NF NXS 12-42X56 Setup Question

azn8gram

Private
Minuteman
Jul 17, 2022
3
0
Arizona
New and first post. Thanks to any and all that share info! I have a Nightforce NXS 12-42X56 (non zero stop) that I just bought and haven’t used before. I mounted it to a Remington 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor, going to be shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr ELD-X’s out of it. I have a 20 MOA base and am using a SPUHR ISMS mount with 20 MOA also built in. I’m wanting to be able to shoot up to 1000 yards and past if possible. Using it for hunting primarily up to 1000 yards for small game and maybe up to deer or antelope to 1000 yard max. I believe the scope has a max of 45 MOA elevation adjustment in it and I have 40 MOA between base and mount, which gives me 85 MOA technically. Wondering if I’d be able to get a zero at 100 yards starting off with all that MOA or if it’ll need to be zeroed further out. Also, not sure where to start off with turret settings on the scope, as previous owner would have had it adjusted to their own setup. Any pointers on where to start for the zeroing process is much appreciated (what turret settings I should start at). Also, feel free to let me know if I’m being unrealistic in what I’m trying to accomplish with the setup.
 
You won’t likely be able to use both those canted items together. Use only one 20moa canted item, and you might still be able to zero at 100, but barely. You’d likely only have a handful of clicks left down though. So you’d have 40ish moa up available to dial up on the scope at that point, which should get you to 1000 no problem.
 
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If the scope is centered, you have about 23 moa up and 20 moa down available. The 100 yard zero, without canted bases, should be relatively close to the centered position, depending on action geometry.

Putting the canted base on moves the impact up 20 moa, meaning you have to dial the scope down 20 minutes to get back to the 100 yd zero. So now, zeroed at 100 you’d have 40 moa up and 5 down available, approximately. That’s the best you can do without drastically changing the zero distance of the rifle. Add another 20minute canted mount, the impact moves up 20 minutes again. So now your zero is like 700-800 yards minimum, but you can dial up 40ish moa from there.

That might get you to 1400 I’m guessing, but sacrificing a lot on zero distance. Beyond that you’d be transonic anyway and really need a bigger cartridge to continue further.
 
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If you just use one 20 MOA canted item, looking at basic ballistics, you’d probably make it to about 1100 yards on the turret. Then you would have to hold over with the reticle beyond that.
 
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That’s way too much magnification for hunting deer. Better off in the 3-15 range. The 12-42NXS is a target rifle scope Then let’s be real on the range. Unless your one of the best shooters in the world 500 yards plus is too much distance to guarantee a one shot kill on a deer