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> Zeroing scope for long range
Zeroing scope for long range
@ 06:55 am (GMT) |
Gary HFirst, thank you for your time and any help you can provide.I’ll try to make this as short as possible. Am I missing something? I have a scope with 45MOA total adjustment. But I keep hearing that with 45MOA total scope (or whatever it might be) you have essentially half of that up and half down, i.e., 22.5 MOA down adjustment, 22.5 MOA up adjustment. But—why is that so? I have my rifle/ scope setup zeroed at 100 yards—did it last week—bore sighted and adjusted my reticle and shot. A few adjustments later, at 100 yards, my scope is zeroed with my elevation turret in a position that allows for about 35MOA upward travel and about 10MOA down. My windage turret (35MOA total) is about at center with about 16MOA one direction and 19 to other. I’ll be shooting at 1000 yards. Rifle is Remington 700 LR in 300 Win. Scope is NF NXS 12-42x56. Mount is NF Heavy Duty 700 LA / 20 MOA. This happens to be the way my scope is setup. If I am doing most of my shooting at 1000 with some 500 – 600-yard stuff occasionally, isn’t this OK? I.e., is it ok to center the elevation lower than the middle of any particular scope’s MOA total travel? (And wouldn’t we want to, anyway, to make most use of the scope for longer ranges—isn’t that 10MOA down travel still available on my scope pretty much wasted (esp. considering I'm zeroed at 100 yards)? I hope I’ve been clear. It seems like I'm missing something. For long range shooting wouldn’t we want to make use of the most upward travel possible? Again, thanks for your time. Gary in VA. |
Replies
@ 07:49 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeHi Gary, you are correct. Zero towards the bottom of the scope, then dial up through the middle and to the top for the long shots.My only concern here is that you may still not have enough come up for 1000 yards. However, if you have an MOA reticle and the image is clear at the lower hash marks, you may get an extra 6 MOA or so using the reticle. Note that unless you have some form of locked mechanical tracking (as opposed to spring loaded tracking), a reticle can shift under recoil and change its POI with each shot if a scope is dialed to its upper limit. At the lower end (lets say you only have a couple of MOA down travel when zeroed at 100 yards) the turret springs are under high tension. But at the top, the turret can become loose, allowing groups to open right up. This is a problem that effects both low and also well known high end scope brands. If you want to work up to the maximum limit of the turret, the tracking needs to be mechanical, not spring loaded. Hope that helps. |
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@ 08:13 am (GMT) |
Gary HRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeNathan, Thank you for the quick reply. So it does make sense to zero low on the elevation, leaving as much up travel as possible.To your other point--having enough up travel--from my research and running the numbers for the box 300 Win I plan to start with (will do my own loading soon, I hope) it appears I will need 26 to 28MOA elevation for 1000 yards. With my setup--I'm zeroed at 100 yards with the 20MOA mount, but still have about 35MOA up left available in the scope. (Unless here too, I'm missing something, I should be OK)? It may be close, but I'm thinking I'll be able to dial it in at the cross-hairs for 1000 yards with nearly 10MOA to spare. Thanks again for your reply. Settles my mind a bit. I'm new to Long Range shooting and have been cramming for weeks. |
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@ 08:42 am (GMT) |
Gary HRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeActually, I now have about 38MOA up available in the scope and my Windage turret is nearly perfectly at center--about 17MOA each direction. (I went out to re-zero after remounting the scope after my first visit to zero--I fixed eye relief by bringing scope back nearly 2 inches toward shooter, realigned all and re-tightened the ring screws (15 ft/lb) and the mount nuts (25 ft/lb).It was still fairly close to where it was on first go, but I had to tweak it some--and it turns out, it gave me even more up travel in the end (added about 3MOA) and straightened out my windage to nearer real zero. (I really lucked out on all that). Additionally, my understanding is that NightForce tailored this specific scope (they no longer sell it) to 1000 yard competition shooting with the big bore calibers--on a 20MOA base it's suited nearly perfectly for that but won't get you much farther. Thus the narrow elevation span. I got my scope at a pawnshop for a steal. I do love this thing--beautiful scope. But if I'd have spent the $2k for a new one, I'd likely gone for one with a bit more elevation available. However, for my needs--I hope to get into some casual 1000 yard competitions at the range I just joined (Peacemaker, just across the border in WV)--it should work out just fine, I hope. |
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@ 09:26 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeYes that should be fine Gary. It would be a bit trickier on a .308 but on a Win Mag, it will work quite well. |
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@ 03:20 pm (GMT) |
Gary HRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeThanks again, Nathan, for taking the time to help and reply.Now... to the 1000 yard range. Hopefully, this week. Let's see if I can ring some steel. This website is a great asset. All the best, Gary |
@ 01:51 am (GMT) |
Kenneth KephartRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeGary,2 inches is a huge movement for a scope. Also something to think about is your shooting position. If your shooting prone you may want to move the scope a little further away than bench shooting. If your only using 15 inch pounds on the rings you may want to use some rosin between the scope and rings. Helps keep it in place under recoil. |
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@ 04:43 am (GMT) |
Gary HRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeThanks Kenneth. Just checked back in and saw your post.For the time being, I'm shooting bench but if I move to prone, it's nice to know. I've marked the scope/ring alignment with a Sharpie -- so far, after about 20 rds, no movement. But using rosin makes sense. (My Wheeler FAT wrench isn't highly precise, but I'd like to get the screws there at around 17 lbs as well). And yes, I was prepared for the worst after moving the scope so far back after initial sighting-in -- but was amazed that it only moved impact point about 1/4 inch. Good scope, I guess, and maybe I did a decent job mounting the base -- I certainly took my time with it. |
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@ 04:46 am (GMT) |
Gary HRe: Zeroing scope for long rangeMeant to say moved the impact point 3/4 inch. |
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