Leuplod's custom dial I'm planning to order.

S

Scottcc

New member
The scope is a VX-3i 4.5-14x40mm with Boone and Crockett reticle. I'm able to order a free custom dial and would like some input.
The rifle, Xbolt 270win Hunter, 22" 1/10 barrel. I have zeroed it at 100yards, but planning on 200 yards when I get a better feel for the rifle.
The custom dial I think maybe ideal

Ave Altitude. 750ft
Ave Temp. 60F
BC. .495
Bullet. Hornady 140gr SST
Muz vel. 2800
Zero. 200 yards
Sight height. 1.5"
I'd like to be able learn long distance shooting with this setup, maybe a long term goal to 800 yards.
 
I think you're going to be better off working up a load that's reasonably accurate at each range. Then write each range's sight settings on a sticky note to paste on the rifle.

Rarely does one load produce best accuracy at all ranges.

I think Browning's accuracy guarantee is limited to 3 shots per group and 1 MOA at 100 yards. They don't guarantee 1 MOA at greater ranges and more than 3 shots per group.
 
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Scottcc, don't take this the wrong way, but you don't have an 800 yard rifle there. Bart B. added some realistic comments about this. I have a couple of Custom Dial turret knobs on some Leupold scopes. They are close in predicting POI, but not dead on. It depends on your exact load, bullet, velocity, etc. Out to two to three hundred yards they're close enough for woodchucks, deer, etc. For small rodents they might be off enough to miss at extended distances. If you're serious about long range shooting, start looking into what rifles and calibers are suited for it. The .270win is a great cartridge for some applications, but long range precision shooting isn't one of them. FWIW, I once had a custom built .270 that was very accurate. However, it wasn't an 800 yard gun built for precision long range shooting. Killed a lot of deer and woodchucks with it though.
 
Thanks for the advice. I thought 800 yards was within a 270s ballistics. No big deal, I'll probably be happy with 500 yards.
 
The 270 Winchester is ballistically efficient to 1000 yards. A good rifle shooting 150 grain match grade bullets loaded right will group sub MOA 3000 feet down range.

It's spec'd at 65,000 psi shooting 150 grain bullets out at 3000 fps from 24 inch barrels
 
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The problem 270 has at long range is that the barrels aren't designed for the high BC bullets needed for that. A 150 gr HUNTING bullet is about as heavy as they will stabilize. A 150 gr hunting bullet will kill any big game animal in North America, and do it at ranges farther than most can make an ethical kill.

A 150 gr TARGET bullet, even though it is the same weight is considerably longer may, or may not work so well. The longer bullets don't stabilize as well in barrels not twisted for them. Also since they are longer they either take up powder space limiting velocity, or the may have to be seated so far out they won't fit the magazine. But I think 800 yards is doable.

The 270 was designed from the ground up as a hunting rifle and cartridge. It can be used for informal longish range target shooting, but there are better options

On the scope. Since the dials are free you may want to order it. But I chose not to do so. A custom dial is only good for one bullet at one velocity. I wanted more versatility. I can zero multiple loads at 100 yards and like Bart says I have a cheat sheet with the number of clicks needed to account for different drops with different loads.
 
jmr40 said it well. Just not designed for it. Still, a good hunting gun and for informal long range it could be fun.....just not competitive. Enjoy your gun and if you want to really get into long range you can investigate a gun specifically for that purpose.
 
Sierra's .277" 150 grain SBT bullet leaving 3000 fps from a 1:11 twist barrel has a 1.4xx JBM stabilization factor. It's going about 1300 fps at a thousand yards. Most 270 barrels are 1:10.
 
Ok, so i read Scottc's initial post, and came to this.
He would like to learn to be able to shoot to 800 yards.
Nothing about that says he wants to shoot matches with it.
And you don't NEED a match bullet to shoot accurately to 800 yards.
I have witnessed one person shoot a 10X, 10 rounds at 1,000 yards (thats 10 rounds in about 5 inches) with a stock Ruger 77 MKII in 257 Roberts using 75gr Sierra HPFB Varmint bullets.
I have had the Gods smile upon me once with an honest 1.5" group of 3 at 600 yards with 150gr Nosler ABLR.

And lest we forget Bergers VLD Hunting bullets were Walts original match bullet.

Scottc,

You by all means can shoot to 800 yards and beyond with your firearm.
As flat shooting as a 270 is, i would zero at 200 yards.
Try to chrono your load.
Get a ballistics calculator. ( I use Strelok Pro)
After you get your velocities with the chrono, use the ballistic calculator & true your velocity by shooting at 800 yards.
Note, you may want to get a 20 MOA base for your scope.
 
I assume the OP’s scope is the CDS version. I have a VX5HD 3-15 with the CDS, and I ordered the free dial. I gave the Leupold folks the required data and got the dial. I sighted the rifle in at 200 and installed the dial. Then I was off to the hay field to shoot a bit further out. It was right on to 500, where I ran out of hay field.

But, I decided that I’d rather have it dead on at 100 yards (for shooting paper), so I ordered another dial that starts at 100, which I will likely set to 150 yards for pig shooting over feeders.

I haven’t had a full season to test out the CDS, but so far I am very pleased.

If I was going to shoot groundhogs or prairie dogs at long distance at varying altitudes, I’d have stayed with the 4-16 FFP scope I had on it prior to the new one, to deal with changing dope. But I’m deer, coyote, and pig hunting on my place. The dope won’t change enough to cause me a problem, no matter what the weather does.

So, order the dial and try it out. It is free, for the first one.
 
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