wildcat junkie

Well, I was watching an e-bay auction for the VX3i 3.5-10x40 at Sportman's Supply and when I checked it this afternoon it was at $286 bid. The regular price was $289.91 so WTH, I just ordered it. Placed the order @ 12:58 PM and the Butler PA Post Office logged it in @ 5:07 PM. How's that for service? That's the 2nd Leupold scope I've ordered from Sportsman's Supply and it probably won't be the last.

Hot cocoa for me now.

I had a friend that peeled his coverall part way off in the dark to take a crap He dropped the deuce on his coveralls, right in the neck area. Best part is, he didn't notice it until he pulled them back up/on. I guess instead of taking a crap, he left one. (in his coveralls)

There's a remedy for that.

Up here in the North Country, "scrapes ARE on trees and "paw beds" are on the ground. And deer meat is "venzin".

The guy that comes into the gun shop the night before the deer season opens and wants his scope/rifle "bore sighted" before he heads ti camp.

It would be interesting (to me at least) to know some BC and MV data for some common shotgun loads, including the old reliable "Foster slugs", just to see what the + or - 3" MPBR ;potential would be. I'm thinking 3" high at 100yds zero would be close to optimum. Maybe the 3" apex would be at some shorter yardage. Does anyone have that data?

All that is true, but with shotguns, the variables of MV will be even more critical. In the hands of a knowledgeable shooter that has run his load across a chronograph it would be a valuable tool. Problem is, is the hands of the typical "Bubba" that buys the scope a week before season, runs out to the 100 yd range using the supplied "charts" with factory Mv data and sights in without verifying at longer ranges, it is a recipe for wounded game. With "muzzle loaders" it is even more fraught with problems. That being said, IMO, having hunted with a ML since 1976 killing deer at distance exceeding 150 yds with a .235 round ball & open iron sight and 2 on the run with the same projectile out of a flintlock, "modern" optics have no place on a muzzle loader.

I am using charts from "Quickload/Quicktarget", an interior/exterior ballistics program. If you give me chronograph MV and the BC of the bullet you use along with the C/L of the scope above bore C/L, I can run the numbers and generate a custom chart for your particular combo. Factory ammo loaded with aftermarket bullets, Hornady, Speer, Sierrra, Nosler, etc will have the BC loaded in the program. Winchester, Remington, Federal bullets will not . Chronograph should be set up 15" from the muzzle and I will correct for Mv. Here is a chart for a (warm) load I developed for a Savage Axis II in 7mm-08 @ 2912 fps with a Nosler 140gr BT. Be advised that in the typical 22" barrel of factory rifles chambers in 7mm-08, Mv will be at least 100 fps slower with factory ammunition in that bullet weight. 2.6" high @ 100yds gets to just shy of 300yds before the bullet drops to 3" low. "Hold on hair" (12" low) will be about 275 yds.

Below is the trajectory for a 130gr 270 Nosler Ballistic tip @ 3100 fps Mv. Zeroed for 265 yds (2 1'2" high @ 100 yds) it is 3" high @ the highest point and 3" low @ 310 yds (2 1/4" low @ 300 yds) This zero makes center of vitals hold viable out to 310yds and would still allow "hold on hair" (top of the withers) to 390 yds and still hit vertical center of the vitals. (6" above the brisket on an animal that is 18" from brisket to withers.) Note that a 6 MOA Duplex gap will subtend 18" @ 300yds when @ 9x., making quick estimation on whether you can use vertical center of vitals hold or need to hold over. If a mature NY Whitetail buck fills the gap @ 9x, put the crosshairs vertical center of vitals an squeeze the trigger. Scope is mounted 1.7" above the bore C/L Now, we look at the same bluet/Mv zeroed @ 100 yds. The bullet is 3" low @ 210 yds and 10" low @ 300yds. This clearly shows the error in sighting in a cartridge capable of long range shooting @ 100 yds Scope is mounted 1.7" above the bore C/L

Get an old fixed blade smooth edged broadhead, (it doesn't really matter the brand of type, but a slight curvature to the edge is best) mounted on a piece of shaft and a medium sized mill file. I takes some practice, but if you make the strokes from back to front @ about 45* across the edge, you will get the micro-serrated edge. Then use some ceramic sticks mounted in an acute "V:" maybe 5 degree total angle. Alternately stroke the blade down one side, then the other keeping the blade perpendicular. As soon as the gritty feeling drag starts to smooth out STOP! You do not want to hone the edge perfectly smooth. Take that edge and pass it along some hairs on the back of your arm in a direction simulating the broadhead penetrating the hide of an animal. If you have the correct edge, it will pop the hairs with little or no sideways pressure against them. Once you get the hang of it, you can dress up a 1/2 dozen broadhead in less than 30 minutes.

I can "hold on hair" to at least 350yds on a mature whitetail.

In the last 16 years, I have shot upwards of 20 deer from my tripod @ yardages from 75 to 280 yds (most @ 240yds or beyond) with 4 different rifle/cartridge combos ranging from my 8x57 @ 2800 fps to my 280 @ 3150 fps. All with 3-9 variable scopes with duplex reticles, all sighted in for MPBR of + or - 3". "In the heat of the moment", I have never held other than the vertical center of the lungs and I have never missed and have only had to shoot 1 deer twice when I pulled the shot left and a bit high @ 240yds. The bullet broke the buck's spine and he crawled about 5 yds as I walked the distance before putting a finishing shot through his shoulder. The interesting thing about all that is that the one shot where I did shoot high was exactly at the scope's zero range.Go figure huh? Seems like "in the heat of the moment, + or - 3" MPBR and a simple duplex reticle works pretty well. No decisions, no multiple crosshars to get confused over, just put the crosshair in the center of the vitals and squeeze the trigger. And as far as low light? The duplex reticle was designed for fast target acquisition in low light and/or brush with a fine intersecting crosshair in the middle for fine targeting when appropriate. In the unlikely situation that a mature buck does not fill the (vertical) gap in the duplex @ 9x, I would know that the animal is beyond my MPBR and I can then use the top of the bottom post as an aim point and use "Kentucky windage" to adjust. It works, and it works under pressure.

The problem is, you are sighted in @ 100yds with the crosshair. By allowing the trajectory to arc above the line of sight 3" at mid range, your drop will less than 3" below LOS @ 300yds. For most non magnum cartridge pushing +.400 BC bullets at around 3000 fps, somewhere around 2 1/2" high @ 100yds will achieve this.

Looks a LOT like the (non serrated) Satellite broadheads I used before I went to glue on points on swaged aluminum,. I eventually going to wood shafts. Not a fan of serrated edges. Have you ever tried "file sharpening" followed up with a few strokes on ceramic sticks? It leaves a micro serrated edge that will pop the hairs off your arm as the edge is drawn across them. It will not dull as quickly going through hair & bone as a honed edge.

The drop for my combo is 4.2" @ 300yds so I would merely hold the crosshairs near the top of the vitals for a solid hit. Your 270, IF it sends a 130gr polymer tipped bullet out of the muzzle @ 3100 fps, should be able to shoot + or- 3" MPBR to about 310 yds. Sighted in 2 1/2" high @ 100yds, it would be 3" high at 150, zero somewhere beyond 250 yds and 3" low around 310 yds. That was how my 280 with a 140gr Hornady Interbond @ 3150 fps shot. You can't rely on charts without knowing the ACTUAL Mv.

The "mil-dot" does not claim to have programmed ballistic drop compensation. It is merely a calibrated reticle that can be used to do such calculations.

Sportsman's Supply is just outside of Butler, PA. They have been there for many many years (I remember shopping there in the early 1970s when I lived in PA) and sell the VX-3I 3.5-10x40 for less than $290 shipped on E-Bay. I bought my last Leupold scope from them and it arrived fast..

It appears that I have a better grasp of the technology than you do. Does the website factor in the distance of the scope above the bore C/L? If you think that "factory" ammo will shoot with consistent Mv out of various factory rifles chambered in the same cartridge, you have obviously not spent any time shooting factory ammo over a chronograph from various (different make/model) rifles. So regardless, in any situation, the rifle/load in question must be shot over a chronograph and trajectory calculated from real world results. You must them mentally retain the various yardages that the additional BDC cross hairs will be at zero. But, why can't I do the same thing with my duplex reticle if I know how much the duplex opening subtends? Let's use a Leupold 3-9X40 duplex reticle for instance. With any standard Leupold duplex 3-9x40/50 reticle @ 9x, the duplex opening will subtend 6.1" @ 100 yds, or for our purposes, 3 MOA above and below the horizontal crosshair. Let's use "Quickload" trajectory tables for the chronographed loads from my 8mm-06 Ackley Improved, driving a Speer .323 200gr Hotcore bullet at 2900 fps, with a VX-2 3-9x40 Leupold scope mounted 1.7" above the bore C/L sighted in for a + or - 3" MPBR. The trajectory will be 2.6" high @ 100yds, zeroed @ 246yds, (.2" low @ 250yds) and 3" low at 286yds, (4.2" low @ 300yds) and 9.9" low @ 350yds. The top of the duplex opening will be 3" above the horizontal crosshair @ 100yds, within .4" of the bullet POI The horizontal crosshair will be .2" above the bullet path @ 250 yds, within .2" of the PO! The bottom of the duplex opening will be 10.5" below the horizontal crosshair @ 350 yds, within .6" of POI. So lets just use our duplex reticle as a BDC rehicle shall we? All of the values in the image below will be less than 3/4" from POI. (Image is not "to scale") So, what's the real world advantage of a BDC for 95% of hunters, especially in NY State? How often will the average hunter take a shot beyond 350yds and is he capable of holding steady on target beyond that range on a"field rest" in the 1st place? If I want to take a shot @ 400yds with my combo, all I have to do ius hold the bottom duplex opening 7" high. I can still hold "on hair", high on a Whitetail's shoulder an get a solid hit in the vitals. I can also use some quick and easy mental calculation to estimate range fairly accurately in a pinch. The "smoke and mirrors" is referring to the misconception that 99% of the potential market's perception of just what a BDC can do. Before the purchase (and sadly, in many cases after) many will think that they can go out the day before season, sight in @ 100yds and be able to blast away at a deer 400yds across a hayfield and have a god chance of making a clean kill.

I am not concerned with the magnification and selected the closest match between the 2 options.. See BOLD text in red above. That is what I am concerned with, the quality of the glass.

My Kahles 3-9x42 had both the elevation and windage turrets lock up. It is still on zero, but I don't trust it. I want to replace it now (our deer season opened on 10/21 and runs until December) while I send it in for service. I have always been a fan of the VX-2 series and have owned a couple of VX-2 3-9x40s. I'm taking a serious look at the VX-3I in 3.5-10x40. Is the $100 price difference & 1 1/2 oz weight gain worth it? Is there a significant advantage in low light performance and resistance to (image) glare when facing the sun?

Get started for less than $30 HERE.

I can do that with + or - 3" MPBR out to 300yds.

And wheat if your load is 200fps less Mv than specified and what about the distance of the scope above the bore axis.?

Feathers are much better. Right helical is best with screw in points as left tends to unscrew the points but left can also be used. If you use glue on points left helical is fine.