Why not a 20MOA rail?

[GoosePilot]

I like small turret, lightweight scopes on my hunting rifles like Swarovski z5 that have 1" tubes with limited travel so if i want to dial beyond 6-700 yds I need a 20moa rail.

 

[davidu]

If scopes can zero at 100 yards with a 20MOA rail then why ever not go with a 20MOA rail? Just curious.

This is a really good question
I ran into this issue with my Zeiss v6 5-30 scope on a 6.5 CM It has 60 MOA of elevation which limited the range to around 800 yards
The pros and cons, in my opinion, are:
Pros:
Increased shooting distance without limiting out the scope's elevation travel
Cons:
20 MOA one piece rings/bases are more expensive
So, I wouldn't think about using a 20 MOA Base on my .223 or 22-250 due their limited effective range
But believe 20 MOA base/ rings were money well spent on 6CM and 6.5CM
My .02 cents

 

[J E Custom]

Before MOA bases became available, we added shims to the rear base to get on at 1000 yards. it was not ideal, but it worked. .010 to .020 thousandths was all it took. The scopes were near the limit of their adjustments but they were not cranked up and down to shoot difference distances so they held up well.

Now scopes have much more range in their reticle,s and this is not necessary, But getting the correct MOA rings if needed is.

J E CUSTOM

 

[lancetkenyon]

As to why not, mounting the scope on a slope changes the look of the gun. That may or may not be a good thing. It also raises the ocular lens and requiring your eye to be further elevated above the stock. Again, may or may not be a good thing. As JE said, ideally the scope would stay optically centered. Depending on what issues may exist with a particular gun a sloped base may be needed to center the scope even at close range.

I can't see .07" slope with a 12" long scope. And .035" higher eyepiece is probably not so noticeable when getting behind a rifle.

The reason ALL my rifles use a 20MOA mount is this. If I need to swap scopes on a rifle, especially out on a hunt, most of mine are pretty close to each other. Sure, adjustments will still need to be made to rezero, but minor ones. Since some are LR rifles, it makes sense.

 

[Rum Man]

Well I believe it depends on what your doing with your Rifle . I have 20 min.bases up to a 55 moa base on my rifles . They All zero at 100 yards .
The one with the 55 moa base also has a 200 min. adj. base on it . Its built for ELR shooting . It has been out to 1.72 miles with great results!
Hunting purpose rifles in my experience a 20 min. Rail or Ring set is just fine for most hunters . I shot my Bull Elk last fall at 1244 yrds. It has a 20 min. Rail on it . It worked just fine !

Rum Man

 

[Greyfox]

While I haven't seen the necessity for compensated bases on my LRH centerfires or PRS competition rifles, I do find them to be a necessity on my rimfire PRS rifles where targets can be 400 yards. 19MILS of elevation is needed for a 400 yard target. I can just make it with my Vortex AMG and a 20 MOA base.

 

[Roy39A]

I'm still old school when it comes to mounts and rings. I prefer Leupold 2pc bases and Leupold rings. They look teriffic and I've never had a ring/base failure. I rarely shoot beyond 5-600yds, and then I only do that at the range or when shooting prairie dogs.

+1

 

[Lenny Foffa]

I put a 20mm MOA Leopold rail on my Heavy Barrel Savage Model 110 target gun, in .308 , then I put a 36X Sightron scope with an 1/8 inch dot on the rifle. All the target shooters said, we Hope you can dial the scope down to zero a 100 yards. It barely made that 100 yard zero with that 20 MOA rail. In my case ,since I will only be shooting 100; 200 and 300 yards, it was not needed.