Leupold 5HD 7 X 35 X 56

[Dave Hoback]

Haha… yes, it’s good having so much elevation. Yet completely unnecessary for the most part. Just play around in your Ballistics Calculator a bit. Take for instance .264”/6.5mm cartridges. With several 140+ class bullets in & around .600BC or better & with speeds of 2800fps+, even out to One Mile takes less than 100MOA. My scope gives me like 32mil+, so 110MOA & I have a 20MOA rail, LOL! What? Am I going to shoot past a MILE with my 260Rem/260AI? Not with any consistency! But I guess it’s a good thing to know I have the Glass to get them out there, LOL!

[Ernest T]

I went ahead and ordered a 30 MOA rail. I couldn't find a 40 MOA rail for an Axis.

[Dave Hoback]

What’s remarkable is some new scopes now have 40…, 41…., 44 MRAD elevation adjustment. Some 140, 150MOA! Just incredible. I was stoked to have a scope with 32MRAD. Put on a 20moa rail and have enough elevation for any distance I’ll EVER go after. But they just keep putting more & more into new scopes. Still, when I see $2900, $3700, $5200 & beyond price tags; it just doesn’t ring with me.

[Ernest T]

I installed the 30 MOA rail, zeroed the scope at 100 yards, then shot at a 4” gong from 200, 300 and 500 yards. I made 5 shots from each distance with one miss from 500 yards. Then I turned the elevation turret for maximum come up and it stopped at 60 MOA. I got 63 MOA with the stock 20 MOA rail. Any ideas?

[Dave Hoback]

Sorry, I misunderstood.

What is it you’re asking for ideas on?

[Ernest T]

Sorry, I misunderstood.

What is it you’re asking for ideas on?

Why I would have 63 moa of elevation with a 20 moa rail, but only 60 with a 30 moa rail. I lost 3 moa, shouldn't I have more elevation with the 30 moa rail?

[Dave Hoback]

The rail has no bearing on the scopes internal range. The best thing is to test your scope before ever setting it up. Count the MOA number from full stop to full stop. Be mindful as many scopes have dead ticks at some point both up & down. You’ll find the total range will be very close to the specified value. Your MK5 is listed at 120MOA total elevation. With a 30MOA rail, you now have 150. With only a 100yd Zero, I would think it to have quite a bit more than 60MOA in reserve.

[Ernest T]

The rail has no bearing on the scopes internal range. The best thing is to test your scope before ever setting it up. Count the MOA number from full stop to full stop. Be mindful as many scopes have dead ticks at some point both up & down. You’ll find the total range will be very close to the specified value. Your MK5 is listed at 120MOA total elevation. With a 30MOA rail, you now have 150. With only a 100yd Zero, I would think it to have quite a bit more than 60MOA in reserve.

The 7X35 only has 100 MOA of elevation. Its geometry, if I have 60 MOA of elevation up, then I ought to have close to 40 down. If I increase the tilt of the scope by an additional 10 MOA then I ought to have 70 up and 30 down. All the rail does is change the reference point, not the internal adjustment available.