10 or 20 moa rail appropriate?

[Kevin Paul]

Been reading here for a while about this topic and decided to post my question.

I have two new hunting rifles that need scopes mounted. Both Tikka t3x with nf atacr 4-16x42 f1 mil scopes.

One is in 6.5cm and the other is currently 300wm, but at some point will be re-barreled to something else. 300wsm probably.

Primary use is hunting to 500 or so yards, but have a 1200 yard range sort of close and would like to learn to shoot that far, and be set up properly to do so.

Currently acquiring reloading equipment but will shoot factory loads till then. There is also a long range school I'll be looking at in the area.

What I want to know is will my scopes and cartridges allow me to shoot to 1000-1200 yards without a rail? While these are mostly hunting rifles, I'll do a lot more shooting at distance so I don't want to be at the end of the adjustment range at that distance. However, I don't want to have issues shooting at an animal up close either.

Without going to shoot I don't know the answer so hoping someone can shed some light on this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

20 MOA is a safe bet for being able to zero at 100 yards and be able to extend out to your maximum distance. I have a 4-16X42 ATACR in a 20 MOA mount and I have about 18 mils/61.8 MOA I think.

Another option is to get Burris XTR Signature rings with inserts that allow you to add taper without having to remove the factory scope bases. I have two sets that I use for my .22's that allowed me to get gobs of elevation for dialing out to 400+ yards.

 

[Kevin Paul]

@Trigger Monkey Thanks for the response. I should have added that it will be zeroed at 100yrds and I will be using nf medium ul rings for now and see how they work out.

Do you have any problems with sight picture inside 100 yards with your setup?

 

[Trigger Monkey]

No, what perceived issues with sight picture were you anticipating with a 20 MOA base?

 

[Kevin Paul]

I'm imagining the reticle being too low in the sight picture due to the rail, and after having to dial down 20 moa to zero. Perhaps this isn't how it works.

 

[Trigger Monkey]

That's not how scopes work.

 

[Kevin Paul]

I figured I was off on that somehow. Thanks for your help!

 

[Mike Casselton]

The reticle remains centered in the sight picture.

 

[Wcbrowning]

As has been stated, a canted rail of 20 moa should not really be problematic, and would most likely yield exactly the flexibility you're looking for.

Another option, in addition to the Burris ring system mentioned, is the Spuhr scope mounts which are offered with cant designed into the mount (they make models both with and without cant). There is also a German scope mount, ERA Tac, I think, which has variable adjustable cant.

Been reading here for a while about this topic and decided to post my question.

I have two new hunting rifles that need scopes mounted. Both Tikka t3x with nf atacr 4-16x42 f1 mil scopes.

One is in 6.5cm and the other is currently 300wm, but at some point will be re-barreled to something else. 300wsm probably.

Primary use is hunting to 500 or so yards, but have a 1200 yard range sort of close and would like to learn to shoot that far, and be set up properly to do so.

Currently acquiring reloading equipment but will shoot factory loads till then. There is also a long range school I'll be looking at in the area.

What I want to know is will my scopes and cartridges allow me to shoot to 1000-1200 yards without a rail? While these are mostly hunting rifles, I'll do a lot more shooting at distance so I don't want to be at the end of the adjustment range at that distance. However, I don't want to have issues shooting at an animal up close either.

Without going to shoot I don't know the answer so hoping someone can shed some light on this.

Thanks in advance.

 

[1911hombre]

I shoot 1000 yds. with my .308 gas piston with a 0 MOA mount with a 4-16x42 ATACR. I am close to the end of my erector travel but still a couple mils of leeway. I don't shoot this gun regularly at 1000 yds. so I leave it alone. Zeroed at 100 yds.

 

[Kevin Paul]

Thanks for the responses. Ordered a couple Murphy Precision rails last week. Hope to have one mounted up soon.