Setting Up Your Scope by Jerry Teo

[Mysticplayer]

Glad you found the article useful.

Good luck with the tests.

Jerry

 

[akafarmer]

I am just getting into long range shooting I have a tikka t3 7 mm rem mag i shoot a 150 gr and have a bushnell 6500 DOA as i use this for hunting, but with the dots for my yardage i find it very hard to get great shots on targets because of such big dots , and it becomes just a guess where to pin point target. i can hit a 12 circle at 200 but the dot covers it up. i seen some TTC turrets that is set for yardage that will fit on my scope. I would a better scope that I can have better results, cost for a scope would be ? looking to shoot out to 800 yards, or what do you suggest. thanks. canada

 

[Mysticplayer]

Conventional reticle, ballistics program, proper turrets. Dial the elevation to suit your load and distance.

If you are looking for a better scope, send me an email at [email protected]


Jerry

 

[phillietimothy]

I am just getting into long range shooting I have a tikka t3 7 mm rem mag i shoot a 150 gr and have a bushnell 6500 DOA as i use this for hunting, but with the dots for my yardage i find it very hard to get great shots on targets because of such big dots , and it becomes just a guess where to pin point target. i can hit a 12 circle at 200 but the dot covers it up. i seen some TTC turrets that is set for yardage that will fit on my scope. I would a better scope that I can have better results, cost for a scope would be ? looking to shoot out to 800 yards, or what do you suggest. thanks. canada

akafarmer,

According to Bushnell the dots subtend a MOA. On a SFP scope, the smallest subtensions will be at the highest magnification. If your dot is covering 6 MOA at 200 yards, you must be on a lower magnification. Try increasing your magnification to make the dot appear smaller at a given range. At 200 yards, the dot will cover 2" at the highest power. If the wobble is exaggerated too much at the highest magnification, back the power off until you are comfortable. Whenever possible, use a rest of some sort to mitigate the wobble; you will then be able to use higher magnification comfortably. I hope this helps. I have included a link to the Bushnell PDF. http://www.bushnell.com/downloads/catalogs/09BSH4873_2009_Catalog_Riflescopes.pdf

Tim

 

[dslauger]

Hey Jerry,
I am also shooting a .308, out of a Winchester M70. I do use it for mostly hunting but am starting to shoot some longer ranges as well. Right now I have my scope 0'ed at 100yds. A couple of friends told me it should be 0'ed at 1 1/2" high at 100yds, and I read that it should be 0'ed at 3" high at 100yds so basically out to 280yds it is a center of body hold and you're in the kill zone. What are your thoughts.

Thanks,

Slauger

 

[Mysticplayer]

No right or wrong answer. Just depends on how you want to use your rifle.

Most will zero at 100yds so their ballistics chart makes sense.

however, all ballistics program allow you to put in a different zero and will change the numbers downrange accordingly.

it's all good.

Jerry

 

[Move silent strike hard]

I am new to making scope adjustments and I do not understand the resaon for converting the drop from inches to MOA. Why cant you simply adjust the number of clicks that equals the number of inches of drop?

Are there any books that would help me to understand this?

Thank you,

Tracy

 

[Mysticplayer]

I am new to making scope adjustments and I do not understand the resaon for converting the drop from inches to MOA. Why cant you simply adjust the number of clicks that equals the number of inches of drop?

Are there any books that would help me to understand this?

Thank you,

Tracy

You are doing the same math regardless of how you think of it.

The scope adj's are usually in MOA so at some point you will have to figure out the number of clicks that you need to reach out. You will have to convert the number of inches to moa/mins so that you can figure how many clicks on your scope to adj.

Reticles can be read in MOA so there is a way to use that to account for adjustments ie you know that the distance between hash marks is 2 MOA and the bullet hits 3 hash marks off target. Dial in 6 mins and center on the target.

When dealing in inches, the values get really big and then you have to do the mental gymnastics to go back to MOA pending the distance you are shooting to.

Then you can adjust your scope.

Easier just to stay in MOA or Minutes for everything.

have a look at a ballistics program - JBM on the internet is readily available and you can see how these charts are laid out. I think you will find that working in MOA/Minutes simplifies things alot.

When you start shooting, this will all make alot more sense.

Jerry

 

[nila]

I am new to this forums........

 

[LongShotScott]

Hello Jerry,

I have done many tests with my current gun setup, but now see from your article that I skipped your dial-up steps to check for canting, and repeatability. I currently use a Carl Ziess 6.5-20 x50 with the Rapid Z1000 reticle with target turrets on my custom .300 Win Mag and have exceptional results. The only thing I think could be improved on the scope is it's total elevation MOA being 45". I really like the clear glass and fine crosshair reticle though. Thanks for the info as I will be performing these tests during one of my next practice sessions at a short range.
I have been able to maximize my scope for adjustable elevation MOA. (my zero is just a couple clicks from the bottom) so my question is, do I need a target about 25" tall (with the aim point on the bottom) to test this at a 50yd distance? Am I also right in thinking that 1/2" difference on the target is equal to a 1" MOA on my scope?

Thanks again for a great article!

 

[Mysticplayer]

You are correct - 1/2" at 50yds is essentially 1MOA (round off math but close enough for what we are doing).

If you find you do not have enough UP to reach where you want, start with a much higher 100yds ZERO.

Most of these reticles have some markings above the center which can be referenced for closer distances.

Enjoy the tests and let us know how your scope tracks.

Jerry

 

[Mikecr]

The scope adj's are usually in MOA so at some point you will have to figure out the number of clicks that you need to reach out. You will have to convert the number of inches to moa/mins so that you can figure how many clicks on your scope to adj.

No,, Scopes are GENERALIZED as adjusting/holding in increments of MOA.
But this is NEVER true until tested and proven so -locally.
By far most scopes are really Inches per Hundred Yards [IPHY], often haphazardly assumed 'close enough' to MOA, but not incremental in MOA at all.

Test adjustments. Test holdovers. Enter them correctly in ballistic software.