Lafitte
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I am thinking about a BDC or dead hold scope for a 7mm Rem mag rifle. What are your thoughts and suggestions.
Thanks, Lafitte
Thanks, Lafitte
BDC scope for 7mm mag
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eastbank
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i put a leupold 4.5x14 with the target dial cds from the custom shop on my 7mm mag, set up for the hornady 139gr sst at 3100 fps. the leupold 4.5x14 came with the free offer for a custom dial. it goes out to 750yds for the 139sst hornady bullet at 3100 fps. eastbank.
I think the BDC is both a blessing and a curse depending what you are using it for.
If its for one particular load and at a specific altitude, its a great thing.
If you zero at sea level and go on a Colorado elk hunt at 9000 feet, its not going to work at distance.
If its for one particular load and at a specific altitude, its a great thing.
If you zero at sea level and go on a Colorado elk hunt at 9000 feet, its not going to work at distance.
The difference between sea level and 9000' is about 1.5" difference in bullet drop at 400 yards. If you and you're gun are capable of shooting 1" groups at 400 yards it might be a minor concern, but not one that could not be over come. If you and your rifle are "normal", you'll see 4"-6" groups at that range and you'll never notice an extra 1.5" of bullet drop.
I've found a scope with dots to be very useful if used with a range finder. The differences in trajectory between various calibers and bullet weights is MUCH closer than many realize. I zero at 100 yards, With 308, 30-06, and 300 WSM, and with bullet weights ranging from 150-180 gr the dots for 200, 300, and 400 are close enough. The 150's from the 300 WSM might impact 1-2" higher than my POA, while 165's from the 308 might hit 2-3" lower than POA with 30-06 right on. That is close enough to make hits on game animals. And with practice and the knowledge of exactly where your shots will impact in relation to POA can be very accurate. And fast to use compared to dials. Dials are more accurate, but slower to use. Which could be an issue when hunting.
eastbank
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dials used with a range finder may be 3-5 seconds slower in real life hunting. but the longest time taken will be taking the range with your range finder. and i like the fact you can hold right on, plus the horizonal hair will help you from canting your rifle. eastbank.
Most of the BDC reticles are so busy that I find them annoying most of the time. And I don't like cranking dials when there are often better options. I really like the Burris Ballistic Plex reticle. http://www.burrisoptics.com/ballplex.html I have 4 of their FFII 4.5-14x42 with this reticle and think very highly of the scope.
^^ True. I find it interesting how many people want to pick up this or that a new gun, often in some obscure caliber, because it's "flat shooting." Then you check out the ballistic tables and there's not 10 cents worth of difference between it and the old stand-by calibers.
Got a buddy who's shooting an AR-10 243/87 V-Max combination at coyotes and have never seen anyone that can one-up him at long-range with his Leupold Varmint Hunters reticle in his optics out to about 600ish and even further with his turret running air density changes on a portable ballistics program. 7 Mag oughtta' work great with the Leupold B&C reticle, and if the shooter wishes becomes a pretty good platform if he wishes to study the effects of subtension vs. velocity vs. air density changes.
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