std7mag
Well-Known Member
G- All of the above.
Depends upon the situation.
Depends upon the situation.
At long range do you dial, BDC turret, graduated reticle, holdover, etc?
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yobuck
Well-Known Member
Back in the day, there were very few choices.
And back in the day means as recent as about the mid 80s.
Back then, most of the now popular scopes didnt even exist.
Or in some cases they were far different scopes, not capable of dialing.
Target knobs on Leupolds didnt happen untill about the mid 80s for example.
And even with a hot cartridge like a 7x300 Weatherby running a 162 gr Hornady at 3400 or more you would find yourself out of clicks at about 1000 or so yards. I mean the dial still turned but nothing was happening with the reticle.
Mind you now, the great scopes mounts of today didnt exist either, so beverage can shims under the rear base were common. And frankly some still exist today.
Another option was to send your standard Leupold to Dick Thomas at Premier reticles and have him install a series of dots programed for your load.
When the dials came into play Dick would sell you a new Leupold scope with dials and install the custom reticle as well.
And yes, you could hold your 1000 yd dot and then dial from that, same as you did from the 100 yard dot if you chose to.
Which of coarse gave you lots more elevation adjustment.
The dots themselves were very accurate, even without dialing.
When i was a mere 70 years old, 3 of us were sitting on a steep hillside looking across a wide valley in the most northern part of Clinton co Pa. where it meets Cameron co.
I found a bear running hard straight up the oppose hillside.
The other 2 guys were never able to find it in their tripod mounted glasses, because it was moving so fast.
Anyway i got off my glasses and my son moved right onto them. His I P D is same as mine, so he was on him right away.
I got onto my gun which was sitting on a portable bench we carried in to the spot.
I found the bear in the 3.5x10 Leupold with the dot setup but no dials.
We keep a book with us with ranges on various objects like big rocks and such of most of the locations we hunt.
My son had the book in his hand, when the bear finally stopped running about 3/4s the way to the top i was on him, and shouted to my son ( how far ).
He said 7 to 750 is about as close as i can tell you.
I held the 700 yd dot on top of his back and sent one over there. The bear dropped instantly, but in a few seconds got back up and tried to go uphill. After a few feet he turned and went across the hill to our left, and i said he is hurt bad or he wouldnt have done that.
He stopped again after just going a few yards and i sent another which just missed him. Then he turned and started downhill, which was another indicator of him being hurt bad.
He stopped again and i dropped him again for good on the third shot. He was done, and didnt even move after that.
So was it luck? Yes it was luck, the biggest part being that i saw it to begin with. Preparation, and knowing your equipment and how to use it isnt luck however.
The gun is a 7x300 Weatherby built by the late Howard Wolfe on a 700 action with a 27" recycled 40x Rem barrel on it and weighing about 10 pounds. The same scope is still on the gun today, 17 years later. But sadly, i can no longer crawl up to many of those old places to use it.
Thank the lord for what we have, especially the old memories.
And back in the day means as recent as about the mid 80s.
Back then, most of the now popular scopes didnt even exist.
Or in some cases they were far different scopes, not capable of dialing.
Target knobs on Leupolds didnt happen untill about the mid 80s for example.
And even with a hot cartridge like a 7x300 Weatherby running a 162 gr Hornady at 3400 or more you would find yourself out of clicks at about 1000 or so yards. I mean the dial still turned but nothing was happening with the reticle.
Mind you now, the great scopes mounts of today didnt exist either, so beverage can shims under the rear base were common. And frankly some still exist today.
Another option was to send your standard Leupold to Dick Thomas at Premier reticles and have him install a series of dots programed for your load.
When the dials came into play Dick would sell you a new Leupold scope with dials and install the custom reticle as well.
And yes, you could hold your 1000 yd dot and then dial from that, same as you did from the 100 yard dot if you chose to.
Which of coarse gave you lots more elevation adjustment.
The dots themselves were very accurate, even without dialing.
When i was a mere 70 years old, 3 of us were sitting on a steep hillside looking across a wide valley in the most northern part of Clinton co Pa. where it meets Cameron co.
I found a bear running hard straight up the oppose hillside.
The other 2 guys were never able to find it in their tripod mounted glasses, because it was moving so fast.
Anyway i got off my glasses and my son moved right onto them. His I P D is same as mine, so he was on him right away.
I got onto my gun which was sitting on a portable bench we carried in to the spot.
I found the bear in the 3.5x10 Leupold with the dot setup but no dials.
We keep a book with us with ranges on various objects like big rocks and such of most of the locations we hunt.
My son had the book in his hand, when the bear finally stopped running about 3/4s the way to the top i was on him, and shouted to my son ( how far ).
He said 7 to 750 is about as close as i can tell you.
I held the 700 yd dot on top of his back and sent one over there. The bear dropped instantly, but in a few seconds got back up and tried to go uphill. After a few feet he turned and went across the hill to our left, and i said he is hurt bad or he wouldnt have done that.
He stopped again after just going a few yards and i sent another which just missed him. Then he turned and started downhill, which was another indicator of him being hurt bad.
He stopped again and i dropped him again for good on the third shot. He was done, and didnt even move after that.
So was it luck? Yes it was luck, the biggest part being that i saw it to begin with. Preparation, and knowing your equipment and how to use it isnt luck however.
The gun is a 7x300 Weatherby built by the late Howard Wolfe on a 700 action with a 27" recycled 40x Rem barrel on it and weighing about 10 pounds. The same scope is still on the gun today, 17 years later. But sadly, i can no longer crawl up to many of those old places to use it.
Thank the lord for what we have, especially the old memories.
Elkfitness
Member
The goal is dial this year. Have used hash marks to this point, but want to dial a bit now.
With my custom 7-08 and my 45 cal paramount pro muzzleloader each running nightforce glass .The goal is to use the dials this year .Once I get a temp stable load for the 7-08. The 280ai that's in the works will run a tangent scope .The same applies its going to be a dial for yardage gun.
yobuck
Well-Known Member
Just be prepared to do whatever it takes when long range hunting.
Time for can be a big factor that many never consider before hand.
A hot doe can take a buck off the hillside in a few minits for example.
Sometimes you just have to create your own luck.
And you wont be reading about how to do that.
Time for can be a big factor that many never consider before hand.
A hot doe can take a buck off the hillside in a few minits for example.
Sometimes you just have to create your own luck.
And you wont be reading about how to do that.
BR4 Rangefinder, click, dial and dead.
yobuck
Well-Known Member
Im told that there is an even better one called the (cha click).
Its meant to be used while standing on very steep uneven terrain, allowing for one hand use while hanging onto a tree with the other hand.
When you hear the (cha click) you know youve got everything you need for dialing the one shot kill.
Better hurry, there selling out fast. lol
Works with crossbows also
Hold over on shots when multiple targets are at various ranges at once. - Prairie dogs
Graduated reticle when a quick shot is needed - coyotes
Dial in when I'm on fixed targets or slow moving ones.
Pass on shots I'm not confident in clean kills on game.
Graduated reticle when a quick shot is needed - coyotes
Dial in when I'm on fixed targets or slow moving ones.
Pass on shots I'm not confident in clean kills on game.
Friend has big farm we hunt at least twice a week during deer season. Mega power line cut about 75 yards wide and we can see over a thousand yards in one direction. Another smaller power line cut running diagonally. Lots of deer. We set in a old dodge pickup with the windows rolled down. Its legal! But he said Bill there a huge buck across the creek and ranged him at 802. I'm hunting with my CA Ridgeline in 7-08 120 Hammer Hunter 3140 fsp. I said I'm out of gas at that distance. He informed me that it wasn't about to surrender and we can get Daisy the Bassett hound if needed. So I got out and dropped the bipod legs used my coat as rear bag dialed to 800 , he's spotting for me. When the trigger broke I thought I can't shoot any better! Dan picked up the hammer in flight at about three hundred and later said I was watching it right to the buck. Bullet went about eight inches in front of his chest. I saw it impact into the ground. Buck was on a fairly steep slope. Wind was left to right just enough to make the broom sage move. Maybe 2 mph, He jumped and ran about ten yards and stopped but was facing me now. He went back to chasing the does ,one of which we hadn't seen. And that was that. I now have a bubble on the scope. We had shot steel at the Talladega CMP park and I was confident in the gun. Don't know if rifle cant or wind got me. That's the longest shot I've ever tried on a game animal. My longest kill shot prior was 485 using the same rifle. Not a lot of places in Alabama to get shots on deer at that distance.
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yobuck
Well-Known Member
My question for you would be, do you test your loads and zero your rifles while shooting from a bipod while laying on the ground?
Think about the question, and then think about the shot.
A power line is a great place to set up and glass for deer, especially with your glasses on a tripod.
And a great place to shoot the same way you do when testing loads.
Level the portable bench side to side with a small level when you set it up, and dont worry about the scope being level.
If you can drive to the location, the bench wont be heavy to carry.
Be thinking about that shot, and you will know what you need to do to make it next time.
Consider that first shot as having been a sighter shot.
He gave you an opportunity for a kill shot and you passed on it.
WHY?
You know why, and it has nothing to do with a scope level.
Yep, shooting off pod and bags. Deer was facing me down hill. I'd just missed a broad side shot. Before I could do much more than look at him in the scope he's chasing does again and the three of them are in the pine thicket. I was shooting off of a uneven surface, but bipod swivels so I'd gotten it as straight as I could. That's why I have a bubble level on it now. I'm just a slow learner I guess. Like I said, not many really long shot opportunities in Bama land.its thick and thicker. our usual shots are under five hundred, mostly under three hundred. Every couple of years a big crop field is planted in something that's harvested early, corn soybeans. But cotton doesn't get bush hogged until late winter most times. Almost impossible to hunt cotton fields that are still standing with the stalks. That is the only place we can really stretch out a shot and watch out for hit signs. Dan killed one at 775 there three years ago. I'm hoping corn is planted this year.
