Newbie to long range shooting

[JonnyBender]

Hi!


I'm new to long range shooting and I already made a costly mistake. I love my rifle but made a mistake in selecting the scope now I'm stuck with it. What I wanted to know can I still
shoot long distance with my mistake,Bushnell elite 6500
4.5-30x50). By the way my rifle is not a custom job but it shoots pretty good,Rem. 5r milspec).

Oh ya another question what is the difference between 6BR and 6mm BR.






Jonnybender

 

[Stoner25mkiv]

6br and 6mm br are one and the same.
So, why have you decided that the bushnell was a mistake?
I notice that it has 80 minutes of elevation, but I don;t know if that is 40 up and 40 down. If that is the case, 40 minutes should get you out there, but at the cost of reduced windage the more elevation you have to use. You could always use a 20 or 30 minute base to put the erector tube closer to center when you have alot of elevation cranked in, and that would allow you to have more windage available.
You didn't say what your rifle is chambered for.

 

[HPMike800]

I'm with Stoner. The scope seems usable to me. Take your rig out and shoot it. You'll see a lot of different gear on the line and most of the guy's have it working pretty good. I get beat by guy's with lesser gear all the time.

What kind of shooting are you interested in doing and where are you located?

Mike

 

[JonnyBender]

The rifle is a 308.

As far as the scope is concern it seems that most long range shooters are using mildots with all these fancy turrets.

The reason I purchased the bushnell elite 6500 is because thats all I could afford. I'm not saying that its not a good scope just wondering if it will do for long range shooting.

Your right I might have to look into getting a 20MOA
base. What kind of scope rings would I need?

I'd like to thank you for your input I greatly appreciated


Jonnybender

 

[Stoner25mkiv]

Yeah, the .308 Win isn't a flat shooting round for long range, so a 20 or 30 min. base should probably be in your plans. By long range I am assuming you mean 1K shooting? I've used quite a few different kinds of rings, mostly those made by Leupold, but I also like the Burris 'Premier' series as they have an insert that let's you compensate for any misalignement of the rifle components, although I do not know if they have them in 30mm.
I've got an old Rem PSS in .308 that's a pretty good shooter that has MKIV bases and rings on it. I'd prefer to use that type setup, single or two piece base of Weaver or picatinny design as compared to Redfield or Leupold's base that uses the twist in rear ring. Those type bases generally are windage adjustable and can be problematic.
I'd also suggest that you correctly lap the rings after installation to have a stress free 'bed' for the scope.

 

[JonnyBender]

Thanks Stoner

What is laping the rings? I know I'm asking a lot.



Jonnybender

 

[RJinTexas]

JB, go to EGW Inc and purchase a 20moa picatinny base on line 39.99 and then mount your scope using Burris Signature Zee rings they are self-alining and the inserts will not bend or blemish your scope body, the inserts eliminate the need to lap the rings. You'll have spent under 100. bucks. Now if you want you can purchase a Badger Ordnance base & rings and you'll drop well over 250.00 I got and use both set ups and one performs just as well as the other.

RJ

 

[scout1]

+1 on what RJ said.

 

[JonnyBender]

Don't know if I should continue on same thread but here goes.

Just did some home work, I counted the clicks on my scope from bottom to top I counted 212 clicks. So i take it that the mechanical 'Zero' should be 106 click. Now from the top end I counted 80 clicks,20 MOA) down to where I was zeroed in at 100yds.

In reality I used up 6 MOA to get to my Zero in at 100yds. That leaves me with 20 MOA to get to 1000Yds.

If I did all this wright I see a 20 MOA base in my future. Would this be correct.



Jonnybender

 

[Shootndig]

The last two replies were right on target. Also, don't write off your scope because it doesn't have mil-dots. Mil-dots are useful for some things,but shooters were and still are hittting things a long way off without them. They are mostly useful for range estimation and hold-off due to distance and elevation or wind conditions. Effective use requires lots of practice,memorization, sometimes a cheat sheet, and for some of us additional remedial help, and it still won't guarantee a hit.In fact a lot of LR shooters I know do not shoot mil-dots, as there are other reticles that are more precise for longrange.
Depending on what type of longrange shooting you are doing, the turrets could be a little problematic, but not unsolvable.
If you are doing some type of shooting requiring frequent distance/elevation changes, you may want to check into having either factory or aftermarket target turrets installed. I know Leupold will install target turrets on their scopes for a very reasonable fee and the scope is still under warranty. I don't know what Bushnell does. Maybe some one here knows, or knows of an aftermarket company.
EGW, Burris Sigs, and turrets, and you're set!

 

[HPMike800]

Johnny:
Stoney Point used to make target turret converters, I don't know if they still do. I have never used them. I would throw an extended scope rail with about 20 MOA on the gun with a good set of rings, but, other than that I would not do anything until I had shot it enough to know what and why I wanted to make the change.

It's sounds like you have an F-T/R rifle as long as you have a Bi-Pod on it. There are lots of matches around the country for this class of rifle. Post the general area where you live and someone will point you in the right direction.

Don't be tentative about going to a match. Shooting at mid-range,300M- 600yds) and long-range,800-1000yds) is much more fun and interesting in a formalized environment.

Have fun with it.

Mike

 

[12man]

Try Kenton Industries they make custom target turrets for alot of different scopes & uses )varmint tactical or target better quality than the Stoney Points

 

[Stoner25mkiv]

RJ, thanks for setting the record straight on the Burris rings. I don't know where I came up with the 'Premier' name instead of 'Signature'
Jonny..lapping the rings consists of mounting the rings, removing the top half of each ring and using a lapping bar,1' for 1' rings, 30 mm bar for 30mm rings)and very fine lapping compound ....moving the bar back and forth to, in effect, hone the rings, making them in perfect alignment. You hone, or lap the rings until about 3/4's of the surface cleans up. Then, when the scope is mounted it is stress free. That was a simplified explanation of how it's done and what it does. Rings that are not lapped leave open the possibility of the scope being in a bind, which probably wouldn't effect use, but can when the range is long.
As has been said though, just get Burris signature series rings and that problem doesn's exist.

 

[Mikem]

Rather than a 20 MOA rail, and going through the ring honing process, you could just get a set of Burris Signature Zee rings with the 20 MOA plastic inserts, and solve both problems, as stated above, and save some money. There self adjusting for mount misalignment, and wont scratch your scope tube. There the only rings I buy.
I have a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24 target dot scope with Sig Zee rings on my 6BR, and for the money, I dont think it can be beat. I also have an $1100. 30mm Leopold 5-20 MR,military ranging reticule) scope and Sig Zee rings on my 308 tactical H-S Precision, and its not that much better than my Bushnell.
I like the Bushnell Elite scopes a lot, considering the cost, and will buy another.
Mike.