Sighting in Savage 110BA .338 Lapua

[Bhobbs]

Using a 300gr Sierra Matchking launched at 2600fps, 30moa will JUST get you to 1000yds in a standard atmosphere, assuming there is no elevation loss to the curvature inside the scope.
It's not uncommon to lose 5moa or travel to the curvature of the scope.
Even more elevation will be lost if you try to DIAL any windage.

How would the 285 A-Max compare?

[JMP]

Comes from factctory with 20 moa canted base and 30 and 40 moa are available.Getting the dope out of the scope is going to be the easy part
When it comes to the distances the Ba 110 in 338 will shot. Should be fun.

If the scope has 70 MOA total travel, a base with more than 20 MOA may not permit a 100 yard zero. The problem with setting a zero other than 100 or 200 yards is that you don't get much extra by going out to say 600 yards. You'd get 10-12 MOA and setting a 600 yard zero is PITA, and you would dial down for closer distance.

How would the 285 A-Max compare?

@1000, most .338 bullets are kind of a wash since lighter bullets with lower BC are offset by more velocity, depending on how they are loaded. 250s probably have less drop than 300s @1000, but for longer distances, the 300gr is the way to go.

[ar15barrels]

How would the 285 A-Max compare?

You can run your own calcs with your own data here:

http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballistics/calculators/calculators.shtml

[ar15barrels]

If the scope has 70 MOA total travel, a base with more than 20 MOA may not permit a 100 yard zero.

It's the <55moa travel scopes that have trouble getting a 100yd zero with a 20moa base.
A 70moa travel scope would easily zero at 100 and should have at least 5-10 moa left before it runs out of down travel.

[Ding126]

You can run your own calcs with your own data here:
http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballist...culators.shtml

Always a wealth of information. Thank you for the link.

[brando]

It's a common mistake to buy a high magnification scope for long range shooting, not realizing that they are often designed for benchrest shooters. A clue is the limited elevation range or higher precision turrets. For example, the S&B 12-50x has 1/8MOA turrets. This is sub-optimal for long range. Some of the newer generation scopes like the NF BEAST or Hensoldt 3.5-26x have close to 36mils of elevation available, making them far more useful for long range shooting. My S&B 5-25x tops out at 23mils, which is still enough to get me to 2000 yards and into the subsonic transition zone. And 25x is plenty magnification for a mile. The more zoomed in, the harder and slower it will be to get back on target after absorbing the recoil. Sure, it makes it harder to place your POA into a specific portion of the target, but at those distances you should be aiming center mass anyway.

[JMP]

It's the <55moa travel scopes that have trouble getting a 100yd zero with a 20moa base.
A 70moa travel scope would easily zero at 100 and should have at least 5-10 moa left before it runs out of down travel.

Agreed, which is why I said more than 20 MOA. I use 1/3 total travel as a rule of thumb given your explanation above for 35 up -5 @ 100, since you need some slack at the extremes.

It's a common mistake to buy a high magnification scope for long range shooting, not realizing that they are often designed for benchrest shooters. A clue is the limited elevation range or higher precision turrets. For example, the S&B 12-50x has 1/8MOA turrets. This is sub-optimal for long range. Some of the newer generation scopes like the NF BEAST or Hensoldt 3.5-26x have close to 36mils of elevation available, making them far more useful for long range shooting. My S&B 5-25x tops out at 23mils, which is still enough to get me to 2000 yards and into the subsonic transition zone. And 25x is plenty magnification for a mile. The more zoomed in, the harder and slower it will be to get back on target after absorbing the recoil. Sure, it makes it harder to place your POA into a specific portion of the target, but at those distances you should be aiming center mass anyway.

Not only that, you may not have the luxury to even shoot at 25x if there is too much mirage, and 25x is way too much to spot your hit on closer targets. Very high magnification is most helpful for shooting on paper where you can find your hit after the fact.

[wytwolf]

Thanks for all the info and input. Just got everything mounted up. I'm not trying to shoot SUPER long quite yet. I'll be happy when I get out to 1000. We'll just see if I can get this thing back to the range before it's back to work time. Thanks again, will update.

[Bhobbs]

You can run your own calcs with your own data here:
http://www.jbmballistics.com/ballist...culators.shtml

I don't own a .338 Lapua but I was just curious.

[brando]

At 1000 yards, the .338LM is just getting started. They really shine between 1400-2000 yards, otherwise a .300WM makes more sense. One exception is shooting in high wind. Some of the matches I shoot here in NZ can be inside of 1000 yards but I'll opt for an 18" .338LM instead of .308 or 6.5 like everyone else because it'll buck the 30-40mph wind we often get at this particular location. People look at me like I'm crazy, but you can't deny the results.

[JMP]

Some of the matches I shoot here in NZ can be inside of 1000 yards but I'll opt for an 18" .338LM instead of .308 or 6.5 like everyone else because it'll buck the 30-40mph wind we often get at this particular location.

There is no doubt that the .338LM handles wind much better at any distance than those little BB guns. But, why do you step down to an 18" barrel?

[brando]

With a suppressor is comfortable to shoot, the loss of velocity is fine at those distances, and I look like I'm cheating less.

[JMP]

With a suppressor is comfortable to shoot, the loss of velocity is fine at those distances, and I look like I'm cheating less.

Gotcha. We don't use suppressors out here. And, yes, you are a cheat. Poor guy with a .308 doesn't have a chance.

[brando]

Don't I know it - I only moved here from CA a few years ago.