Howdy CF amigos,
I recently visited with a shooter who described his CDS setup as follows. He uses two dials, one calibrated to 2000', and one cal. to 6500' - both using the 165 gr. Hornady Interlock at 3200 fps. His routine is that he practices and sights in at the local range, using the 2000' dial, then when he goes to CO to hunt, he switches to the 6500' dial, which he claims requires no further tweaking. He is what I would consider an advanced shooter, and his system seems to work for him.
My thinking was somewhat different. I have two CDS dials (each cal. to 5000' and 35 deg. F with 200 yd. zero), but they are for two different bullet weights and velocities. I also sight in and practice at the local range (2000') and accept that the 5000' calibration will result in minor POI changes. These can be more or less predicted using the on-line ballistics programs, and are not a huge source of error, especially under field conditions. To compensate, I establish zero at a mid-range distance, say 400 yds., rather than the recommended 200 yds. and accept that there will be minor differential impact changes throughout the distances I expect to shoot.
My original plan was to zero both dials at a range and during temp. conditions that would match the factory calibration, then use those settings for everything betweeen 2000' and 9500'. However, until I can make that happen, I have just been zeroing at the 2000' elev., and splitting the correction required.
What is the thinking on the best all around strategy for achieving a realistic zero for changing conditions, while taking advantage of the versatility of using the same rifle with CDS dials for two or more bullet weights?
Thanks all.
forepaw
