Low Budget ELR

[IdahoSharpshooter]

Please, DO NOT bombard the military telling them the 338 LM won't work at ELR.

They have their hands full with the mess the Sig has created. I told them not to watch any of those NCIS Marathons on USA Network, but they wouldn't listen....

 

[69mach]

I started getting into long range shooting years ago with a 700 5R Remington 300wm, nxs 32, and some good Berger vld reloads. Get yourself a reliable spotter and a good visible backstop. My combo didnt cost me that much and you will be surpeised how far you can shoot with a cheap setup like that. Like me and everyone else after some shooting you'll upgrade everything, the most important thing is to just get out there and shoot.

 

[Texas10]

This combo worked for a buddy of mine. Savage 112 in 338LM right off the shelf. Bi pod, Night force 16X glass (was about $1200 but you can find just as good glass for less), A 20 moa rail, and Team Never Quit ammo in 300 grain SMK. I think his total ready to shoot cost was about $2400, and when he made the shot at 1 mile, well....you should'a seen the big fat grin that came over his face.

 

[Bart B.]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, "low budget" and ELR do not go in the same sentence together.

They do go together very well based on the OP's objectives, conditions and standards.

Yours are different than his.

 

[JRS]

Do what you can afford to do starting out. It's possible you might not like that game. You can always upgrade if/when the time comes.

 

[Bart B.]

The 2 most important items are your barrel and scope.

Here's my opinions.....

I would buy a $400 Weaver T36 scope then spend the $1500 not spent on a $1900 scope on a good barrel fitted to your trued up action epoxy bedded in its factory stock and very good bullets. Bullets are more important than perfect glass in sights

Weaver scopes are mechanically great and their 5% less optical quality doesn't matter; well, maybe 2/100ths MOA accuracy wise. All the mirage wrinkling far distant targets' images is not cleared up with perfect glass. Good bullets are worth several tenths MOA at very long ranges.

 

[Jason Boersma]

I agree with Bart, to start out spend your money on the rifle first then you can upgrade the scope later. Find the most accurate load you can for it, for whatever cartridge you start with.

 

[alf]

I would buy a $400 Weaver T36 scope.

Poor choice for ELR, as it only has 42 MOA total adjustment.......

 

[Bart B.]

Poor choice for ELR, as it only has 42 MOA total adjustment.......

Plus a 60 MOA rail equals 104. Great for 80 MOA bullet drop at ELR.

Or does one really need a scope that has adjustment range from bore sight to ELR zero? Windage adjustment span often gets smaller as its elevation goes up from center to the top of the scope tube. ELR means 1 MOA or more wind drift per mph of air speed. Wind speed is higher at trajectory peak ; 50 to 100 percent for ELR's can happen.

 

[dkhunt14]

Plus a 60 MOA rail equals 104. Great for 80 MOA bullet drop at ELR.

Or does one really need a scope that has adjustment range from bore sight to ELR zero? Windage adjustment span often gets smaller as its elevation goes up from center to the top of the scope tube. ELR means 1 MOA or more wind drift per mph of air speed. Wind speed is higher at trajectory peak ; 50 to 100 percent for ELR's can happen.

Most these extreme long range guns are hunting guns. You need close to 100 yard zero and be able to click to range. Even if you use a 60 MOA base, I doubt you can shoot both 1000 and 2000 yards with alot of guns. I prefer to click to range. Matt

 

[Bart B.]

Most these extreme long range guns are hunting guns. You need close to 100 yard zero and be able to click to range. Even if you use a 60 MOA base, I doubt you can shoot both 1000 and 2000 yards with alot of guns. I prefer to click to range. Matt

Then get a Swarovski X5(i) long range master having 115 MOA adjustment range. Put in on a 50 MOA rail and you're good from 100 to past 2000 yards. Plus several MOA compensating range for misalignment of bore to mounting ring axis.

What are typical MOA come-ups from 1000 to 2000 yards?

 

[dkhunt14]

My 338 Lapua IMP needs 68 MOA to 2000. It needs 20 MOA to 1000. So if you were bottomed out at 1000, it would take all that scope has to get to 2000. I don't like the reticle bottomed out or all the way up. My gun is flatter then most except for the real big ones like the Cheytac. Matt

 

[ShaunBrady]

Plus a 60 MOA rail equals 104. Great for 80 MOA bullet drop at ELR.

Or does one really need a scope that has adjustment range from bore sight to ELR zero? Windage adjustment span often gets smaller as its elevation goes up from center to the top of the scope tube. ELR means 1 MOA or more wind drift per mph of air speed. Wind speed is higher at trajectory peak ; 50 to 100 percent for ELR's can happen.

Actually, that'll be more like 60 moa + 42/2 moa = 81 moa maximum, with 60 moa - 42/2 moa = 39 moa minimum. The scope starts centered and you only get half the travel up and down. The base is usually used to turn the down travel into up travel. A canted base can also relieve the need for a zero stop by getting the zero down to the last turn on the turret before bottoming.

For ELR, my experience has been the optic has a far larger effect on the results than the rifle, but it doesn't need to be ridiculously expensive. Travel and reticle being 2 of the most desirable features. The Gen 1 Razor is pretty tough to beat as a low buck ELR optic. They can be found new for as little as $1350ish. Anything with ~100 moa of travel on a 40 moa base would get you started. I run my Razors on 60 moa Murphy Precision bases and wind up with 115+ moa up from a 100 yard zero. It depends on where you're shooting and the air temperature, but mirage keeps the magnification sweet spot in the 15-25x range most of the time where I shoot.

 

[alf]

My 6.5 PRC needs 75 MOA to reach 2K. I have it on a 30 MOA base, with a 200 zero, leaving me 83 MOA up on a 5.5-22 NF.

My 6.5 x47 Lapua needs 100 MOA.......

Scrimping on a scope is counter productive........

 

[Tempest]

Agreed on comments about regarding scope.

Similar to .338 guy above I need around 70 MOA for 2,000 with my .338 LM. Using a NF ATACR scope and 20 MOA base, I can zero at 100 and can dial out to approx 2,200 yards. More using reticle. Also, last time we shot that distance we could only use approx 14-16X magnification because of the mirage (that day).

I would not skimp on the scope.

 

[jimbo88mm]

I put a Vortex Razor Gen 1 on my 338LM. With a 20 moa base I have just over 75 moa up (22.5 mils). Probably should have went with a 30 moa base but I have enough adjustment to reach out to 2k at most altitudes.