 50 mm scope has approx.3.5mm exit pupil. I, too would go with the 30mm tube for the extra minutes of adjustment and the adjustable knobs. Another consideration is that you really can shoot 1000yards with a 10x maximum scope..I have done it repeatedly with a 300 RUM and a 30-338. Last time we went hunting we set up at 1000 yard a 2 ft x 3 ft. steel plates ... I have a Zeiss 6.5 x 20 x 50 and my first hits were done on the lowest power...albeit it IS much easier to do it with higher magnification..( this was done with a .338 Lapua using 300 gr. Sierra HPBT at 2750 FPS)...but I got as many hits with my 30-338 using 210 Bergers at 2875 FPS and it had a 2.5 x 10 x 44 Scope with the Holland reticle...There are several ways to address the turret vs. reticle issue. One is the Holland reticle which has MOA dots on the lower verticle stadia and you can dial the necessary minutes using the elevation turret on any power. Or , if you are on 10 power you can use a combination of the reticle and the turrets...it must be on the highest power to do this because the scope is 2nd focal plane. Another method we have investigated is the custom BDC knob available from a company in SoCal...I had one made and I can't remember the name now, but they are only good for one bullet, one speed and one elevation range...Leupold will also do this on their scopes. One recent example...I was a lasered 435 yards away from a little hog and I had made a MOA chart which told me I needed 4.5 MOA with that load and that zero...I dialed 1.5 MOA and held on the 3MOA dot and got her right through the heart.( this is the beauty of this reticle)..When you get to truly long ranges and say you are shooting a .308 with a 175 HPBT at 2600 FPS with a 100 yard zero at 1000 yards you will need about 39.5 MOA and that is a lot of knob cranking! As was said Nightforce is a tremendous scope with VERY accurate adjustments and worth the price..but if you get the Lupy I would get the 50mm obj lens, the 30mm tube for the knobs and the extra MOA..or you can have Holland put his reticle in your Leupold scope...he also has them in the Schmidt Bender...Just my .02 worth 30-338
Guys, I'm very very new to the concept of Long Range Shooting and need some advice. I have a 300 Win being restocked and accurized and I need to decide on a scope for this. I have been set all along on getting a VX-III in 4.5X14X40 (1-inch tube) with the BC reticle to keep it lightweight and simple. But the more I read on this site, everyone seems to be using turret adjustments rather than relying on the range compensating reticle. I have lately thought about getting this same scope but in the long range model, with the 30 mm tube so I could at least add adjustable turrets to it later as my experience grows. My initial thought with this was to have a 500 yard rifle, which I think either of these scopes would handle, but it seems most people outgrow this in time. I really need some good solid advice on this.
Alot of good advice already given!
300 WinMag is indeed long range capable and you are right to investigate the proper scope. My first thought is if you get the Lupy VX3 4.5 x 14 x 40 you might want to consider getting the 50 mm obj. lens. On 14 power with the 40 mm objective lens you will only get 2.85 mm light as an exit pupil...a little more light I personally like to have.the 50 mm scope has approx.3.5mm exit pupil. I, too would go with the 30mm tube for the extra minutes of adjustment and the adjustable knobs. Another consideration is that you really can shoot 1000yards with a 10x maximum scope..I have done it repeatedly with a 300 RUM and a 30-338. Last time we went hunting we set up at 1000 yard a 2 ft x 3 ft. steel plates ... I have a Zeiss 6.5 x 20 x 50 and my first hits were done on the lowest power...albeit it IS much easier to do it with higher magnification..( this was done with a .338 Lapua using 300 gr. Sierra HPBT at 2750 FPS)...but I got as many hits with my 30-338 using 210 Bergers at 2875 FPS and it had a 2.5 x 10 x 44 Scope with the Holland reticle...There are several ways to address the turret vs. reticle issue. One is the Holland reticle which has MOA dots on the lower verticle stadia and you can dial the necessary minutes using the elevation turret on any power. Or , if you are on 10 power you can use a combination of the reticle and the turrets...it must be on the highest power to do this because the scope is 2nd focal plane. Another method we have investigated is the custom BDC knob available from a company in SoCal...I had one made and I can't remember the name now, but they are only good for one bullet, one speed and one elevation range...Leupold will also do this on their scopes. One recent example...I was a lasered 435 yards away from a little hog and I had made a MOA chart which told me I needed 4.5 MOA with that load and that zero...I dialed 1.5 MOA and held on the 3MOA dot and got her right through the heart.( this is the beauty of this reticle)..When you get to truly long ranges and say you are shooting a .308 with a 175 HPBT at 2600 FPS with a 100 yard zero at 1000 yards you will need about 39.5 MOA and that is a lot of knob cranking! As was said Nightforce is a tremendous scope with VERY accurate adjustments and worth the price..but if you get the Lupy I would get the 50mm obj lens, the 30mm tube for the knobs and the extra MOA..or you can have Holland put his reticle in your Leupold scope...he also has them in the Schmidt Bender...Just my .02 worth 30-338
