Rifle Scopes Average Usable elevation on PST 5-25

[D-minus-a2]

Hi guys, newbie here. I have recently zeroed my pst 5-25 on my tikka ctr and found that I have about 10.5 mils left of usable elevation. I was honestly a little surprised that it took 15 mils to zero. Is this normal? The ctr has a zero Moa base. Given 25 total mils of elevation and dividing by 2 gives me 12.5 mils with an additional 2.5 used for 100 yard zero. So I am guessing that is reasonable. I am just wanting some reassurance that this is normal and what I should expect.

Additional thoughts
I am considering adding 20 moa base to the ctr. I have heard it’s a real pain to remove factor base which makes me hesitant. It’s only a 20” barrel and I have seen some guys on here say that tikka barrels have a tendency to run slow. I want to get it chronoed at some point but don’t know anyone with a chronograph at the moment. What I can tell you is I got on at 500 on 10” plate with 3.7 mils using the Sellier and Bellot 140 grain. Is it really that difficult to replace CTR base? I am wondering if anyone can speculate how far I can reach out before I run out of elevation. I fully understand that is very difficult/impossible to do without knowing what velocity I am getting. I plan on getting velocity data on the 140 S&B I use for plinking as well as the 140 ELD match and will obviously be able to through it in a Ballistic calculator then.

I am new to sniper hide and long range shooting in general. I know there are many guys on here with tons of knowledge. Any feedback, insight or thoughts are welcome and greatly appreciated.

 

[JGR1953]

When it comes to removing a CTR rail a good quality driver tip that has a good tight fit and heat is your friend.
People use all kinds of heat sources...Clothes irons,Heat guns, Soldering irons...etc.
I use a micro butane torch so I can concentrate the heat to one screw head at a time.
After I add a little heat to the head I insert the driver tip and put pressure on the head while keeping the flame pointed at the head.
Just a slow deliberate turn till it breaks free.
Once you get the screws out evenly heat the whole rail and either use the mirage band screw or a flat thin blade of some type to lift the front edge so you can get under it to slowly start lifting the whole rail.
I found acetone and alot of scrubbing worked the best for me to remove the epoxy they use.....

 

[army_eod]

15 mils to zero does not sound right.

 

[beetroot]

Luck of the draw really. If you have 25mils total then you actually have 5mil more than the specs sheet.
I wouldn't worry about the scope being broken.

10.5mil should be enough to get to 1000-1100meters.
Just shoot until it becomes a problem and then go about adding a canted rail.

 

[JBattles]

Sounds about right with a 0 MOA base.you could buy a base with 20 MOA built into it like the MPA BA mount or trot replace the rail

 

[Kadams1563]

Replace the rail with a 25 or 30 MOA. I have a Gen II PST and I have 19 mills of elevation with a 25 yard zero.

NEVERMIND I’m drunk. I swore I read tikka .22. Carry on.