First rifle, A17 .17 HMR, advice on scope setup?

[river251]

Hello, my first time here and my first rifle, well, second, my first was a Remington single shot .22 53 years ago.
I've bought the A17 with the heavy barrel, a Vortex Diamondback Tactical FFP 4x16. I want to target practice. I've seen that precision rifle competitors sometimes use a 20 MOA rail to mount the scope on, so as to make better use of the lower part of the elevation adjustment, when they are shooting a long way.

I just don't know if it makes sense to replace the stock mounts that came on the A17 with a 20 MOA Picatinney rail. The .17 HMR is not reaching as far as those long range shooters. But it would seem the principle is the same, so it sorta seems like it's a fine thing to try.

Any reflections on that?

Thanks.

[hamiltonkiler]

How far do you plan on shooting?
Go put a target dot at the top of a piece of plywood. Walk back shoot it. 50yds 100yds 150yds 200yds. Etc. go measure with a tape measure how far from zero your dropping out.
Go back and spin up the MOA from your shooting positions until you run out of elevation. If you run out and want to shoot further then a 20 or 30 moa base may be in your cards.
Your zero may have to be further out if you get a 30moa base.


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[river251]

How far do you plan on shooting?
Go put a target dot at the top of a piece of plywood. Walk back shoot it. 50yds 100yds 150yds 200yds. Etc. go measure with a tape measure how far from zero your dropping out.
Go back and spin up the MOA from your shooting positions until you run out of elevation. If you run out and want to shoot further then a 20 or 30 moa base may be in your cards.
Your zero may have to be further out if you get a 30moa base.


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Thanks. I'm just getting the rifle and scope and sportsmans will install it free, but I thought I'd try to make a decision on the 20 MOA before they start. What you describe sounds good, maybe I need to try the rifle as is and get the 20 MOA once I understand whether I need it or not.

Thanks.

[RimfirePlinkster]

It depends on the type of shooting you're doing, but for my personal use I think an MOA base is a waste on a rimfire. In fact, I'm really not a fan of them at all. I shoot for fun, not competition, and I'm always honing my hunting skills. I just ring steel when I shoot long distances at 500+, and don't worry about shooting extremely tight groups...at distances under 500 yards I go for "good enough for hunting accuracy," and I regularly switch between targets at varying range so I can practice where to hold rather than trying to always center my reticle, so I can get quicker shots off (which is a must for hunting). Get a good scope with hashes (whether it's MIL or just a BDC...I prefer MIL) and familiarize yourself with how the rifle shoots at various distances. You can then use the scope to learn where you need to hold to hit center, and even account for varying conditions.

This target is from my 93 in 22 WMR, zero'd at 100 yards. With a simple duplex reticle, I shot this group at 150 yards on an almost windless day, holding about an inch above zero. It'll shoot 250 holding about 4 inches above zero, though the groups open up a lot more. 17 HMR shoots even flatter than 22 WMR, so you should be able to achieve similar results relatively easily.

[Bill2905]

Thanks. I'm just getting the rifle and scope and sportsmans will install it free, but I thought I'd try to make a decision on the 20 MOA before they start. What you describe sounds good, maybe I need to try the rifle as is and get the 20 MOA once I understand whether I need it or not.

Thanks.

I agree that it's best to learn what the capabilities of the rifle are as is and figure out what you want to do with it before changing stuff. Nothing wrong with that if you do but maybe not necessary right off the bat. If you decide to install a new rail down the road, it's an easy thing to do yourself and you will learn as you do it. Enjoy the new A17. You will have a lot of fun with it.

[NicfromAlabama]

My 2 cents. I don't think you need it unless you just want a certain style rail the factory type does not have, like a Picatinny style. With that being said, I have pretty much made it a habit to use a 20 MOA rail on all my centerfire rifles. Do I need it and will ever need it? Probably never will. But, I have never found it to be an issue with dialing the scope down a bit due to the extra elevation. It is there if I need it and may be more appealing to someone if I sell the rifle with the mount.

But, for a rimfire, I just don't see the need. But, if you went with a new rail, I see no harm in a MOA rail.

[river251]

Thanks, I believe I will enjoy it a lot....