Need some help

[FIREDOG421]

Well I finally got my rifle put all together. Its a Savage Mark II FV, with a 20 MOA rail and a Bushnell 3200 Elite 10X scope. I'm going to try and get out and shoot it and get some zeros this week.

I am struggling with the scope. Once I obtain a 50 yard zero should I loosen and rotate my turret knobs so its shows zero so I have a returnable starting place?

If that's correct, shooting CCI, standard velocity, 40 grain lead, approximately how many clicks of elevation would I need to get on target at 100 yds? And approx. how many more clicks from 100 would I need for 200?

Also, what detrimental effect if any will I have with a non-parralax adjustable scope? My max distance available at my range is 300 yds.

Any help would be appreciated.

FIREDOG421

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: Need some help

I couldn't have said it any better than DFOOSKING.

Here's a link to JBM Ballistics. Just click on the link on that page that says "Trajectory" and fill in as many blanks as you can. Then go to the bottom and click calculate and you have a decent drop chart. Then all you have to do is go out and confirm numbers. I've spent MANY hours of my time playing with JBM and i've found that as long as your numbers are close, JBM will give you VERY close drops. It's very reliable, and I love it. But real data is where it's at, so real world drops need to be confirmed after JBM puts you into the right ballpark. Nothing beats confirmed drops.

About the zero, I'm still not sure where I want to set mine personally. The majority of my shooting is at 50 yards with just a slight bit less being at 100. And I shoot about as much 200/300 as I shoot at 25. SO My choice is between 50 and 100. Some days i'm leaning towards one, other days it's towards the other. I think i'll end up at 50 yards purely because I don't like dialing my scope "backwards" and it's almost nothing to go from a 25 to a 50 or the other way around. However for me, to get to 100 quickly, I can use holdovers and be almost dead center. So 50 seems logical for me.

 

[FIREDOG421]

Re: Need some help

Thanks for the reply. Its an MOA reticle so correct me if I'm wrong, I'll be target shooting at static steel plates set up at 50, 100, and 200 yards.

So MOA at 100 yds is approximately 1"? And my scope gives me a 1/4" adjustment per click at 100 yds. So to go from 100 yds to 200 yds I would need how many mechanical clicks to get hits at 200 yds? Forgive me I'm brand new to scopes.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: Need some help

Yes, MOA @ 100 yards is 'close' to 1" however the real number is slighly different. I believe your specific scope is calibrated for IPHY which would be 1" at 100 however some (mostly high end) scopes are calibrated for true MOA which is 'slightly' less than an inch at 100. Even if yours is true MOA, the difference will be miniscule and nothing to worry about at short distance anyways.

Now that that is out of the way, I need 18.5 MOA of estimated "up" from 100 to get to 200. So I get to dial in 74 clicks total. But I don't count clicks, I just dial in 18.5 MOA using the markings on my turrets. Your atmospheric conditions are likely much much different than mine are though (not to mention the setups are much different), so ignore the difference in drop. It sounds like you have the right idea.

 

[FIREDOG421]

Re: Need some help

I guess while I was editing my last post, you responded back. I changed my estimate from 1" to 1 1/2" Anyway, I think I'm understanding it a little better. I'm going to try the ballistic calculator. I just needed a rough idea on where to start.

Thank you for your help. If anyone else has any input, I would be glad to learn from it.

FIREDOG421

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: Need some help

MOA is 1" not 1-1/2" at 100 yards.

1-1/2" would be 1.5 MOA at 100 yards

However at 200 yards 1 MOA is 2" where 1.5 MOA at 200 yards is 3"

At 300 yards 1 MOA is 3" and 1.5 MOA at 300 is 4.5"

Make sense?

Where in Virginia is your shooting range located? I can do the calculation for you if I know where it's at and walk you through it if you'd like me too.

 

[FIREDOG421]

Re: Need some help

Well I finally got out to shoot my rifle yesterday. I started off with a 50 yd zero then using the calculations you guys helped me with I walked it out to 100, then doing the math, I went to 220 yds, the max distance of my range.

I loaded up 5 rounds in my magazine, clicked in my elevation on a hanging steel plate, pulled the trigger and was treated to a resounding "ping" from the steel. The next 4 rounds did the same.

So to confirm, I backed my calculations out using the same distances and sure enough, all the rounds hit my aiming points! I then clicked it back out to 220 yds and by then I picked up some full value head wind and some quarter value right to left breezes of about 15-20 mph. This gave me the opportunity to play a little bit with wind drift.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. I look forward to shooting with my other 3 buddies in a match scenario.

Thank you all for your help, I'll keep you posted.

Oh one last thing, my Bushnell 3200 Elite 10x scope worked fine, the only thing I ran in to was some mild out of focus target problems at 50 yds. It was no big deal. Everything was clear and clean from 100 - 220 yds.

Take care, FIREDOG