Questions on MOA

Possum284

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Nov 18, 2007
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I feel a little stupid asking this I'm new to reloading and long range shooting and just want to know about all this moa i know like its 1 inch at 100 yards and 2 inches at 200 yards at least i'm pretty sure but when people say I adjusted 24 moa o hit at like a 1000 yards what does that mean exactly cause the only scope i have right now is leupold vx-1 3-9 on my hunting rife and I doun't want to shoot o 1000 but would like to try 5 or 6 hundred and just want to know what some of that stuff means. sorry about the long post and i'm sure the repeated question but i don't have much luck with the search feature
 
No worries about asking:)

MOA is actually 1.047" at 100 yards (1 / 60th of a degree) but in generic terms it is considered 1inch per hundred yards.

***The difference between the two becomes evident when you start increasing the number of MOA and increasing the distance.***

I adjusted my scope from 200 to a 550yard sight in and accidentaly used MOA rather than Inch incraments and I was off by sevearl inches (enough to miss my target totally).

When someone says that the adjusted 24 moa to hit at 850 yards - what they are saying is that from their base "Zero" range (I'll pick 200 yards), they needed to adjust their scope 24 inches per hundred to be able to hit right on at 850. 24 inches per hundrd equals 24 x 8.5 (24 x 850 / 100yards) which is 204 inches at 850 yards. This means that their bullet dropped 204 inches below the crosshair at 850 yards when sighted in at 200 yards. 24 MOA at 850 yards is actually 213.6" of drop.

Many people just say MOA becuase it is easier to say than inches per hundred.
 
As Britz sez

First thing is to be entirely correct. 1.0 MOA is 1.047 inches at 100 yards.

24 MOA is 25.12 inches at 1000 yards. In other words you missed by 11.2 inches. On a deer you would not even have cut a hair. Been there and done that is how I know.


Second thing is that who knows what 24 on the scope means. It may or may not be 24. All depends on the gears. You have to shoot the rifle to see what 24 on the scope means.

Third thing is who know what MOA meant to the Luepold engineers. I have heard many opinions on this and tried to get a straight answer out of Luepold but failed. So, I just shoot my drops and record the settings and don't worry about it any more.
 
BB.... you're saying 24 MOA is 240 inches at 1000 and true 24 MOA is 251.2" at 1000 .. correct ???

difference of 11.2 "

thanks, Scott
 
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That is correct. The small difference 0f 0.047 gives you a drop of 251.2 instead of 240. You have to pay attention to your units (inches or MOA) on your scope dial and your ballistics program. Many things I have learned the hard way because this is a very demanding sport.


You really want to screw up a shot on an antelope then don't bother to look at the units on your Kestrel wind meter and just read off the number and set your scope. The dam ole thing likes to read in "Knots per hours" instead of mph. That will make you mad when your bullet goes some strange and unexpected place.:mad:
 
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