Custom Leupolds

[PacificNWhunter]

I'm in the process of ordering a new scope and will be adding a few little custom touches to it. I am going to be putting an M1 turrent for elevation on it and it asks for muzzle velocity as well as a few other things to determine the BDC. I talked to the Leupold rep today and he stated that it would be fine to use the muzzle velocity stated on the box of ammo, and said that it is not necessary to use a chrono. Anyone have any advice? Will the box numbers be ok? Or should I take the extra time to track down a chrono and find out for sure? I'm thinking the later, just hoping to get first hand experience advice.

Thanks, Jordan

[700xcr]

I would track down a chronograph to see what velosity the ammo used out of your gun. My 270wsm produced 100fps faster in velosity then marked on the box by my chronograph  That is if you want pin point your shots at longer distances.

[280ackley]

  The FPS on the box's not right for most guns.  Barrel length alone will affect speed enough to make it worth it to find a chrono.

[PacificNWhunter]

are there any ranges around or gun smiths that have the equipment in western wa able to test your chrono speed? can't find anything in the phone books, will have to start calling tomorrow I guess.

[509er]

Barrel length , humidity, elevation, temperature all affect the ballistics of the ammo.  Might want to consider what elevation you will be using it at the most.  Talk with the Leupold guru's, they will be able to steer you in the right direction.  My friend had one built for his Mark 4 on his sniper rifle, it worked great.

[PacificNWhunter]

That's funny 509er, I got the itch to customize mine after seeing a buddies Mark 4. Working on trying to get the elevation down, I hunt all over so some days I'm around sea level and others I'm around 7-8000 feet.

[JoshT]

Shoot your drop chart before you order the BDC... rarely are they on the money unless you're using data that you obtained. It would really suck to spend all that dough on a BDC turret (built with speculative data)... then have it be off by a couple clicks.

Also, rather than the BDC turret... a plain jane M1 will work for many different loads. You can make up a chart for whatever bullet you plan to shoot, and tape it to the stock. That way, if you find a different load that shoots better... or want to use a different bullet for different game... or you want to move the glass to a different rifle, you won't need to order another turret.

Another option is a standard M1 turret... and then put small adhesive numbers where your actual drop is... it would have the advantages of both the BDC and the standard M1. This is what I do with all my turreted scopes.

[509er]

and then put small adhesive numbers where your actual drop is... it would have the advantages of both the BDC and the standard M1. This is what I do with all my turreted scopes.

This is my plan with my US Optics as soon as decide on a load.

[PacificNWhunter]

Another option is a standard M1 turret... and then put small adhesive numbers where your actual drop is... it would have the advantages of both the BDC and the standard M1. This is what I do with all my turreted scopes.

How do you go about doing this. Site it in and then use the turret to find your elevation and then marking it?

[S.O.B]

First things first, there is no point in doing any of this work if the rifle for said scope is not capable of at least 1/2 min.

[PacificNWhunter]

I shoot a 5 shot 1 inch group at 100 yards with a bench.....

[longear]

I agree with700xcr, I have had Leupold build two scopes for me and they work great. I would definately find a chrono, the ballistic coefficient of your bullet is also important to them. I was told by a Leupold employee when I brought the scopes in that the elevation wasn't that big of a deal.(unless you tell them 12,000 ft and hunt at 500) I figured out an average and have been successful.   

[JoshT]

Another option is a standard M1 turret... and then put small adhesive numbers where your actual drop is... it would have the advantages of both the BDC and the standard M1. This is what I do with all my turreted scopes.

How do you go about doing this. Site it in and then use the turret to find your elevation and then marking it?

Sort of... sight it in at 100. Then use a ballistics program to get your estimated "come-ups" or elevation corrections (which is what Leupold would use for your BDC turret)... then go out a shoot them to verify. I've found my actual "clicks" vs. estimated clicks are almost always off a couple clicks... scope height, BC variance, slight velocity variance, actual click value... can all have an effect on this. That is why it's important to shoot your own chart for as far as you plan on shooting at stuff. Once you've got your actual adjusments... then you can make small adhesive numbers (4, 5, 6, etc) to represent 400, 500, 600 etc... stick them on the turret at the coresponding click value (ie: put the "4" at 4.25", the "5" at 6.5", the "6" at 10", etc.). Pretty simple solution.

What bullet and velocity are you planning on shooting? Let me know and I'll make you up a drop chart out to 1200 yards in 50 yard incriments... it should get you close.

[JoshT]

First things first, there is no point in doing any of this work if the rifle for said scope is not capable of at least 1/2 min.

Absolutely not true... my .300 RUM will only run about 1MOA at 100 from the bench... but it'll hold that (and often better) all the way out to 1000 yards... and 10" groups at 1K ain't nothing to sneeze at.

[haugenna]

Mine are on their way back form Leupold as we speak.  I spoke with the cs rep and he told me that a bdc comes with a stock M1 turrett and I ordered two others for different elevations.  I will play with the stock one a little to use inches as my drop as opposed to the yardage ones on the custom turrets.