What now!!

[Obsessed]

Just purchased a Sako 75 stainless/synthetic 300WM. I put a Leupold 4.5-14X40 tactical with the 1" tube. Is this enough scope (adjustments) to go ou to 1000 yds if I wanted too? I was looking at the 4.5-14X50 tactical with the 30mm tube, but it was going to have to be raised up quite a bit and the person selling me the gun said that was not a good thing on such a powerful gun?? Is that true? If I went back and got that 30mm tube scope what should I be using for rings, mounts etc? If I do change scopes should I be looking at a higher magnification in the 30mm tube?
Also, do I need to be looking at any bedding on this stock, I ran a piece of paper between the barrel and stock, it was fairly tight but I could still do it. Trigger is 3lb pull that I can adjust down, so I should not need any trigger work, right?
Any other info you can give me would be great. Thank you.

 

[Mysticplayer]

To take a 300WM from 100 to 1000yds, it is going to need 20 to 30 Min of elevation. The 1" Leupold should have around 45 to 50 min of adjustment (check with catalog). So it should be enough.

What you may have to do is shim the bases so that the 100yd zero is near the "bottom" of the elevation adjustment. The scope will be visibly pointing towards the barrel. Tapered one piece base is also an idea.

The best rings for this type of work are the Burris Signature Zee rings, with inserts, for the Weaver style base. Using the different inserts, you can gain up to 30 min of "down". They are also steel, very durable and capable to taking the recoil of your rifle. The Sako rings with inserts will do the same thing but I don't know if they sell offset inserts.

Start off by working up a load for your rifle at 100 to 200yds. See where your scope adjusments are. If there is over 25 min of up elevation from your 100yd zero, you will not have to shim the bases. Get a range finder, make your own drop chart and enjoy LR shooting.

Bullets from 155 to 190 will work very well for plinking and LR hunting. I really like the 155gr AMax, and 165gr SST. The 220 and 240MK may give an edge for 1000yd target shooting.

Good luck...

Jerry

 

[Obsessed]

anyone??

 

[Guest]

[ 07-11-2003: Message edited by: S1 ]

 

[Brent]

I would love to have the Nikon Tactical 30mm tube are you kiddin? The guy is sadly mistaken, anyone will tell you the same. The 30mm tube is the superior scope by far and for many reasons, get it if you can!

The Burris rings work well too, I have them on my Ruger 416wby so they're stout. You can get a seperate insert kit that has .020" inserts in it, buy "TWO" sets and have a total of 40 MOA. Burris .020" insert set #626018 has inserts for ONE ring only for 20 MOA, my suggestion is order two sets so you have them. Most shops around here don't carry the .020" insert sets.

Have fun.

 

[FatBoy...]

Jerry,

At what the altitude are you getting your zero's? (No state/region in your profile) Your 25 MOA number seems a bit low to me to be safe. At 800' AMSL on our range, a 190gr SMK at 2950fps needs between 24 to 27 moa depending on air temp. If he was shooting a heavier 220 or 240 an additional 3 or 4 moa may be needed. I like to have at least 6 to 10 MOA more than what I need for my 1K zero, just in case.

If he wanted to stick to high'ish BC lites, like the 175SMK's or the 180BT's, and drive them above 3000fps than that's a different story, but I haven't seen anyone compete with these bullets in a 300Wm.

Just wondering if I'm missing something.

Obsession,

I'd get the 30MM scope also, but there is NOTHING wrong with the scope you chose, so long as you have some taper to ensure you'll be able to dial up to 1K or better. If it zero'd low in the adjustment range and you can dial up about 30MOA,, then no additional taper should be required, like Jerry said.

FatBoy...

[ 01-08-2003: Message edited by: FatBoy... ]

 

[Mysticplayer]

FatBoy,

I am refering to the drops for bullets from 155 to 190. I have been shooting the 155 and 168AMax for a while and they shoot very flat. Much flatter then conventional hollow points. Quite resistant to wind drifting too.

Recently, I have started using the 165 SST and this has become my new standard. Very flat shooting and high BC for the bullet weight. Also, very accurate.

As to wind drift, the difference between a fast 165SST and a slow 220grMK is not that great and certainly something you would need to dope anyways. The 180SST may just be the ticket.

I have been pleasantly surprised at the light bullets performances out to 1800m (1960yds). I also have a cannon that will be launching 240gr MK and expect that performance from lighter SST to also be spectacular.

The heavy bullets certainly have an advantage when launched at similar muzzle vel. but the 300WM is not that big of a case and vel. drops off quickly as bullet weight increases. Recoils a lot more too.

With a factory barrel, the muzzle vel for a 240gr will be in the 2400 to 2500fps range. A 165 SST at 3100fps.

Good luck...

Jerry

 

[Obsessed]

Thanks for your suggestions guys, really appreciated!! What are your thoughts on scope power? Is a higher power scope needed than a 4.5-14, should I look at the 6.5-20 as a more reasonable choice? Again thanks for the help!

 

[Brent]

Does Nikon have a 6.5-20 now too? You can't go wrong with either. I'd say each would perform optimally maybe at 0 - 800 yards and 300 - 1500+ respectively for game. 6x at closer ranges and field of view become critical. Beyond 8-900 yards 14x will start to limit you on targets IMHO.

The 30mm tube will give you more vertical adjustment than the 1" so less is needed in the rings or base initially. I have a 4-12 Nikon Monarch on my sons 308win, it works great to 1000 yards on steel plates we shoot.

 

[Obsessed]

Brent,

Sorry, the scopes that I have been toying with have been of the Leupold variety. That has been a concern of mine with game that is in closer than 200 yards. That is why I initially went with the 4.5-14X40. Thanks for the reply.

 

[texas]

Brent, Nikon does have a tactical in 4-16x50mm and a 2.5-10x44mm. In the Midway catalog its close in price to a used Nightforce or tactical Leupold.

 

[Guest]

Obsessed-
I'll have to agree with S1 on the base/ring setup. I have Nightforce tapered bases and Nightforce rings on all of my LR guns( which ALL have LR Leupolds), except for 2, which wear Warne Maxima TPA rings. The Warnes look kinda like Talleys, but thicker. My new .338 RUM had the warnes, but tonight I switched them for the NF rings, as the height was better suited to the gun. The .338 RUM weighs 9# and has the 4.5-14x50 LRT from Leupold, and generates a good bit more recoil than the .300WM. I don't expect any mounting problems with this setup. If any crop up, I'll let you know....

 

[Tim Behle]

Obsessed,

I use a 6.5-20 Leupold on my 7 Remington Mag. Don't worry about it being too high powered for close shots.

I take it calling from time to time. A running coyote from 25-100 yards out doesn't stand a chance.

I probably miss more coyotes at under 25 yards than all other distances combined.