Do I need a canted base?

[Krumfola]

I've got an SWFA 6x42 headed my way and I need to get a picatinny base. According to the specs plus everything I've read on the scope, it seems there is an plenty of elevation adjustment in the scope, something around 100 MOA.

My question is, how far can I get WITHOUT a canted base? I'm shooting a 168gr match bullet at 2700fps in 308 Win. It seems like even with a 100 yard zero, this scope has enough elevation adjustment to take me out to 1000 yards.

 

[Mikecr]

It's gonna take ~40moa from your zero, which is close, depends on where your zero puts the crosshair. But you can't hit anything with a 6x scope at 1kyd anyway.

 

[JackinSD]

Do you "need" it? No. If you haven't used a ballistics calculator you may want to start using one. Like the one in the banner of each page on this site. Realize that if your scope were to zero at the exact center of your adjustments, it would leave you 50 moa up and down.

Depending on your intentions, a 6x may or may not be enough scope for your purposes. You will probably find that by the time you work yourself out to a 1000 yards you may wish you had more magnification.

But to say, "But you can't hit anything with a 6x scope at 1kyd anyway." is very dependent on the person.

 

[Krumfola]

Thanks for the info, it's much appreciated.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Find out how many moa up you are to your 100 yard Zero. I have shot alot of 1000 yards with my 6.5-20x40 Leupold on 10 power successfully. I opt for more magnification these days, eyes are getting old. If you choose to use this 6 power for 1000 yards you should have enough travel without a moa base.

 

[Reformed Yankee]

It's also going to depend on your ballistics of your bullet. Some bullets will drop significantly further than others at 1k yards, meaning you will need to compensate more for that. You really need to see how much upward travel you have from your 0, and then plug your info into a ballistics calculator and see if it can do it.

Good luck.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I ran a 168 SMK at 2700 fps on JBM. With a 100 yard Zero it will take 40.9 MOA to go to 1000 Yards. The 168 dips below 1.2 Mach around 760 yards.

 

[Krumfola]

I ran the numbers too and got similar results.

Initially I had planned on running a fixed 10x but after getting it in hand I soon realized it wasn't the best choice. Just didn't let in enough light at dawn/dusk.

The 6x lets in much more light and I'm pretty comfortable with it out to 500 yards. I probably wouldn't take a chance on an animal beyond that range.

 

[Mikecr]

The 6x lets in much more light and I'm pretty comfortable with it out to 500 yards. I probably wouldn't take a chance on an animal beyond that range.

Now see that's smarter. And I didn't mean to imply anything about your shooting abilities.
I notice a lot of folks throwing in the dreamboat 1Kyd goals, but you gotta know MOST shooters can't take game with single shots in field hunting trim at 1Kyd. Way fewer still with 6x scopes.

I personally assign more credit to those with higher kill percentages per shot, than those going for the glory regardless. There is more to long range hunting than long shots.

 

[Dgd6mm]

I believe Krumfola was curious about the scope having enough adjustment to go to 1000 yards. I did not read anything about killing game that far. Or did I miss something? Magnification and Objective lens size work together for the amount of light that is transmitted thru the scope.