leupold scope question??

[buckand bull]

Hey all, I am new to the long range shooting and looking at getting a leupold scope for my 300 win mag. I was looking at the 4.5-14x40mm cds scope but wasnt sure if that would be the best route. I am looking to practice and shoot out to 600 yards. It would be for hunting purposes. Mule deer, antelope, elk.

Any suggestions on leupold scopes for this function would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[SBruce]

4X-14X is a great hunting scope for up to 600 yds in my opinion.
In fact, I am putting a 4-14X50 VX7 on my soon to be finished 300WSM.
Same uses as you specified, deer antelope and elk.

I got the VH reticle and plan on using "holdover" technique out to 500 or 600 yds. Beyond that, I can dial the knobs if needed.

I've never had a cds dial, but it's something Leupold will add at no cost to my VX7 if I decide to go that way in the future (part of the VX7 customer care package)

Only problem I see with a cds type dial is that they only work for one load at one altitude and one temp. If you decide to change the bullet weight or velocity of your ammo, it would be off some. If you get one that works at 2000' elevation during the cold, it will be off when you go to 6000' elevation and it's 70 degrees. Granted, the velocity or BDC reticles are similar, but as long as we know this; it can be compensated for with either system to a certain distance anyway.

Just have them set up the cds for your average temp, altitude and barometric pressure, then it'll be easier to compensate if your location changes.

 

[retiredcpo]

Buck
leupold scopes are great get the cds scope you are looking at and enjoy it.
the dial is marked in moa so just make a drop chart to match you load and go with it if you are changing alt just adust you drop chart to match
there are ballistic calulators that will do this for you.

Sbruce
you might want to look into the dial thing alittle i believe the package includes a turret for the speed dial system that comes on the vx7 the cds turret is a completly differtant system
retiredcpo

 

[SBruce]

Retiredcpo,

Yea, I am sure you are right.

The VX7 adjustments are a totally different cat compared to the other Leup adjustment systems.

I have been under the impression that cds dials were only marked in distances, and didn't have the actual moa stamped on........am I incorrect on this?

 

[Buano]

As I understand it, CDS scopes come with a MOA turret that you can change out with the CDS turrets once you have them made. You can always put the MOA back on if you wish to.

 

[retiredcpo]

Cds Dials come marked in moa.
They will build you a custom turret marked in yards to match your load
or how ever you want it marked.
I prefer standard moa so I can change alt just by modifing my drop chart.
I had a windage dial made that was marked from zero to 7 both ways
usually when you dial for wind it 1,2 3 ect one way and 14,13,12 ect the other
The dial i had made is 1 ,2 ,3 ect each way
this way you dont have to try to back figure one direction.
Can send you a pic if you like
Some have yardage turrets made calibrated for differant alt and just change turrets whe they travel.
retiredcpo

 

[sp6x6]

When I did a retro fit to cds, they sent me both dials, custom and moa

 

[buckand bull]

Wow guys thanks for all the fast suggestions. Ok I am a little confused here so what is the Vx7 and does it come with cds caps as well? Which one do you guys reccomend, because I know they also have the A/O. I was looking at the duplex cds 4.5 14x40 but they have so many variations that I am a bit confused. I usualy have my 300 mag shooting 180 grain hornady superformance ssts dialed to 2 inches high at 100 dead on 200 and 5 inches low at 300 but realy want to have the advantage if needed out to 600 yards. So I guess my question is if leupold suggests being dead on at 100 then do I have to use the cds dial for a 300 yard shot and further? Out of all the different models what do you guys reccomend?

Love this site, great knoowledge and great people!

Thanks again for the help!

 

[retiredcpo]

Go with you first choice it will make a nice 700-800 yard gun easy
get real good rings and bases for it.
So it and enjoy it
retiredcpo

 

[buckand bull]

Ok thanks, any good reccomendations on rings and bases?

 

[retiredcpo]

Lots of good ones out there
I like the warne for the milder calibers and I really prefer seekins for heavier stuff
I dont like the bolts/nuts sticking out of the side on alot of rings
retiredcpo

 

[SBruce]

Wow guys thanks for all the fast suggestions. Ok I am a little confused here so what is the Vx7 and does it come with cds caps as well? Which one do you guys reccomend, because I know they also have the A/O. I was looking at the duplex cds 4.5 14x40 but they have so many variations that I am a bit confused. I usualy have my 300 mag shooting 180 grain hornady superformance ssts dialed to 2 inches high at 100 dead on 200 and 5 inches low at 300 but realy want to have the advantage if needed out to 600 yards. So I guess my question is if leupold suggests being dead on at 100 then do I have to use the cds dial for a 300 yard shot and further? Out of all the different models what do you guys reccomend?

Love this site, great knoowledge and great people!

Thanks again for the help!

You're Welcome

The VX7 is Leupolds top tier hunting scope. They are about double the price of the VX3's. The optics rival (possibly even beat) my NightForce scopes for brightness/clarity/contrast. They cost just as much as the NF does though, and they don't have a zero stop.

They utilize a speed dial type of turret, that has an integral spring loaded screw down stowable cap. It also has 30mm tube and I believe it has different newer lense coatings. It's got a super forgiving eyebox too.

Not that there's anything wrong with the VX3's or the Mark 4's, I just wanted to try the speed dial system and wanted something different from what I already had.

Here's a link, you can also check out their other scopes here.
Leupold || VX-7 3.5-14x50mm Long Range

If money is of any concern, I honestly think you'd be Good to Go with the VX3 4.5-14X40mm. I see they make 3 models, but it looks like the AO version and the LR version can both be fitted with a cds dial through the custom shop. If you have trouble seeing in low light with 40mm, then they also offer 50mm. I use a 4-12X40 on my 25-06 and It works just fine in low light, even on 12X which is where I leave it. The LR model appears to have 30mm tube, so it should give more adjustment range in the dials............. not really a concern for 600 yds IMO.

I personally really like an AO or the newer Side Focus scopes. 10 years ago, there weren't hardly any scopes over 9X that didn't have AO or SF, and I've really come to like them. I personally wouldn't be happy without one.

 

[buckand bull]

That is some great info, but here is probably a dumb question but what is the advantage of the A/O or adjustible objective? Thanks again

 

[SBruce]

That is some great info, but here is probably a dumb question but what is the advantage of the A/O or adjustible objective? Thanks again

It will eliminate parallax and enable you to focus the image against the reticle. For precision shooting, you don't want parallax......bad juju!!

Next time you're driving in the car, look at your speedometer, now move your head to the left or right while still looking at the speedo. You'll notice that it "appears" like your speed has changed, when the only thing that's changed is the alignment of one image on top of another.

Target images behind reticles work the same. If you move your eye in relation to the scope (left/right or up/down) without moving the gun, the target will appear to move in relation to the reticle. Can you gaurantee you're aligning your eye to the exact center of the scope every time you shoot??

AO allows us to focus both on the same plane and eliminate this optical illusion. The SF you see on most newer design scopes do the same thing. There will be a setting for different distances and the AO is usually marked in yds. But it works better to adjust for a parallax free image and sharp focus and just ignore the numbers, because they don't always match the distance you're shooting at.

This illusion is much more noticeable with higher power optics (above 9X). It's also much more noticeable at close distances (under 100 yds) you won't notice it much at 100 -200, because most scopes are set at the factory to be parallax free at somewhere between 100 and 150 yds usually. It is also noticeable beyond 200, especially with higher powered scopes.