Savage 11VT in 308 & VX3 6.5-20x50 MOA ?

OK first post here but have been lurking for a while. i am not new to firearms but this is my first long range rifle and as in the title its a Savage 11VT in 308 win from dicks. and before anyone says anything i don't shop there normally but could not pass up the deal. and they still sell AR15's but don't display them but will order what ever you want. so after all the rebates/discounts and getting their card and selling the scope that came with it to a buddy for $50.00 i will have paid about $300.00 for the rifle. http://www.savageshooters.com/images/icons/icon6.png

so on to my question, i want to mount my Leupold VX3 6.5-20x50 30mm tube scope on the rifle. the scope has 77.00 moa of adjustment so that's about 38 moa up and down from mechanical center. i want to shoot out as far as possible with it say 1000 yards or so. do i need a 20 moa scope base ? i was thinking of going with a DNZ mount with 20 moa built in but don't know if i need it. also does anyone know if medium or high mount is what i need for this scope. i am a total newbie to the long range game and have mostly shot pistols, rimfires, AR15's and AK's

i appreciate any and all info and help in my quest.

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I am far from an expert. But a quick run through a ballistic calculator using the load data from federal GMM 168grn MK shows your drop at 1000yrds to be approximately 43.8 MOA. Also your projectile will be sub-sonic at that range so it won't be very accurate. Of course there are other loads you can use that will produce different ballistic coefficients and velocities, but for an example I used one of the most popular off the shelf rounds. I would say yes, get a 20 MOA base.

thank you for the reply!

that's some of the info i was after, may i ask what ballistics calculator you use ? is it an app or online ? i am an old fart and just got my first smart phone so i am curious about apps for it.

that's good info though, i had no idea it would be subsonic at that distance but i do understand bullet weights etc and twist rates because of my AR15 experience. i just never got into distance shooting till now with my brother in law we thought it would be fun to compete against each other..

That was using Ballistic AE. It's a smartphone app. I too am just getting into shooting out past 300-500 yrds that my local range offers. I have to drive a few hours to get that kind of range. So far the app has worked well for me but I have little experience using it at longer ranges. You can find some YouTube videos that will kind of walk you through the app.

OK, thank you for the info.

i well check ballistic AE out on my phone and see if i can figure it out. if i cant figure it out i will get my son to help me out. we have a range that goes out to 600 that we can go to.

Well if you are only going out to 600 yrds, I would think the .308 a perfect cartridge choice. It's very affordable, and your barrel will last you along time. There are plenty of other guys on this forum that are way more knowledgeable than me, but I think your set-up with your Vx-3 would be great fun out to that range. I would not skimp on whatever base and rings or mount you get. Your rifle/scope are only as good as their connecting parts.

yeah the local range only goes out to 600 but if we drive a ways there is prairie that can go for miles. but i don't want to drive any further than i have to and 600 is far enough till i get good. what base would you consider good ? i was thinking DNZ because i like one piece mounts like on my AR's. i use ADM and Aero precision on them and have never had any issues. and i thought the VX3 would be good enough for now, i have a meopta meostar and steiner military 1-4's on a couple of my 16'' ARs and love the glass. my AR10 has a meostar 4-16 mill dot that almost went on this rifle but it only has 42 moa of adjustment so 21 up or down does not equal the distance i want to shoot with this rifle. and the VX3 was just sitting in my safe with nothing to do. it use to be on my 22'' bull barrel varmint/target AR but got replaced with a japanese built 8-32 target dot scope because its pretty much a paper punch.

I don't have any experience with DNZ products, maybe someone else will chime in.

is there anything you would recommend ? i do have a set of medium Burris signature rings laying around that would work if the base was high enough.

I just have a weaver brand 20 MOA steel base, and some Warne Maxima rings. Neither are the most expensive option and it won't give you the ease of a one piece mount. I have never had any issue with either of mine. There are guys that will tell you to spend much more on badger ordnance stuff. I can't argue with any of them. They are probably better shooters with better rifles than I am. If you have a set of 30mm steal rings than I would just go with a weaver or EGW brand 20 MOA base and call it good. If you wind up hating it you are only out $30-$40 bucks.

you know that's not bad advice and i think midway has the EGW stuff on sale and since i am just getting started i may go that way. i will have to check heights and see what will work with my rings to clear the barrel with my scope. i tried it with the bases that came with the scope that was on it when i bought it and they are to low. and the Burris rings have inserts that will allow up to 20 moa adjustments if the rings are spaced 3 1/2 inches apart center to center.

thank you.

I would also recommend going with EGW, get a 20 MOA one piece base, some one piece bases are a little thicker than standard two piece bases so your med rings may work, but I think you will have to go with high rings with that 50mm obj.

Taking a 308 to 1000 yards you'll want all of the elevation adjustment that you can get. The closer you are to being topped out in elevation the less windage adjustment you'll have, and you may need as much of that as you can get too. We'll, that'll depend on where you are at, here in ND a 20 mile per hour wind is considered a slight breeze. My 10FP with 175 gr. Berger VLD'S needs 17.5 MOA'S in a 20mph full value wind, and 26 MOA'S if the wind is 30mph. Switching ammo to factory Hornady TAP 168gr adds about 4 MOA'S. If where you shoot the wind rarely gets over 10mph its not too critical.

As far as ballistic calculators, I use JBM online and have Strelok Pro on my phone. Just don't rely on them completely, they'll get you in the ballpark, but you'll want to shoot and built your own range card.

I would get the 20 moa base if you plan on going past 5-600yrds.

thank you huntin1 for all the info and advise and now that i think about i remember one of my buddies telling me about sterlok so i will give it a look too.

and 30-06shooter thank you too.

i am going to look at bases at cabela's this week just to see whats out there physically and take my calipers and try to measure some of them. i don't want to jump on anything till i can sort of confirm what i need. but what ever i go with it will have 20 moa built in and if its a base my Burris rings are still good for 0, 10 or 20 moa of adjustment.

i don't know for sure that i will shoot out to 1000 yards or not and it may be a dream but at least i can practice out to 600 for now until i get good at this.

thanks everyone for the replies and help!

The Medium Signature Zee rings will be perfect for your application. Get either the EGW 20moa or any other 20moa base and you'll be just fine with what you have.

You scored a very good rifle at a superb steal of a price. Welcome to the Forum btw.

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Originally Posted by Zero333

The Medium Signature Zee rings will be perfect for your application. Get either the EGW 20moa or any other 20moa base and you'll be just fine with what you have.

You scored a very good rifle at a superb steal of a price. Welcome to the Forum btw.

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thank you for the info i was hopping to hear it would work with my Burris rings. i tried mounting the scope using the Burris rings and the bases that came with the Bushnell scope and it just barely hits the barrel. if i try to tighten the ring halves together it puts pressure on the bell of the scope and a piece of paper wont even fit between the scope and barrel. so i was wondering about taller bases and that's why i was going to measure some other bases.

and yes i thought i scored too and got a dang good deal on it and thanks for the welcome.

well i wanted to update this in case anyone else is looking for info on a similar setup on an 11VT. i found a weaver base for the savage on Amazon for $25.90 that had a built in 20 moa cant and it fit the rifle perfectly. and i could use my Burris medium 30mm signature rings with it so i did not have to spend any extra money. i wish the scope was a little closer to the barrel but its actually almost perfect i am just picky. anyway here are some half way decent pics of the set up.

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just wanted to post an update to my thread for my savage 11VT from dicks sporting goods. i got a choate tactical stock since my first post and the metal trigger guard and bolt handle from savage and added my Harris bipod to it and a limbsaver recoil pad. i also bought a Tourbon cheek rest off ebay for it and really like how it fit. so far i am loving this rifle now if winter would just end so i could get out and shoot the thing. oh and i did add a small washer under the rear magwell/front trigger guard bolt to help with seating the magazine better. its funny the parts were cheaper from savage even with shipping than what midway wanted before shipping. here is the part numbers from savage, metal trigger guard assembly # 107217 ($27.00) tactical bolt handle # 108188 ($31.00) and limbsaver recoil pad from amazon # 10812 ($32.33) and the cheek riser was $26.00

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Looks like you have the Posi Insert rings, did you keep your +.010 -.010 inserts, they give you up to 20 moa adjustment as well. Work great for centering the right to left as well so you can get the most out of your elevation adjustments.

the base has a 20 moa cant so i used the 0 inserts but if i need more cant or windage i will use them then. thanks but yeah i understand how they work, i had to use a set to off set the windage on a marlin 7000 22 rifle because the rail on top on the receiver was machined off center. they worked perfect for that and i have been kind of hooked on Burris rings ever since but was disappointed when they started making them in china.

here is a pic of the marlin and before any body says anything yes that's a 8-32 BSA scope but its an early one made in japan and it tracks perfectly and has beautiful glass with a target dot. the rifle is a tack driver and is capable of one ragged hole groups. and the trigger is whats called a KAT trigger and is set at about 12 ounces.

http://i.imgur.com/F4LmicPl.jpg

just wanted to make one more update to this post. i finally got to shoot the rifle and cant believe how accurate it was. it took about three rounds to sight it in at 100 yards (i did bore sight it before going out) and after that i was shooting clover leafs or almost one ragged hole groups of four rounds with match ammo. i was shooting off of a bag rest that i own and the rifle fed and fired with out any issues what so ever. and if anyone has the same stock that i do i highly recommend the limbsaver recoil pad! i could shoot the thing all day if i had to, very little felt recoil with the pad and it made it very comfortable to shoot. i love this rifle and cant believe i didn't try this sooner in my life. cant wait to try it out to six hundred yards at a range i go to during the summer.