Was looking into a CDS from Leupold. It looks like they run about $60 each and can match the ballistic profile you give em. I'm thinking it'd be cool to have 62grn xm855 and 77 grn match, aswell as 300 blk sub and supers set up on a mark ar. I wonder if they can retro knobs onto a 17 year old vari-x ii 4-12 on my 300win? Seems like a cool option, haven't heard much feedback about guys using them. Whatcha think?
Rifle Scopes Anyone used Leupold's Custom Dial Shop?
- Thread starter Crosshair
- Start date
Crosshair,
I just purchased a new V6 1-6 which comes with one free CDS turret. Once Chad DIxon finishes my new rifle and I do the load work up I'll be requesting my free turret. As for your old Vari-X II. No the CDS will not fit turret. You could have it sent into LP and have target knobs installed. I may be wrong but I doubt they'll do a custom turret for you. LP may do that service on older turrets now, never hurts to ask. However Kenton Industries can do them for you once LP retro fits them.
I just purchased a new V6 1-6 which comes with one free CDS turret. Once Chad DIxon finishes my new rifle and I do the load work up I'll be requesting my free turret. As for your old Vari-X II. No the CDS will not fit turret. You could have it sent into LP and have target knobs installed. I may be wrong but I doubt they'll do a custom turret for you. LP may do that service on older turrets now, never hurts to ask. However Kenton Industries can do them for you once LP retro fits them.
I had the CDS option added to my VX-R 2-7 (metric). Since it was metric I had them install a mil based turret and they sent me a mil based cap. The turret itself turns much smoother than the stock bottle cap that came installed on the scope. The scope is on a mountain rifle, so it is sighted for MPBR of 250, but I installed the turret for that off chance of a cross canyon shot. The last thing I want to do when I spot an animal is try to fish for a dope card and think, I just range and dial.
IMHO the BDC caps are nice and convenient, but unless you are shooting the same load in the same place at the same time of year, the drops will not be consistant.
What I have done is just print out a little label on the computer and match with my dope chart. If I am hunting at 9000 ft, 30-06 with 180 partition, I have one label on file. Hunting on the plains @ 5000ft with a 155 scenar I have another. Using word, set the font size and use white letters and black highlights. Add and take away spaces to set the drop. A little packing tape and its on there until you need to remove it. The packing tape kinda laminates it from water damage.
Now if you are shooting competitions in the same place at the same time of year, you can get away with CDS, just that three caps will cost almost half or more of the scope cost.
Here is the label I make for my turrets, sure it may be a little ghetto, but effective and cheap.
IMHO the BDC caps are nice and convenient, but unless you are shooting the same load in the same place at the same time of year, the drops will not be consistant.
What I have done is just print out a little label on the computer and match with my dope chart. If I am hunting at 9000 ft, 30-06 with 180 partition, I have one label on file. Hunting on the plains @ 5000ft with a 155 scenar I have another. Using word, set the font size and use white letters and black highlights. Add and take away spaces to set the drop. A little packing tape and its on there until you need to remove it. The packing tape kinda laminates it from water damage.
Now if you are shooting competitions in the same place at the same time of year, you can get away with CDS, just that three caps will cost almost half or more of the scope cost.
Here is the label I make for my turrets, sure it may be a little ghetto, but effective and cheap.
That's a cool idea using word to print quick labels. Sounds like a mix of satisfied and I satisfied users of the CDS. I guess mainly I'd be dialing in mils on the mark AR and just using the yardage marks for last second dirty dialing on the fly. After thinking it over, it's probably not worth getting target knobs on the older Leupy, time for an upgrade anyway, a lot of improvements I'm sure in the last 17 years. I noticed the 300 blk edition 1-4x comes with both sub and supersonic calibrated knobs. I think I'll try it out and see if a baseline ballistic input will be precise enought for man-sized target hit out to 5-600ish. Thanks for the intel guys.
I guess the Army and USMC should've consulted someone prior to using BDC's! Any reason why you can't adjust for environmental conditions using BDC's?
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My turret's aren't marked for a given atmosphere any more or less then your turret's! BDC'S are less prone to getting lost in your revs for the average shooter. 300 yds +-2moa or whatever distance +- moa is quite easy.
I agree that paying for knobs is crazy, for the reasons already stated. For me, i use the turret tapes in that my dope card is my turret. The advantage is the ability to dial out to max effective range without any conversions. The other advantage is in a system that has mismatched retical and turrets. The turret can be mil, moa, iphy, hell it can be in arshins, does not matter as the shooter just dials out to the range required. Work the dope in the off season and save the files. Print them out as needed.
On the off chance someone did want to buy the BDC turret, most come with standard graduation on the bottom, you can see them on the one I posted, rather small but there. So any dope can be dialed in as well.
I use the bdc method because I hunt, in the woods I am at MPBR so i do not need to dial anything, out on the plains is a different story. Hunting antelope in SE Colorado, many times there is no advantage of cover. So the shooter has very limited time to get a bead on the animal. With the dial system it is as simple as Range, Dial, shoot. Comes in handy when your heart is beating out of your chest.
On the off chance someone did want to buy the BDC turret, most come with standard graduation on the bottom, you can see them on the one I posted, rather small but there. So any dope can be dialed in as well.
I use the bdc method because I hunt, in the woods I am at MPBR so i do not need to dial anything, out on the plains is a different story. Hunting antelope in SE Colorado, many times there is no advantage of cover. So the shooter has very limited time to get a bead on the animal. With the dial system it is as simple as Range, Dial, shoot. Comes in handy when your heart is beating out of your chest.
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Thanks again for the input guys. Most of the scopes I'm currently interested in aren't Leupolds anyway. I always have my iStrelok ballistic calc on me and it seems better to invest time into set of quick and easy dope cards for each load.
I have had the custom shop make me a few custom BDC dials and they were accurate to 750 yards. I have also had them do custom reticles which worked fine as well. I could not test them any further, as our range only goes out to 760 yards. Also, I have taken a few antelope using both systems at over 500 yards. This work was done on hunting rifles and not precision rifles.
I believe there is a member on here with more experience then just about anyone on here; I believe he refers to BDC's as "The Dial of Death". I'll take his word for it!
Got 'em on a 10/22 and a 17 HMR in a vx2 3-9x33 efr. They work very well.
