Choosing an average elevation for my Leupold CDS

[Jeffpg]

Ok guys, I have a new Leupold CDS scope on my Remington Model 700 LSS 300RUM and now must choose an average elevation for the ballistic input to customize the dial for my load.

Like most of us, I hunt whereever for whatever, putting in lots of apps for multiple species all over the west. Most of my hunting will be done at anywhere from 5000' to 10,000'. Sometimes a bit higher or lower, but not much outside of that range.

My Leupold Rep tells me that the chosen elevation will pretty much hold true to +or- 2000 feet. In other words, if I go with 7500', I'll be good from 5500' to 9500', more or less. Of course, the difference will show up mostly at longer ranges, with lower elevation shots falling low and higher elevation shots being a bit high. I haven't done my homework yet to see just how much of a difference it will make, but I intend to. I am thinking that the effect will be minimal until the range becomes extended, but good ballistics charts should get me on track. I'm betting some of you guys have that info down pat.

I'm going to shoot a 180 grain Swift Scirocco with a BC of .500 at 3250 fps with a 300 yd zero.

 

[morpheus32]

Having just done this myself, you have two basic choices. The first, is to set up the CDS dial to reflect on altitude setting and through either shooting the dope or using a ballistic calculator, you figure out your corrections based on altitude changes. The difference might be so minimal that you don't have to be concerned. The other options is to have the CDS turret set up in .25 MOA and you compute your data for that situation then using tape, mark off the range. I have done both, and they are equally effective with practice and preparations. I would not worry about getting it perfect. If you have the time to set up for a long shot, you have time to confirm your dope for the shot.

For my 257 Weatherby, I had the turret set up for the factory ammo that I was mimicing with my handloads. I found out to 600m it is close enough given changes in environmental conditions and I rarely had to concern myself with corrections particularly at 400m or less. As I would not use this cartridge for beyond 600 given my other rifles, it worked out fine.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

Same question here. http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/choosing-average-elevation-my-leupold-cds-64761/