scope issues at 1000 yards

Welcome to the world of .308 long range shooting. In standard conditions, and according to the book, you will be real close. 630 inches is only 63 MOA, that is about the minimum you need for 1000 with 308 and 20 MOA rail.

63, centered is 31.5 MOA up elevations available to you when you zero (usually you lose 2-5 MOA of that to zero at 100). With the 20 MOA base you gain another 20. So, best case you are looking at 50 MOA available to you to go from 100 to 1000 with the .308. In standard atmospheric conditions, and according to my "pretty accurate" software, you need 42 MOA with 168gr at 2600 muzzle velocities. You have, at MOST 50 available to you, thats cutting it close. Throw in any variables, like higher humidity than standard, more up MOA needed to zero at 100, colder weather, BC's that are not as high as manufacturer claims, and you are out of UP (like you ran into).

I consider 70 MOA a minimum with a 20 MOA rail, but prefer 80 MOA. This is a big plus for 30mm tubes, they tend to have more adjustments. the Leupold Mk4 has about 95 MOA. That cheapo bushnell 3200 10x tactical scope you can buy for $180 actually has 100 MOA. There are a few others... but not many.

You can add shims under ther rear of your rail, but I don't recommend that. If you have mildots, you can learn your holds also at that range.... of course, you can buy a new scope to

MEL

Mel

I can add a little info to the picture.

The ammo was Federal Gold Medal Match 175s - both of us had 26 inch barrels (for that little bit of extra velocity in my case).

The temperature was never above 70 for the rifle shooting portion of the day.

We were shooting in Houston, with humdity levels below "OUR" average approximately 50% (65% when we started down to about 45% when we finished).

I believe the combination of the 3 factors stated above lead to a retarded muzzel velocity for the Fed GMM 175 ammo, probably no more than 2550 fps, which in turn required more MOA to reach the 1,000 yard line than would be necessary in a higher humidity and warmer day.

I can also report that both US Optics and Nesika were incredibly responsive to my plight. US Optice (Wendell) called me back first.

US Optics offered to machine me a custom 25 MOA base for $100-150.00 -wonderful deal since Neseka charges $200.00 for them. THEN they offered to swap out my current rings for a new set that would fit the new base. These Guys are THE GODS of customer service.

Neseka was not to be outdone, as they called, listened to my sad story, and then offered to simply swap out my flat base for a 25 MOA base (I'll never have a 100 yard zero again) - so that was a welcome phone call.

JeffVN

JRP3

My understanding is that neither the action nor the bolt can be "trued" in the traditional sense of the word. They are machined to exacting tolerances at Neseka and then case hardened or something like that. The bolt has spiral flutes to faciliatate shedding of mud and grime - not to mention it looks pretty cool. I have had no problems with it at all, and have used it in the magazine fed mode on several occasions from the range simulating a rapid fire situation - no malfunctions or feed problems. The reason for the Neseka action in my case was to facilitate the 6.5x284 (less flex more accuracy), not the.308, but so far it works fine for the .308. (My custom builder has a hissy fit when I said I wanted the rifle action to be a repeater, instead of a single shot - his comment was that I was giving up the accuracy potential in the Neseka single feed Action. I'll try to get a close up pic in teh ear future and post it for your viewing pleasure.

There was an article written in Precision shooting about a Neseka Tactical rifle (built by Neseka) about a year ago. Nothing but glowing commentary, especailly about teh action and bolt functioning and accuracy.

JeffVN