Your Hunting Scope Set Up?

T

triplepete

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 98.5%
65   1   0
Location
Burnaby, BC
To BDC or not to BDC?

What caliber and scope set ups do you have on your primary hunting gun? What is the max range you would shoot for game? What type of scope are you using? Bullet Drop Compensator ? What is your Zero?

Just bought my first hunting rifle and scope. Browning X-Bolt 30-06. Bushnell Elite 3-9 x 40 "DOA" (BDC). I have yet to shoot it and sight it in but I am debating on the Zero. I am leaning towards 200 yds zero only because on my scope to use BDC it must be in 9x. Considering I won't attempt a harvest over 200 yds.... I don't think I wanna be at full power under 200....

Please, discuss.

:popCorn:
 
My scoped hunting guns are a 2506 with a 6-24x44 barska mil dot. Sighted dead on at 100 yards on 10 power. 2 mildots gets me on at 300
If the gane is further then 300 yards I have time to change AO and estimate better
Next is my 4570 with a fixed 2.5x20. For up close shooting for my double and the others are 50 cal mls. Duplex 3-9x40s. Set at 5x for most walking stalking and 9 when in a stand
 
My Zeiss Rapid-Z needs to be zeroed at 200yd to work, and it's a very fine setup.

I'd suggest a 200yd zero for the rifle and cartridge you have. <200 you'll be max, 2" high? It's easy to say you won't shoot far, but when a 4 point buck walks out at 300 yards, you won't want to say no.
 
Leupold's Boone & Crocket reticle is a good choice for those who shoot out to say 500 yards. The center cross hair is zeroed for 200, which puts the first bar at 300, the second at 400 and the top of the bottom post at 500. Thus no adjustments need to be made, just hold off for the appropriate range. The first time I used one was on a 7X57 Brno and the second was on my son's .270; the speed with which you can get on target and the accuracy of the drop at range is a confidence builder.
 
I don`t bother with BDC type of scopes for deer, 99.9% of the time i don`t have time to screw with a gizzmo. I learned long ago how to judge distance and adjust my shot for it, the majority of deer have been 100yrds. or less so it`s not a big issue for my hunting. My deer rifle has a Leupold 3x9 dot and i picked up another similar scope this winter. Varmint rifles are another story.
 
I have an older Nikon 3-9 on my got gun , a 280 Remington which I sight in at 2.5" high at 100 yds which gives me a no hold over POA out to 300 yds. My wife's rifle is a 7-08 with a 4X Leupold sighted in about the same. The bullet drop scopes are at their best for varminting where long shots are more common or for those relatively rare individuals who are skilled enough to take big game at yardages most of us should not consider.
 
I shoot a 6.5 55 tikka with a 3.5-15 nightforce and have it set 1.5" high at 100 and use the lines in the retical for the long shots. My other hunting rifle is a marlin 3030 with a 3-9x40 redfield that is zeroed @100 and doesn't normally get turned up past 3 unless there's time. We are setting up my GFs savage 99 in 308 and it will be at 1" high @100.
 
I have a Redfield 4-12 on my 270, 2 Bushnell 3-9x40 3200s on a 7 08 and a single shot 270, Scorpion 4-16 on a 300 WM, Bushnell 6500 2.5-16 on a 338 WM. The reticles are Redfield-accurange, 3200-duplex, 6500-mil dot,Scorpion-mil dot. I zero them all at 200.
 
2-7X32 on all my hunting rigs, no need for specialty range finding drop compensating rack estimating bla bla bla recticals. Just a wide field of view and old school duplex rectical work just fine4me.
 
When using a scope for hunting, one really only has two choices for POI at several different ranges. Holdover and come-ups.

Usually, hunting is more likely to need holdover more so than come-ups on the elevation dial due to need for speed. Conversely target shooting lends itself to dialing up the POI.

When hunting there is a definite advantage to having markings, either lines or dots on a reticle to aide in hitting @ distance. However it takes some range(shooting) dedication to get it set up properly and thats the easy part.

The wind is the hard part.:D

P.S...... Mildot on all except the .375.(Burris Safari reticle?)
 
I use many scopes 1.5-5 up to 8-34, + some fixed power. Sight in for 200yds & practice at many different ranges. The more you look at targets the better you get at judging range. For over 300 I use a range finder then I know the hold over. I do not use BDC on game. Practice & a spotter that knows shooting are the best ways to improve fast (IMHO). Good luck Aj
 
A Bushnell Elite 6500 is mounted on my RFB, the 1.25-8x32 works well on my deer rifle. Makes for VERY fast target acqusition & shooting!

Cheers
Jay
 
I am leaning towards 200 yds zero only because on my scope to use BDC it must be in 9x. Considering I won't attempt a harvest over 200 yds.... I don't think I wanna be at full power under 200....
Click to expand...

If that is true, you have no need for any bullet drop compensation device, or even any need to think about it. Sight in at about 1 inch high at 100 yards, and then just set the scope to its lowest power and aim at what you want to hit. You will. Two hundred yards is point blank for a .30-06.
 
I'd mount 4x33 or 6x36mm in warne bases and rings. 200 yards isn't terrible with even 2.5x. If I knew I'd be mostly at 200 and more, I'd lean to 6x. In fact 6x isn't bad at 50 m but focus is just a little blurry at 25. 4x is the best close/far but 6x is a little nicer at longer medium range.

Either scope is robust, compact, bright, sharp and lightweight.
 
Get yourself a Ballistics Calculator and start from there. THE BEST tool you can get for stuff like this. Example, using a Point Blank ballistics calculator a 30-06 firing a 150 grain SP with a sight height of 2 inches will rise through zero at 45 yards, peak at 1.5 inches at 120 yards, will fall through zero at 200 yards and be 2 inches low at 240 yards. Different bullets give very different results. This is all theoretical and your gun may behave differently but its the knowledge that counts and right or wrong its the understanding that counts. A BC will also really help you with that BDC equiped scope since the BDC markings were calculated using.....a ballistics calculator. I tend to over think the s@#t everything so please excuse me. I have the same scope but without the BDC and I thinks its great.
 
Congratulation on the purchase of your first hunting rifle! and kudos for limiting yourself to 200 yard shooting even though the rifle can shoot accurately and kill efficiently much further, a beginning hunter probably shouldn't try the longer shots until hunting and shooting skills have had some time to develop. Given your situation I'd suggest you sight in about an inch high at a hundred, you will be about an inch or two low at two hundred. Nowhere between muzzle and two hundred yards will you need to worry about your aiming point as long as you are not attempting neck or head shots, which I don't recommend anyway. No fiddling with turrets, focus rings, or complicated reticles, just spot your game, stalk close, and shoot. Enjoy!
 
I have a CZ 550 LUX .270win with a Burris Fullfield 2-7x35mm. I only use .130gr Hornady SP Interlock since I only hunt Black Tails at the moment. I originaly had it sighted only at 25yards since it will hit 3" high at both 100 and 200 and will almost be dead on at 300. Almost by like a 1/4 of an inch. I quickly realized that i've never shot a deer over 150 yards away so its now sighted in at 50 yards. It hits 0 at 50, 1/2" low at 100, pretty much 0 at 150, and 2" low at 200 yards.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom