What pitch base for Edge at a mile?

alcesgigas

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Using 300 SMKs or the newest 300 Bergers at, say 2850 out a 30" barrel would I still be able to shoot 400 plus yards? I'm probably confusing myself, but in checking Berger's Ballistic Tables a 20MOA base would give me 55+20 (which would give me the 66.37MOA, but off center at sight-in at 100yds) and a 40MOA would give me 55+40 (and put the 100 yard zero at the bottom of the adjustment range--or more center than a 20MOA base?).

Help, please!?
 
Lets start with what scope and how much elevation travel does it have total?

You mentioned 55 in your post I will assume that is 1/2 of the 110 moa travel of a NF 3.5 x15 So with a zero base in a perfect world you would have 55 up and 55 down. So if you put a 40 moa base on you would now have 95 up and 15 down. That should be more than enough to zero at 100 yards.

But lets say uou have a Nightforce 5.5x22 and it has 100 moa total of elevation. So that is 50 up an 50 down with a zero base, again in a perfect world. Then you add the 20 moa base you now have 70 up and 30 down and again more than enough adjustment to zero at 100 yards and room for any error.

When I say "perfect world" I mean you probably will encounter some machining error from either the top of the rifle action, the base it self or even some in the scope too. So I say leave at least 10 to 15 moa at the bottom that will not be used but will allow you to reach the 100 yard zero.

If you choose a cheap *** base, ( I will not mention names) you will find this error could be huge. I have seen the cheepies off by 30 moa. But if you choose a good base like NF you will be very close to what it is suppose to be.

Oh, and for your edge zeroed at 100 yards and at about 4000 ft above sea level you will need 50 to 55 moa up with a 300 Berger or SMK at 1760 yards / 1 mile.

Jeff
 
On my EDGE I have a NF 40 MOA and a NF 5.5x22. I am zeroed at 100 and have 82 MOA up travel. out of 100 total. That gets me to around 2200 yards depending on the pressure and temp.
 
The plan was to install a $125 20MOA stainless steel base from an advertiser/member on this site and the scope specs follow:

MAGNIFICATION.....................................6x-24x
OBJECTIVE DIAMETER.............................56mm
FOV @ 100 YDS......................................32' to 6'
EYE RELIEF.............................................3.75 in
COATINGS..............................................MC-7 Broadband Fully-multicoating, anti-reflex
DIOPTER ADJUSTMENT.............................-4 to +4 DPT.
ADJUSTMENT RANGE................................16 MILS (APROX. 55 MOA ) @100 yds.
CLICK VALUE @ 100 YDS...........................0.1 MRAD
TUBE DIAMETER.......................................35mm
LENGTH...................................................16 in
WEIGHT...................................................36 oz

Just about all shooting for this almost-portable rig will be between 600 and 650 feet above sea level.

Both of you have been--and hopefully will remain--most helpful. I'm now thinking I should go with a 30 or even 40MOA base, but with this scope/rifle combo I'm still unsure because preferrably I will be able to shoot from zero to 1760 yards--which may not be possible. Given that what MOA base will allow me to shoot zero to ________ OR _________ to _________? Thanks
 
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That scope is very low in elevation adjustment. Especially for a 35mm tube.

For that reason I would recommend a different scope. Reason being is, with only 55 moa of adjustment that gives you 27.5 up and 27.5 down. So if you use a base with more than 20 moa cant, you will not be able to zero at 100 or maybe evem 300. If you use this sope with a 20 moa base you will have 47.5 moa up ( again not accounting for achining error) and will not be able to reach a mile with out using reticle hold over which I feel is not accurate at these distances in most cases.

I would look for a scope with at least 75 to 100 moa of elevation to complement your LR rifle.

Jeff
 
I thought that'd be case so I started looking elsewhere as that scope would only disapoint. So more money=more scope=S&B, Premier, and USO. Hensholdt doesn't seem to offer a first focal plane scope. Lens clarity in poor light demands good glass and big objective lens--but certaintly I have to have the adjustment range.

I'm all ears for any input and thanks again for your counsel.
 
Nightforce 5.5x22x50 has 100 MOA adjustment and a Leupold Mark 4 has 80. Either one of those will work. I have a 8.5x25x50 ERT Mark 4 that was on my light weight EDGE and I could dial to 2000 yards with it using a 40 MOA rail. I sold the rifle out from under it so I'm back to just one EDGE.
 
My pick for your rifle would be a Nightforce NXS,5.5~22 x 56 zero stop, with a NPR1 reticle .25 MOA turrets. Then go with a NF 40 moa base like Bill said and a set of NF ultra light rings. Then call Shawn at Defensive Edge and get a top ring cap with a built in level and an angle indicator. You will be set to well past 2000 yards.

Jeff
 
Are you tied up on that 35mm tube thing? People seem to really like the SWFA scope for the middle tier without the jump to the S&B price range, though I've never seen one in person. That scope may be worth looking into if it's in your budget.

I really like the look/features of the Premier Reticles Light Tactical scope. More $ than the SWFA, but cool none-the-less.
 
This is why when we talked I threw a monkey wrench into your thinking by suggesting a 300 Rum or 300 WM for 0-800/1000yds and dedicating the .338 to 1,000-2,000yds.

If you are going to go with one rig then budget dictates the optics.

My Mark IV 8.5-25 would get you there with the right base, but you know beyond 1,200yds the above suggestion of the NF BR scope is not a bad one.

For the price of the SB though you could easily have two nice rigs, one for the sub 1000yds, and this one for the long distance touch.
 
+2 with Wildrose and Ashly above, the NF And Leupold will give you what you are looking for. I have a S&B 4-16 PH the resolution and durability are as good as there is but they just do not have the internal adjustments needed for ultra long range shooting, they are $$$$ and you won't get your money's worth as far as functionality for your intended purpose with S&B
 
Using 300 SMKs or the newest 300 Bergers at, say 2850 out a 30" barrel would I still be able to shoot 400 plus yards? I'm probably confusing myself, but in checking Berger's Ballistic Tables a 20MOA base would give me 55+20 (which would give me the 66.37MOA, but off center at sight-in at 100yds) and a 40MOA would give me 55+40 (and put the 100 yard zero at the bottom of the adjustment range--or more center than a 20MOA base?).

Help, please!?

AT 600' elevation, 2.2' scope height, 20 moa base, 0.419 BC7,
you should have very close to 43 moa of vertical adjustment left when zeroed at
100 yards; which will let you shoot out to 1450 yards. (using turrets only)

AT 600' elevation, 2.2' scope height, 40 moa base, 0.419 BC7,
would not be able to zero at 100 yards, nor at 200 yards but you would be able
to do it at 250 yards. Now with a 250 yards zero, you would have about 51.5 MOA
of vertical adjustment left which would put you out to about 1640 yards.
Again, (using turrets only)

A 250 yards zero is great because from (0 yards to 295 yards) you can hit a
5.4" plate without making any adjustments... pretty cool! :)

I Hope that helps!
 
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