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Can I make 2 drop charts, and how?

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coldhunt View Drop Down
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    Posted: September/25/2011 at 10:43
I bought a Burris 2-12 E1 reticle. I know 2nd focal plane Ballistcs reticles are designed to be used on full power. My question is, can an acurate drop chart be made setting the scope at about 7-8 as well, for better low light clarity? Which way do you think is the best way to create an acurate drop chart? A friend has agreed to work up some loads to see just what the gun likes. I think I will be able to load with him for a while to learn the ropes before buying my own equipment. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bigdaddy0381 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2011 at 10:48

Just take and shoot it at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+ hundred yards and move in and out on the scope power and see where it hits. Take note as to what power what shot did what. After you do a little testing it will be simple and all fall into place. Just don't over think it. Just shoot, confirm, write down, shoot again.

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308 Sav View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 308 Sav Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2011 at 12:11
Simple answer is yes. You just have to get out and do the shooting.
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coldhunt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coldhunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2011 at 20:00

Thanks that sounds easy. Why the big deal about 2 nd plane ballistics scopes being good only at full power?

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 3_tens Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2011 at 20:09
Cool you got the Idea already. Excellent
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Dale Clifford View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dale Clifford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/25/2011 at 23:30
get a 1 in grid target and at 100 yds, select the power you are curious . make a note of this, then go to JBM ballistic program on the web and run the data for the round you will be using. note the moa drops at the various distance and correlate this with observations you made on the subtensions -- these will be your hold over drops for that power. There are some other concerns such as inches per hundered yards vs. actual inches, etc. but this will get you close.
The biggest problem in using sfp holdover is--- the variable ring on the scope power does not have click stops so that you get the same power everytime.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/26/2011 at 10:31
I suggest using 6X as your secondary magnification for two reasons:

  1. It is half the power of the ranging magnification used for the reticle, so you can just double or halve numbers to do calculations

  2. With the 40mm objective, it will give you just about the maximum amount of exit pupil the eye can use. In other words, the light transmission you need for low light use.

A reason some shooters have come to prefer FFP scopes is because they will range at any power, even if the shooter hasn't taken the trouble to get exactly on an exact magnification. However, the reticle design has to be good so that at low powers it is still visible, i.e. to use like a duplex reticle. Where SFP scopes can fall short is if the high-end magnification is really high, like 20-25X then without resorting to some extra math you're stuck ranging with a really small field of view. For an SFP scope that only goes to 10X, that's not a problem because you would generally max out the magnification to take a shot long enough to require ranging in the first place.

As for ranging for a reticle in general, it's not easy. Also, the difficulty is compounded because the farther out you get the more precise you need to be since drops increase drastically out at longer distances. And it only gets harder because if you're off by 1/10th of a mil or 1/4 MOA, you might be off by a foot or more. But, uhmm, I'm talking way out there...past 750 yards.
Reaction time is a factor...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coldhunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/26/2011 at 14:24
Thanks I will try 6 power, it should be fine for up to 450 yds. No animal will ever be over 600yds for me and that will only be after considerable practice. We have a tree stand that gives us nice views from a couple hundred to over 700 yds, and I want to set up and practice up for a longer shot.
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coldhunt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote coldhunt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/13/2014 at 12:32
Been a long while. I had a few medical issues, shoulder and back which made me put the guns in the safe for a long time. I didn't participate in any gun, shooting, optics forum, other than to read cuz it burnt my butt to not be able to shoot. 

Before I go on I want to thank everyone, who helped this noob, with constructive comments.

Ahh but this summer I got down to figuring this thing out. Man did Burris get lazy with their E1/Ballistic Plex drop chart for popular cartridges. They could do much better, without much effort in order to give some starting points.

I think I have this reticle figured out with my 300 wsm using 180 gr accubonds, and a 200 yd zero, rather than the Burris 100 yd recommended zero,,, and I might ad that the 200 yd zero matches up in this gun/load, much closer than their 100 yd, right out to 600 yds, on paper and in reality. I will not be shooting at anything other than paper at anything over 300 yds for quite some time. I did hit a milk jug at just under 600, but I will keep it under 300 for game.

I have a bull, and cow elk tag for my hobby farm area, as well as whitetail. There are better areas for elk populations in my neck of the woods, but there are some around, and the wife and I saw a couple close to the cabin this summer. I feel like a kid waiting to go to Disneyland.Yippee
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