Re: 1000 yard scope power
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Rob01</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bowstryder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I am currently in the buildup of a .338lm and am trying to decide between the NF nxs 5.5-22 or the 8-32. Which one would suit. This rig is a long range prone stick and I will hopefully get on 1500 yds when I get back from Iraq. Trying not to highjack the thread, just get clarity</div></div>
Look at the available MOA in those scopes and you will see the 5.5-22 is a better option for those ranges and gives you plenty of magnification. I used one on 17x to make hits on an MOA sized target at 2000 yards with a 408 Chey Tac. </div></div>
No disagreement with Rob01! Myself ran into this the first time out west trying to shoot to a mile with a 65MOA scope.
Running through the numbers, Nightforce lists the vertical elevation adjustment for the 5.5x22 as 100MOA (which is +/- 50MOA) and for the 8x32 as 65MOA (which is +/- 32.5MOA). Thus if one assumes everything is perfectly centered when mounted you could JUST get by with a 30MOA offset ring/base on the the 8x32 and leave you 62.5MOA to come up from a 100 yard zero, however more likely would be 20MOA offset ring/base and 52.5MOA come up from a 100 yards. The reason for 20MOA base/rings is that one typically does not like to have to rely on having to operate at the maximum range of adjustment of your scope, plus you run a chance of having a minimum zero farther than a hundred yards (which is not that bad, I use to zero my 50BMG at the bottom of the first mil dot up from the cross hair for 100 yards).
The 5.5x22 scope with 30MOA rings/bases would give you 80MOA to come up from a 100yard zero and not get you near the edge of your adjustment range when zeroing at a 100 yards. Side note in the old days the 4.5x14 Mk4 Leupold scope was there only listed MK4 variable with a 100MOA of vertical adjustment, thus the only choice for this brand when doing long range field shooting where you still wished to be able to zero at a 100 yards, however, recently Leupold had offered several of the long range MK4s in higher power .... but most of us in the bunch had moved to the 5.5x22 Nightforce by then ;-)
A first pass calculation (
click here) using JBM, for a shoot out west, indicated that the 52.5MOA come up for the 8x32 would get you past 1400 yards but not 1500 yards for 338LM and 300Win loadings. Actual shooting last year tended to indicate the 338LMs did a little better than this (the Desert Tactical 300 Win mag barrel has not been gotten yet and with as well as the 338LM is doing, may not be ;-).
