dreamingWest
WKR
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2017
- Messages
- 816
On this forum, there’s a known gap in current riflescope offerings. That is, reliable turrets for dialing elevation, top tier glass, and lightweight as to not effect balance on a mountain rifle. Over the last couple of years there have been many threads started, and never a clear answer.
Knowing this limitation, I chose a Swarovski Z6 2.5-15x44 with BRH reticle to top off a .30-06 for my first Mountain Goat hunt this fall. I feel as though I have put together an ideal mountain goat combo.
However…I’m a dialer. About 5 years ago I put together an 11 pound .260 topped with a Nightforce. Regardless if I’m shooting 300 yards or 1000 yards I love the precision granted by an accurate dialing scope and a well defined dope chart. I like this .260/Nightforce combo so much I took it mule deer hunting in Wyoming last year trying to convince myself it would be fine on my goat hunt. It wasn’t ideal. I ended up taking a deer at around 60 yards from a kneeling position. It worked, but far from the right tool for the job.
Now back to my new mountain 30-06. Confirming drops with the BRH reticle is giving me heart burn. Last night during sunset I gave myself one-shot at 445 yards to kill “the goat” (a 12” diameter plate). The reticle gives me a dot for 426 yards and a line for 471 yards. So I split the difference, squeeze off a shot and hit about half inch off the plate (maybe 4.5” high, 4.5” right). Knowing this I took a second shot and hit about an inch high of the bullseye. Now I know I can continue practicing with the BRH and become much more comfortable with it (and I know goats are larger than a 12” plate). But I really don’t like having to aim off target or between hash marks. For this example there is a 13” bullet drop between the two reference points. If I was clicking a ¼ MOA scope there would only be about a 1.2” difference between clicks. I’ll continue to practice, but here are the questions floating around in my head:
1. Most of the mountain hunting rigs I read about on this forum are using 2.5-8, 3-9, and fixed 6 scopes. I love these lightweight options, but are you guys just super experienced and comfortable with holdovers? Or are most all your shots inside 300?
2. For those of you that have experienced a mountain goat kill, what was the range?
3. After playing with Leupold ZL2 turrets and looking through the VX-5/6HD scopes, they seem ideal for what I’m looking for, but I’ve read all the negativity regarding tracking. When it’s said 2% over travel per click, does that mean if I had to dial 6 MOA (24 clicks) at 445 yards, it would move POI to 6.12 MOA? That’s just a one click error which still seems more accurate to me then holding over a target at this range. So for dialing between 300 and 500 yards, are the Leupold scopes not adequate?
4. Do we still not have good tracking data on the new Zeiss V6 or Sig Sauer Whiskey 5?
I mostly bow hunt whitetails and elk. So I’m used to getting close and obviously hope to get inside 200 on a goat. I’m just trying to cover all my bases while there is still time to prepare.
Knowing this limitation, I chose a Swarovski Z6 2.5-15x44 with BRH reticle to top off a .30-06 for my first Mountain Goat hunt this fall. I feel as though I have put together an ideal mountain goat combo.
However…I’m a dialer. About 5 years ago I put together an 11 pound .260 topped with a Nightforce. Regardless if I’m shooting 300 yards or 1000 yards I love the precision granted by an accurate dialing scope and a well defined dope chart. I like this .260/Nightforce combo so much I took it mule deer hunting in Wyoming last year trying to convince myself it would be fine on my goat hunt. It wasn’t ideal. I ended up taking a deer at around 60 yards from a kneeling position. It worked, but far from the right tool for the job.
Now back to my new mountain 30-06. Confirming drops with the BRH reticle is giving me heart burn. Last night during sunset I gave myself one-shot at 445 yards to kill “the goat” (a 12” diameter plate). The reticle gives me a dot for 426 yards and a line for 471 yards. So I split the difference, squeeze off a shot and hit about half inch off the plate (maybe 4.5” high, 4.5” right). Knowing this I took a second shot and hit about an inch high of the bullseye. Now I know I can continue practicing with the BRH and become much more comfortable with it (and I know goats are larger than a 12” plate). But I really don’t like having to aim off target or between hash marks. For this example there is a 13” bullet drop between the two reference points. If I was clicking a ¼ MOA scope there would only be about a 1.2” difference between clicks. I’ll continue to practice, but here are the questions floating around in my head:
1. Most of the mountain hunting rigs I read about on this forum are using 2.5-8, 3-9, and fixed 6 scopes. I love these lightweight options, but are you guys just super experienced and comfortable with holdovers? Or are most all your shots inside 300?
2. For those of you that have experienced a mountain goat kill, what was the range?
3. After playing with Leupold ZL2 turrets and looking through the VX-5/6HD scopes, they seem ideal for what I’m looking for, but I’ve read all the negativity regarding tracking. When it’s said 2% over travel per click, does that mean if I had to dial 6 MOA (24 clicks) at 445 yards, it would move POI to 6.12 MOA? That’s just a one click error which still seems more accurate to me then holding over a target at this range. So for dialing between 300 and 500 yards, are the Leupold scopes not adequate?
4. Do we still not have good tracking data on the new Zeiss V6 or Sig Sauer Whiskey 5?
I mostly bow hunt whitetails and elk. So I’m used to getting close and obviously hope to get inside 200 on a goat. I’m just trying to cover all my bases while there is still time to prepare.