Ballistic turrets for me?

[edodd]

I'm new to the idea of ballistic matched turrets. I have a few questions I live in California and I hunt the coastal range where the elevation can be up to 1500 and the tempature can range from 70 to 110 degrees. I sometime hunt in the Sierra Nevada mountains where the elevation can be up to 10000 feet and temperatures range from 20-60 degrees F. My questions are:
1) What will the differences be in using a turret made for the coastal mountains(1500ft @ 70-110degrees) in the Sierra Nevadas(10,000ft @ 20-60 degrees)?
2) Is it worth it to get a ballistic matches turret in my situation?
3) If I do get one what information should I use for the turret? As in elevation, temperature etc...
Thank you so much.

 

[WildRose]

If your elevation varies by more than 3,000-4,000ft at long range it can make several inches difference in POI shift.

Depending on what powders you are using that much difference in temperatures can make quite a difference in addition to that.

To see exactly how much difference you'd need to run all your information through a ballistics calculator.

You'd be much better off plugging your data for the different elevations and temps into a ballistic calculator and printing off different drop charts for them if you want a shortcut.

If you want to be as accurate as possible then you need to carry a ballistic calculator with you in the field. There are downloadable apps for your phone or you can pick up a dedicated PDA for that purpose.

 

[KYpatriot]

I think WR nailed it. Just get a mil or moa reticle and use a ballistic app. Then your turrets will always be correct. With the differences in density altitude you will be experiencing personally I think your matched turrets will be useless. There really aren't any shortcuts to this discipline if you want to reliably make good hits. I think you owe it to yourself and the animal to be as precise as possible and the matched turrets just ain't it.

 

[Lone Hunter]

The matched turrets are nice if you hunt the same area. The ones I have are spot on. If I was going to hunt different elevations and temps I would do what WR and KYpatriot said. Get the apps for your phone or a dedicated PDA. Then print off charts to tape to your stock. If you are going to be out of cell range then to me the PDA is the way to go. As KYpatriot also said match your reticle, mil/mil or moa/moa and the turrets will be good.

 

[cohunter14]

These guys are spot on. Your only other real option is to create two turrets, one for each location, and use the 'average' elevation and temp you expect at each. Then carry a card with you that shows the adjustments needed. For example, at a change of 10 degrees in temperature, you need one less click at 700 yards, two less clicks at 900, etc. At a change of 20 degree change you need..... You would have to figure this out using a ballistic calc, but it is the only real way you can use those turrets and make sure they will work for all circumstances.

 

[Lone Hunter]

edodd, One thing you can do to check and see how much difference there will be between elevations and temps that will help you decide is to download JBM Ballistic Calculator to your PC or laptop. It's free and pretty accurate. You can then see what difference there will be in your different areas and hopefully it will help you make a decision. If you have a smartphone,there are several apps that are very accurate and cheap. I use Shooter and am pleased with it. There are other apps just as good or better. Good Luck to You.

 

[KYpatriot]

I like Shooter as well, if I didn't have an iPhone i would use Applied Ballistics.

 

[Browninglover1]

For $50 you can get 8 custom labels (4 for each elevation setting) and just use the appropriate label at the right location. Depending on what scope you have you can often get turrets from the manufacturer for under $30. That means for under $80 you could have two custom turrets and just swap out whatever turret you need before the hunt. While I don't use their labels for BDC turrets I do use them to count the 2nd and 3rd revolution of my turret and love them. They're a no brainer for someone interested in customizing turrets without locking themselves into a permanently etched turret.


Custom Turret Systems Review

 

[WillHunt]

To give myself some perspective on this topic, I ran a chart for my 7mm load at 150' elevation, 85 degrees F, 85% humidity (my home conditions in SC during early fall) and compared it to 5000' elevation, 41 degrees, 50% humidity (my stab at average pronghorn hunting conditions).

At 500 yards, the difference looks to be about 1 inch in drop. At 1000 yards, the difference is more like 15 inches.

Obviously this is a long range hunting forum, and that's what most of you do, but for an average-range hunter like myself, it looks like I could go with a ballistic turret and be just fine no matter where I hunt as long as I limit the distances to 500 or so, unless I figured something wrong.

 

[mrb1982]

Pretty much everybody here nailed it. I hunt elevations from 1200-10000, and temps from 0-75 degrees, depending on season and area. I decided I didn't want to have a number of different turrets made, nor stickers made and have to switch them all the time. Just my personal preference.

I just have a Leupold with MOA turrets. I zero it at 200yds with whatever the specific conditions are that day. Then my Shooter app compensates all other conditions after I change them. Works good for me.

If I were to do anything different, I would have an MOA reticle installed like already stated. Works pretty good. I know there are a lot of good scopes out there, and I would darn near donate a kidney for a Nightforce, but this will work for now I guess.

 

[7magcreedmoor]

You always have to make adjustments for different environmental conditions. No one has yet mentioned the "Nuclear Option": a Gunwerks G7 BR2 ballistic rangefinder. If you shoot MOA turrets, no problem. If you shoot BDC turrets, no problem. Got mine this season. Love it.

 

[edodd]

Oh boy! This information is really helpful! I'll get to researching and give a follow up with what I experience.

 

[Lone Hunter]

You always have to make adjustments for different environmental conditions. No one has yet mentioned the "Nuclear Option": a Gunwerks G7 BR2 ballistic rangefinder. If you shoot MOA turrets, no problem. If you shoot BDC turrets, no problem. Got mine this season. Love it.

7mag, wished you not have brought that up. I want one so bad I can taste it. That is one on the bucket list for now..

 

[Greyfox]

My preferred approach for hunting is to use a yardage turret that has both the yardage scale which is calibrated with my most frequent hunting areas conditions, and, an MOA scale inscribed at the bottom of the same turret. Custom Turret supplies this design in tape format. The yardage turret can be used to full advantage at my common hunting location, or, for fast work under 500 yards at all my locations. Variations in elevation and temperature have little influence on POI out to this range with deer sized and larger game using my high velocity/BC loads. The MOA scale is used for longer range shots requiring more precise inputs.