Custom Turret and Elevation

[justinspicher]

I had a VX6 2-12x scope that i zereod at 7k. Gave it to a buddy and he has no issues shooting it with the same “dope” in Ohio and Kentucky.

 

[Wrench]

The way I see it is a lot of the average guys are still guessing not so much with elevation but with wind drift. Not all Turret scopes are created equal. I'm a firm believer in spending the $1500+ for a good scope that is marked on the horizontal crosshair for wind drift hold and understand how to use it. So many things to take into account when hunting out west.

I'm a fan of the LRHS scopes and they fall well below the price point.

I personally do not typically dial for wind as it's pretty dynamic in the mountains. I prefer to hold for it. My ballistic solution gives me a hold point for a given value and I leverage that on the fly.

 

[Overdrive]

I personally do not typically dial for wind as it's pretty dynamic in the mountains. I prefer to hold for it. My ballistic solution gives me a hold point for a given value and I leverage that on the fly.

Yeah I don't dial wind adjustments either, I have Huskemaw scopes set up on 2 different rifles and using their system is really simple with the marks on the horizontal crosshair and the corresponding number on the turret itself for wind value (based on 10mph full value) and distance makes it so simple. I've taken animals out to 600 with full value winds (10-20mph on the shot) with one shot, as has my Dad, and while target shooting taken one shot hit's on steel out to 1000 with 15-20mph cross winds, It's just really cool and sure builds a guys confidence. But I still limit myself on game animals and many things have to feel just right for me to take the shot, just because I can shoot 1000 yard doesn't mean I will, unless it's a coyote cause no one likes those dang things.

 

[Overdrive]

I guess another question to ask, is how far do you plan to realistically shoot? At 400 yards you can be off a lot on your solver and still make hits.

Do you have actual chronograph data for the velocity? That would be the biggest factor that would keep me from dumping money on a custom turret.

Yes I've chono'd my loads as well as followed all instructions suggested by Huskemaw when I set my scope's up, I did data collection out to 600 yards and all the measurements they asked for, for building a true ballistic profile for your rifle and load. Then I gave them all the info and they lazer cut my turret's for me. I spent 2 months really getting the best information for them on 2 rifles, and I'm really happy with the result of their shooting system.

But yes Doping wind is really a learning process but still way easier with the Huskemaw scopes I shoot than I thought it would be. But there is still those times you just have to pass the shot because things just don't feel right and wait for another day.

 

[SDHNTR]

I think we’d all benefit by becoming better woodsmen than mathematicians! This stuff makes my head spin! We’re all guilty of it I guess.

I have 2 turrets cut for the guns I own that I travel to hunt with. I kinda took 2 averages of the conditions I might hunt in. I’ve also plotted trajectory differences out to the extremes of elevation and temperatures, and having two turrets gets me within 2” of whatever I might face out to 600+ yards! That’s plenty! I’d challenge any of the math nerds on here to make a 2” shot call at 600 yards under field conditions with a sporter type rifle.

It wasn’t that long ago when a high tech scope meant a 3 x 9 with a duplex reticle. Stuff died all the same and we never felt inadequate. The stuff us “hunters” concern ourselves with nowadays is mind boggling!

 

[Longrifle]

I had a VX6 2-12x scope that i zereod at 7k. Gave it to a buddy and he has no issues shooting it with the same “dope” in Ohio and Kentucky.

This has been my plan or at least the logic is the same, but I might just run two turrets after seeing all these answers.

 

[justinspicher]

If you have two turrets it only makes sense to set them up for two different locations, just don’t get them mixed up!

 

[TNKnoxville]

I'll be using some hand loaded 220 grain ELDx's. So I used the Hornady ballistic calculator and ran a bunch of different conditions and elevations. From 1200 ft and 90 F, 78% humidity to 7500 ft 30 F and 30% humidity and a whole bunch of combinations in between. I did 25 yard reporting to 750 yards. I printed all of them out killing alot of trees and burning up toner!!!!

I'm an engineer so I like looking at data. What I found was interesting. Depending on your shot distance the differences were not as big as I thought. If you started to look past 500 yards it started changing much faster. Most of the changes were most likely smaller than my shooting ability at the distances I feel comfortable hunting at (<500 yards). I would like to keep them less than 400 yards but you never know in CO. I still ordered 2 turrets. One at 1200 feet (TN) and one at 6000 feet (CO). For the low cost of the turrets it was worth it to me. I had mine etched with the elevations and velocity info so I didn't mix them up!

 

[Longrifle]

If you have two turrets it only makes sense to set them up for two different locations, just don’t get them mixed up!

Definitely. I'll probably set them up but 1000ft and 7000ft.

 

[Longrifle]

I'll be using some hand loaded 220 grain ELDx's. So I used the Hornady ballistic calculator and ran a bunch of different conditions and elevations. From 1200 ft and 90 F, 78% humidity to 7500 ft 30 F and 30% humidity and a whole bunch of combinations in between. I did 25 yard reporting to 750 yards. I printed all of them out killing alot of trees and burning up toner!!!!

I'm an engineer so I like looking at data. What I found was interesting. Depending on your shot distance the differences were not as big as I thought. If you started to look past 500 yards it started changing much faster. Most of the changes were most likely smaller than my shooting ability at the distances I feel comfortable hunting at (<500 yards). I would like to keep them less than 400 yards but you never know in CO. I still ordered 2 turrets. One at 1200 feet (TN) and one at 6000 feet (CO). For the low cost of the turrets it was worth it to me. I had mine etched with the elevations and velocity info so I didn't mix them up!

Yeah, my issue is I set two of mine up for super long range, but I want them to be simple in hunting situations. Differences in elevation seem to reveal themselves at 700 yards and grow exponentially beyond that.

Below 700 I don't think dials help much. I've killed animals at all elevations out to 600 yards using only BDC reticles.

Are you ordering your turret through Leupold?

 

[Wrench]

The part you guys are missing is the daily variables. Sure altitude isn't gonna make a miss at 300 yards. But stack up altitude, temp, velocity, humidity......and suddenly there's a bunch of things to mess with you.

How do you validate your velocity? Do you rely on the program to adjust your velocity for temperature and humidity?

My advice is to have only one turret and know where you fall on that number in those conditions. If you are person who buys multiple turrets, you're probably the guy that won't shoot a few hundred rounds at rocks every season to validate his rig.

A summer shot and an October shot can be quite different. If +/- a couple of minutes is ok for what you do, then rock on, but if you're going to take the time to spin it up to make a good shot....why give up 20 inches at a grand just because? Scope variable is in addition to the rifle inaccuracies and shooter miscalculations and range finder margin of error.

 

[SDHNTR]

Just because? Because you said “at a grand”. I think most hunters have no problem recognizing that’s beyond their ability and will pass up a shot like that.

 

[mcseal2]

I use the custom tape on my turrets mentioned earlier. My personal limit shooting at game is currently 600 yards although I practice further.

I set my tapes all up with 2 sets of numbers. The top one is a larger yardage number with a 50yd hash in between each number. The smaller number on the bottom is the MOA with a hash mark for each click.

This lets me dial fast for say a 375 yard shot at a buck that’s getting ready to leave. If the shot is at 570 yards at a buck that is bedded and not going anywhere, I can use my Hornady app, wind meter, and dial precisely in MOA.

I see merit to both sides of this argument and choose to not limit myself to one or the other. I use Huskemaw scopes that have room for all that info on the turret. I hold wind with the reticle. Another tip I got off this forum is to use a 100yd zero. It is less affected by environment due to the bullet’s relatively short flight time. Less time for anything to have an effect on the bullet. Also it’s easier to find a 100yd place to verify zero on a hunt. Once I’m zeroed I set the turret up to 200 yards and screw the cap back over it. Then I don’t touch it on the hunt unless I have to take a shot past 250 with time to dial.