Custom turrets?

[wildaggie13]

http://kentonindustries.com/category/custom-turrets

I have bought the kentonindustries turrets for my 270 for pronghorn hunting. I had them set for 4000ft elevation so they would be accurate from 2000-6000ft.
The problem is that I live at 600ft. When I shot this turret at my home elevation it was dead on up to 200 yards. At 300 yards I had to shoot like I was a 350 yards. My point is to make sure you are practicing at close to same elevation you will be hunting at with custom turrets or they will be useless. Of course you could always buy 2 different ones.

 

[MKotur325]

I have been on the firing line at matches on 600 yard range when the firing line, mid and target flags were all going different directions and you really had to watch the mirage carefully to determine where to hold.

I think it's good to read all the material you can on reading the wind but nothing is better than just plain old experience.

The craziest for me was laying staring at a 6"x12" plate at 642yds with my .308 with about a 15mph wind screaming right in my right ear and having the spotter tell me, OK, hold 1 MOA high, no wind.... 642yds, 15mph crosswind... and the spotter says "Hold 0 wind" Band, Ding; Bang, Ding. Get behind a spotting scope for the next guy and get to watch the trace for that shot... and get two watch a near perfect S for trace as the slug hit a big wind pocket going completely the other way starting at about 300yds then hit a Nasty downdraft at about 550yds, and watch the slug just plummet into the target...

Wind is a fickle mistress...

 

[TimeOnTarget]

The craziest for me was laying staring at a 6"x12" plate at 642yds with my .308 with about a 15mph wind screaming right in my right ear and having the spotter tell me, OK, hold 1 MOA high, no wind.... 642yds, 15mph crosswind... and the spotter says "Hold 0 wind" Band, Ding; Bang, Ding. Get behind a spotting scope for the next guy and get to watch the trace for that shot... and get two watch a near perfect S for trace as the slug hit a big wind pocket going completely the other way starting at about 300yds then hit a Nasty downdraft at about 550yds, and watch the slug just plummet into the target...

Wind is a fickle mistress...

You got that right! On the plains out here, the wind just flat out blows one direction. You get in those mountains though and within 500yds of the starting point the wind can blow in all 4 directions!

 

[jryoung]

I think it was Buzz who said it best. Drop is math/physics, wind is voodoo.

 

[Jamen]

Thanks for all the input, I will have to look at the lower magnification on the scope also that nightforce that was mentioned. I am planning a few trips our to the badlands to scout and to shoot the gun out there. Do any of you ever bring a shooting mat rolled up in your pack for hunting? The area I am hunting for mule deer I shouldn't be too far from the truck a mile or two but I feel if I had brought one for my elk trip being 3-5 miles from the truck not worth the extra weight. I am excited to learn all I can and practice. Any suggestions on 300 win mag ammo?

 

[1_pointer]

My suggestion, especially if you are wanting to shoot enough to get good at long range, is to load your own. I'd buy a reloading set up before I'd worry about buying a new rifle.

 

[MKotur325]

Thanks for all the input, I will have to look at the lower magnification on the scope also that nightforce that was mentioned. I am planning a few trips our to the badlands to scout and to shoot the gun out there. Do any of you ever bring a shooting mat rolled up in your pack for hunting? The area I am hunting for mule deer I shouldn't be too far from the truck a mile or two but I feel if I had brought one for my elk trip being 3-5 miles from the truck not worth the extra weight. I am excited to learn all I can and practice. Any suggestions on 300 win mag ammo?

I Carried a shooting mat on one of my precision rifle courses. I don't typically carry one while hunting. For me, the shooting mat I have is far too bulky to carry in the field.

One thing I do carry in the field, is a rear shooting bag filled with lightweight plastic beads. That has been really helpful for me with some difficult shots in the field. It weighs less than a pound and can help provide rock solid platform to shoot off when combined with shooting off a pack, or bipod.

As far as Ammo goes, Like was said before, Handloading would be my first recommendation. A good, high BC slug, heavy for caliber will be best in wind, Get something that is deisgned for terminal performance as well, not simply any match bullet. Think a 180gr as the ABSOLUTE lightest slug for best performance in wind, with a 200gr or heavier being even better. Were I looking at a .300WM, I'd be taking a hard look at a 200Gr Nosler Accubond, 200Gr Sierra GameKing, 210Gr Nosler LRAB, a 210 Berger VLD, a 208gr Hornady A-Max and similar. But that's me...

If handloading is off the table, there are a couple options out there for folks that are loading the 200Gr Nosler Accubond. Those would be great options, there are folks who load Berger hunting VLD's in a 185 or heavier, if you want a berger, they would be options as well. Accuracy should be the priority, not the bullet itself.

 

[Jamen]

Thanks for all the input guys I will have to do some more research before I buy the set up here this next month.

Jamen

 

[Dan O]

You can go on the nosler site and get the info on reloading specs for the caliber of your choice plus all the BC and SD info for each bullet. Then go to the Hornady site and load it into their ballistic calculator and get read outs including wind drift info, This lets you compare and decide on the load that will work best for your needs. Its and easy fun way to get the basic info then you can work on an accurate load for your rifle. Good way to save money and time and get the most bang for your buck. One thing you will find is there is not as much difference in some of the actual point of impact at reasonable ranges as one would expect. One example would be between a partition and accubond bullet. The accubond shoots a little flatter and a bit less wind drift than the partition but in real world hunting conditions it is pretty small difference. The important thing is what is MOST accurate in your rifle.
Check it out and have fun.
Dan

 

[Jamen]

I will have to go there and check it out!
Thanks Jamen

 

[MKotur325]

There are a ton of options out there for ballistic calculators. G7's is ok, JBM is a good system, Applied Ballistics is what I use, "Shooter" smart phone App uses the same ballistic algorithms as Applied Ballistics. Both are good. If you can, use trued BC data. Bryan Litz has done extensive real world testing of BC data from all major bullet manufacturers. Applied Ballistics and Shooter both have a catalog of the majority of the Bullets that he has tested in the app.

It's been discussed ad nauseam in other areas, I wouldn't trust factory ammo velocities, factory provided BC's or turret calibrations for longer range work. Test it first, then you will know. I learned the hard way about these... My first precision rifle course, my scope was calibrated in 1/4" at 100 yard clicks instead of true 1/4MOA. All my adjustments were off by about 5%, compound this with using a bdc type reticle that I had calibrated based off MOA instead of "/100yards and it just compounded the error (just as an aside, this difference alone put me about 13" off at 1000yds, and about 18" off at 1080 the longest target I shot at). My second precision rifle course, my estimated data proved accurate enough out to about 650yds, by was off by about 35" at 1185yds. I used the stated 2600fps for my 175gr Federal GMM ammo since I hadn't had a chance to put it on a chrono. When I switched over to a trued G7 BC and a velocity of 2575fps it sucked that error right up.

When it comes to longer range field shooting, there are so many variables... Anything you can do to narrow the variables helps. Being successful shooting targets at long range isn't an accident, to be repeatable at those ranges; you need to be able to account for variables. Little differences make big changes when you start shooting at longer ranges.

 

[WapitiBob]

I used to range, calculate, dial, and shoot.
Now I range, dial, and shoot. It's your personal preference but the calc step was a pain. I did the range card thing too. Magnification is a preference. I was using a 14x and would never shoot less. I have a 22x Nightforce on the way and for me, it will be perfect, BUT this rifle is used at the range and in WY, not in a close timbered environment.

You can make your own turret tapes with an Avery label and a sharpie. If you know a cad guy you can get fancier. I shoot in my marks at 200/400/600 and go from there.
If you know a cad guy remember to add the label thickness to the turret dia or your spacing will be off. I used yardage and MOA on my last tape and will probably do the same for the NF.
There is also a company that sells stick-on labels.
Before I spent the money on a turret, I'd make a cpl different ones from Avery labels and see how it worked. You may like the MOA/range card setup.

I hadn't read Mtn's post before mine. I would add to his post, if you use an old LaserJet, they don't use ink and the marks are waterproof from the get go.

 

[roadhunter]

Lots of good advice so far. I think like most things it comes down to personal preference. Some people dont like much magnification and others like myself seem to prefer more magnification.

I personally dont have time to reload so I prefer to find a factory cartridge my gun shoots well and simply have a turret made for that load at the expected elevation where I do most of my hunting. Seems to work great for me.

After reading about the turrets moving on the CDS scopes I can see where a zero stop and cap would make things easier.

 

[Jamen]

Yes very good information from everyone! I appreciate it all, I will be at scheels in two weeks and take a look at the optics and guns see if they can mount them to a stock and I can compare the different magnifications out. I know reloading is the thing to do but like stated above right now working two jobs soon to be a 3rd and a full time student I do not have the time. I have been saving my brass for the day I have the time to do it.

 

[ccc23454]

i shot the 4-16x44 viperHS on my mountain rifle and it has a Kenton industry turrent. i love it and think its perfect the way i use it and i know that vertically its dead on out to 600 yards since i practice out that far regularly, that's the furthest i will shot a animal and even then everything has to be perfect. wind even on a "no wind" day cant be trusted past that range in my experience, unless i take extra tools and time to estimate and i don't carry all that crap. i only put a turret on it because it shots 2.5" groups consistently at 500 yards with 200 grain accubonds (higher BC). i have verified the turret every 50yards from 200 out to 750 and every click has been dead-on, but i did a full workup for the turret build and had lots of data to draw from. i will say i think the average shooter is better off buying a few extra boxes of ammo with the turret savings and practicing longer shots and getting familiar with their setup and clicking in to longer targets.

 

[Jamen]

Thanks for the information CCC I do plan on putting some boxes down range before I would make a decision to buy custom turrets. I don't feel i will need them but we will see.

Thanks Jamen