how many use custom turrets?

[casilva43]

I have the Leupold Mark 4 6.5 X 20 with front focal adjustment, mildot reticle scope but with m1 turrets that are 1/4 moa adjustments.

Would I be better off chronographing my rifle, takeing the Barometric pressure, humidity readings, etc., and ordering a custom turret from Leupold? They say they can give me a turret with the drops out to 1000 yards(i guess like best of the west)?

would I be better off buying a PPC and downloading exbal and entering all the info every time before taking a shot.

Which would be better for hunting applications? I live in Texas but plan on hunting in the mountains.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Broz]

Which would be better for hunting applications? I live in Texas but plan on hunting in the mountains.

Thanks for your help.

The ballistic turrets are nice, but just remember it is only spot on at the elevation and temp it was designed for. But out to 500 to 700 yards you may be ok depending on the caliber and the field conditions. If you change altitude or temperature you will be off and the farther the shot distance, the farther the miss wil be. So, to answer your question, it depends on how far you wish to shoot. Here is what I would do. For under 600 yards do a BDC turret. For 600 plus I would go with a .25 MOA turret and a PDA or phone app and enter actual field conditions. That said I use "shooter" on my phone for every shot while hunting.

Also remember, you will need to confirm either of these methods with actual field shooting to make sure it is on at several distances before you try to take game. Nothing is set in stone untill tested and documented.

Jeff

 

[ultraedge]

You can buy a G7 rangefinder,install your ballistic data, and range your target. In about 1 or 2 seconds it will tell you your dial up in moa that you can use with your existing turrets.The G7 rangefinder has onboard sensors that sense temp, pressure, and angle. If you install correct data the corrections will be spot on.

 

[MuleHunter]

I use the ballistic app in my phone too. Another good idea is to print several drop charts for as close to the conditions you will be hunting in as you can get. That way if the electronics fail you will still have a couple of really good reference points

 

[SpikeSniper]

I shoot long range almost daily in South Texas and don't use custom turrets for two reasons. One is that if I change my load for one reason or another, say jumping up to a 168 gr bullet for elk instead of 130 gr for deer in my STW, the turrets are no longer accurate. The other, and most importantly, is that from one day to the next (or one minute in Texas) conditions change and can drastically affect POI at long range. For instance, Tuesday I shot a 5 shot group at 1K with my 260 and put all five in the 10 ring, 3 in the X at 27.5 MOA up. That was using my Letfly app for iPhone. The next morning, the temperature rose 15 degrees, humidity jumped 40%, wind changed from 11 to 5 oclock, and pressure rose from 29.3 to 30.04. My app calculated that 26.3 MOA was necessary with 1.5 MOA drift. My first two shots were on the right edge of the X ring 1" high. Had I used custom turrets or a chart, I would have been 15" high based on my previous dope. Mule hunter is right, print off charts that will correlate to conditions as closely as possible in case electronics fail, but these apps are unbeatable. And they're cheap!

 

[cwinner]

I initially set up one of my rifles with a dial ordered from the custom shop and can verify that as conditions change the point of impact will shift, primiliarly elevation that makes a difference....I zeroed it at 600 yds and aligned the dial for that range and it works ok through those intermediate ranges but tends to swing quite a bit out past 800 yds....i dont use it anymore!!

I now shoot a standard 1/4 MOA M1 dail with a drop chart taped to my objective sunshade and have field verified it for my 5500ft elevation out to 1200yds.....I have tried some high angle shots at 8500ft and am quite a bit high.....I have a buddy with the exbal program and with my kestrel 4500 we can get on target at a mile with just a couple shots....this would never be possible with a BDC turrent in my oppinion.

 

[angus-5024]

keep your M1's. if you think that looking at a drop chart is to slow, consider if the shot is too far to be shooting that fast.

with my Mark 4 with M1's I cut a peice of masking tape that fit in the spot with no lettering on the dial. I get a good, confirmed drop chart to wherever 15 MOA is (one revolution of the dial). at each 100 yard mark I put the yardage/10 (so 400 yards would be 4). then when the drops get past 4" per 50 I enter in the .5 to represent 50 and so on to .25 for 25 yards. then I put a peice of clear scotch or packing tape over it. you just made yourself a custom dial that can be changed whenever you change your load or make a big elevation change. I actually use green painters tape, I find it more visible but I have used the masking tape before.

Thats what works for me. I feel that if someone is going to get into long range hunting there needs to be alot of thought put into there set-up and alot of trigger time to. The people who have both those thing tend to go with the MOA or mill turrets.

I would consider it on a light wieght mountain rifle, but only breifly, then I would come to my senses.

 

[sp6x6]

I use both methods, have custom dials, have reticule hold over points, and have standard dial w/tape trick. I have had no problem making hits in the 800 range w/bdc type. I shoot in spring in some of the places I hunt and have a range book for hold, mountain side shooting.

 

[chucknbach]

Use a BDC reticle for faster closer shots and turrents when you have time.