Need some help with my setup

[GetReel]

I have a Cooper Excalibur 52 in 6.5x284 and currently I have a Leupold VX-iii 4.5-14x40 Long Range (30mm tube)

My question is, is there a better optic option to be able to "dial" in for yardage or is this setup ok to get custom turrets from Leupold? I was gonna buy a new rifle pkg just for long range but I figure this gun is more than capable to outperform my abilities so I might as well take advantage of it and learn more with what I have first.

I'm not afraid of spending some $$ to get what I want. And what I want is to be able to range a target, dial the yardage on the turret and squeeze the trigger.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[WildRose]

You can spend literally as much as you want but your shortest route to success would be to go to the leupold custom shop and order turrets made specifically to your load.

If it's the CDS model you can get one or two custom turrets made for free.

 

[thescrawler]

I really like Burris scopes. They have their XTR ii in a 5-25x50. They are very nice. They have the zero stop capability so once you zero it you can always dial it back to zero without worrying about over shooting it. It is my next purchase for my 7 mag.... Their customer service has beat all that I have dealt with over the years.

Just MHO

 

[el matador]

If you want to dial yardage you'll need a custom turret made. There are several options for having that done:

Send your scope to Leupold to have a CDS elevation turret installed. This can be a little spendy, I think it's about $90 for the turret change and $90 for each custom turret you want. If you buy a CDS equipped scope new it will come with a coupon for a free custom turret.

Kenton Industries makes a bunch of custom turrets and I think they have one that would fit your scope for around $150.

Custom Turret Systems can make you a label for your existing turret if there's enough room to put it on. Basically these are a good quality sticker that's custom made for your loads.

Cheapest option: Take a gold or silver sharpie and make your own yardage graduations on the turret.

 

[Good Times]

Excellent Scope. I have had a couple for a few years and they work very well. I had leupold install a target turret on the elevation and had a custom engraved cap made for my exact load. I used my scope for hunting so I had the scope zero at 300 yards with a 300 ackley doing 3150 fps with a 200 accubond. 0-300 just shoot center shoulder, 400 yards aim at the top of the shoulder and click past 400 yards.
I like the target turret as it has a cap and I only need to remove the cap if the shot is past 400 yards

I am considering sending the scope back to Leupold to have the windplex
reticle installed for wind adjustment.
For backpack hunting it gets too confusing to click for wind adjustment as you can be tired and exhausted and click the wrong way. The windplex looks like the best solution. Click for elevation and windplex for wind hold.

I think it's only $80-90 to change the reticle and about the same for a target turret.
Kenton Industries and Leupold will do a laser engraved turret for you.
The more info you have on your exact load the better it will be. You do need to chrono your load.

Depends where you hunt you could have three engraved turrets, one for sea level, one for 5000 feet and one for 10,000 feet.

If I had to change scopes I would go with the 3-18x44 VX6 with the windplex reticle and cds laser engraved turret for
the rifle load. I would still keep the 4.5-14x40 Varix III scope and put it on another rifle.