Thread: Time for a scope upgrade?

Originally Posted by zeropak

Another very important consideration with choosing a scope for shooting longer ranges is whether you intend to dial the elevation or use some other method to get the correct zero at these longer ranges. Personally I'm a fan of dialing the elevation for the correct distance. To do this you need a scope which has a user friendly elevation dial, preferably with a zero stop to minimise stuff ups in the field. There are plenty of good options. Leupold ZL, Swarovski BT, Delta optical. A good range finder is also essential for this type of shooting, You can't hit it reliably if you don't know how far away it is, distances in the field can be very deceiving. Having said all that, any shot out to about 300m holdover would do the trick. (you still need to know the distance though). most suitable calibers when zeroed at 200m will be about 22/26cm low at 300, so that means your still holding high shoulder on a deer. after that dialing is the only way to go. As for magnification at ranges past 300m you will really appreciate a scope which will give you 15 power or greater but in order to get that and keep a lower magnification for bush hunting you will need to spend some decent money to get something with something like a 3 power base mag and a max mag of 15 power or more. My 2 cents.

Appreciate it mate.

Yeah have a decent range finder already which have used a couple times now since getting it and it's made a difference already on some of the clearings. Not that -200 makes a huge difference. Still typically point and shoot at that range and feel fairly comfortable it's going to be a good hit.

I've been looking at the the CDS system on the Leupys, seem to take the thinking out of it. Correct me if i'm wrong but seems as though you range, dial, shoot and it's custom to your load. I wont be reloading and will stick to the trusty Fed blue box 150gr. Maybe its a matter of switching to a 3x9 CDS system.

Think i'll be paying a visit to the local again.