Which scope choice for Alaskan Dall Sheep hunt?

[devins]

I have narrowed the rifle down to the 7mm Rem Mag with the hand loads of 165 gr accubonds it loves. It has gotten the job done many times and can be rigged out as light as any rifle I have and much lighter than anything I normally shoot for long range. My question is which scope to mount on it. I have 1" rings on it at the moment and I have a 3.5-10 x 50 Leupold VX3 with the Boone and Crockett reticle that works with my range finder but I would need a set of 30 mm rings. That is a viable option. I have a Zeiss Conquest in 3-9 x 50 mm that is a 1" tube and would sit right over and I can have a turret made for it in time to go, it is super clear but is only a 9 power. And I have looked at buying a VX 3 in 4-14 x 42 with the Boone and Crockett reticle and a 1" tube. If I use an existing scope I have I was going to put a McMillan's hunters edge on it. I don't want to get too busy of a system is why I am leaning to the BC reticle because that has worked for me well so far, or to just have an accurate range and dial if needed as the Zeiss would do.

 

[Chandalar]

I would recommend a scope that you have the most confidence, and experience with. One that will be fine in rain and snow for 10 days. Practice, if you can, at 30-40 deg slope up and down slope, in the wind. Be confident from 200-500 yards on a milk jug sized target regardless of the slope angle. If you are using BC reticle, true it to your load, the factory numbers are only a guide, so know exactly where the bullet is going to strike per each line of elevation. I hope these are of some use to you and good luck on your trip, I hope it is the most challenging and rewarding one yet. All the best If in Fairbanks stop in for a cup of coffee.

 

[devins]

Thanks Chandalar, One of my old hunting grounds is a great place for me to practice. It has 17 different canyons and places to set up to shoot up to a mile and everything in between. Part of my practice /exercise regimen is tossing on the pack and rifle and going up and down the canyons then crest out and pick a target rock or stump and make a shot. I have a lot of good locations there that I can get 30 and a few that can be a little more on the incline. And you confirmed everything I was thinking on the BC reticle. I am very confident in my Boone and Crockett reticle on the rifle it is on because I have used it on that rifle, a heavy 308 Norma Magnum. I have time to move it and practice with it and confirm its trajectory estimates with what they actually are but then I wonder would I like the turret put on the Conquest and then have a turret from Kenton Ind. made specifically for my load. I get hung up on if I am relying on my Boone and Crockett reticle, which I really like and my range finder goes down I am going to be limited. Where as if I go a simple reticle for speed and confidence and have a turret for any longer shots it will be use the range finder compensating for the angle, click, and shoot. I have scopes with moa reticles that I really like when time is not an issue but I have had an experience with one monster buck crossing on me and me counting lines on the reticle, oops he was gone. So I am thinking simple and like you said practice, practice, practice. I would love to have that cup of coffee but am going to be a little south of there. Maybe next time. Same goes this way. And love milk jugs too by the way. My Dad was an old reserve drill instructor, did some grenade instructing and was trained to be a rifle instructor. He taught me to shoot on jugs but the reward was the first time we had one together sitting way out in a wheat field and I had him range it and help me dope the wind. We adjusted the elevation turret and he would not take the shot but insisted I did. Nice first shot splash. I figured out later he was wanting to see the splash rather than possibly miss it in the recoil. But I hadn't seen him grin like that for a while. Since then we built him a 6mm Rem to play with. He will turn 75 in a couple of months. That is good stuff.

 

[jonthomps]

I would recommend a scope that you have the most confidence, and experience with. One that will be fine in rain and snow for 10 days. Practice, if you can, at 30-40 deg slope up and down slope, in the wind. Be confident from 200-500 yards on a milk jug sized target regardless of the slope angle. If you are using BC reticle, true it to your load, the factory numbers are only a guide, so know exactly where the bullet is going to strike per each line of elevation. I hope these are of some use to you and good luck on your trip, I hope it is the most challenging and rewarding one yet. All the best If in Fairbanks stop in for a cup of coffee.

^^^ This. Great advice.

 

[devins]

I ended up purchasing a Leupold VX3 4.5-14 x 40 with the Boone and Crockett Reticle. I am going to do the trajectory validation to confirm my MV and then order the Kinton Industry turret as well. I am going to put the MacMillin Hunters Edge on it and I think it will be ready and I will just need lots of good conditioning and practice. I compared the Scope I put on the rifle with the Vortex, Monarch 3, and Zeiss Conquest. The others had a little more magnification and were nice and clear and bright, but they were also heavier and bulkier. Since this will be mainly a backpacking trip, once out of the bush plane, that was a selling point to me. And like I said I am used to the Boone and Crockett reticle and will make a dope chart to go with it once POI's are confirmed. Thanks again guys.

 

[redneckclimbing]

One thing I read a couple of weeks ago and makes a lot of sense to me anyways. Don't zero your BDC reticle at 100 with the 100 yd line. Zero it at whatever distance the farthest line is supposed to shoot. i.e. 500 yds.

This way you know that at the longer ranges you are still running true and as you get to the closer ranges i.e. 100 yds. You may actually be running an inch or two high or low but that will still be a kill shot. As opposed to being two MOA low/high at 500 and having a huge miss.

I have done it with my 5.56 and it worked out really well.