Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Getting Vanguard set up for up to 500 yds

Long story short - just bought new farm with regular shots at deer up to 400 yds. Hunted swamps for last 20 years where 150 was a long poke.
I am out of my league now. Shot a doe the other day at 301 yds and blew through the back of both front legs where they meet torso. A 2nd shot quickly finished her.

My current setup is a vanguard s2 varmint special in .308 w/ 22” barrel #3 contour factory griptonite stock.
Shoots touching groups at 100 yds with federal fusion 165 grain.
Scoped with buckmaster 4-14 scope.

My questions:
Stock seems stiff enough. Does it need replacing?
Thinking I may need scope with turrets??
If so, Is an swfa fixed 6 or fixed 10 better?

Should I just stick with scope I have and learn how to use the bdc like crosshairs?

Would a bipod work with this stock?

Planning on building a range out to 500
Thanks

Just because you got 400 yard shots doesn’t mean you have to take them. I’d build the shooting range first then worry about the rifle...

I thought I was prepared for the 300 yd shot. I am usually sighted in for 200 yd zero and would hold 6” high at 300.
I forgot that I had changed zero to 100 this season. When I held 6” high, the bullet dropped 14” instead of the expected 6” and took out the top rear of both front legs.

rusty -

You're not the first person to do something like that. A couple years ago I missed a "can't miss" close range shot on an antelope doe. I'd been shooting clay pigeons on the 600-yard berm and forgot to reset the vertical knob.

Knobs and lasers are nice, but can take too long in some instances. Most of my rifles have drop compensating reticles. I use them a variety of them to shoot the clays at 600, just have to learn where 600 is in the reticle. And be aware that it will change as you change magnification with most scopes (first focal plane) sold in the USA. That said, knobs eliminate the interpolation often required with just a reticle.

Have fun and good luck.

Seems to me the next step to improve your setup is a decent mil/mil scope, along with a good understanding of how to use the mil system simply, and lots of practice at distance. Use that practice to build yourself a dope chart in mils that matches your scope reticle and adjustments.

If you're unsure about the bdc reticle - a mil reticle is a bdc reticle too; you just have to figure out what ranges correspond to the reticle markings.

You can go moa/moa instead of mil/mil if you prefer, doesn't matter, just don't get sucked into thinking about inches per hundred yards and trying to do conversions. Set up your dope chart in mils or moa, not inches, it'll make things a lot simpler for you.

I might throw a 223 with 75’s in the “to do” pile. You’ll shoot the heck out of it...

Have you considered a 3 x 9?

It’s absolutely amazing how quickly effective range is increased.... with the addition of repeatable optics, a good rangefinder, and a few spent primers.... regardless of the cartridge at hand.

True dat......


First shot I ever dialed/took at 505 yards, slightly below the red dot. Didn’t believe it and had to drive out and look at it. Everything went downhill from there..

Any SWFA of at least 6x and up would be a better choice for LR Hunting than a Nikon Buckmaster....

I agree with most everything said in this thread. So, I will address your original series of questions. First, your setup is appropriate for the shot you took and for regular shooting at 400 yards. You already know and stated your error. Your stock does not need replacing. No, you don't "need" a scope with turrets. Getting one and learning to use it will be fun for you if you go that route. Neither the 6 or 10 is better. 6 has larger field of view and 10 has more magnification. Pick'em. As to sticking with the bdc: learning your drops associated with that reticle will solve your perceived problems. Practice, practice, practice. Yes, a bipod will work with that stock.

Well I went to the range and changed my zero to 200 yds. The bdc is too distracting, so I practiced holdover based on trajectory chart for my ammo out to 400 yds. I went deer hunting for the last day of my season and was able to drop a doe at 325 yds and then kill 2 more before they left the field. Feeling a little more confident now.

As stated, grab a SWFA and practice up some more. Sounds like you have a great rifle for it. I'd lean 6x mil/mil for what you described. Tax sale at SWFA coming up in April.

Screw Mils!!

Mils/MOA, pick what you're comfortable with and have at it. There's lots more important stuff to fret, like bullets.

When the dial matches the reticle things are pretty easy.

rusty75,

I also own a farm, that I hunt deer on in the fall.
Two seasons ago, I took a whitetail buck at a lasered 341 yards, right at the end of legal shooting light, all the way across one of my hay fields. Like you, I have opportunities at very long ranges, if I choose to take them.
The two rifles I use most for this type of hunting/shooting are my .270 WSM, pushing 130 gr. Nosler E-Tips at 3300 fps, and my Weatherby .257 Mag., with 100 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets at 3700 fps.
I actually prefer my .270 WSM, as I have a 3.5-10X Leupold CDS scope on it. It gathers light well, and there is always time to range distance and dial if necessary. The higher (.459) BC of this monometal bullet also gives it a bit less wind drift. I usually just set the turret at 300 yards, and anything from zero to 300 just doesn't need any adjustment. The .257 also wears a 3.5-10, non-CDS- it really doesn't need any help within 400 yards, on whitetails.
I usually set up at a field edge in cover, and use either a bipod or a Primos Trigger Stix tripod for a rest.

If you are going to use your .308, I would strongly suggest turrets, and learn how to use them. Makes life a lot simpler for long shots.

Regardless of your equipment....or what ever your scope choice becomes...

The best improvement you can get, is to spend range time out practicing at different distances...
say between 300 to 600....

from 300 to 600, maybe sent up a gong, you can hear your hits, say every 50 yds, past 300...

after that, figure out field positions you are comfortable shooting from...Prone, etc...

The best equipment under the sun isn't as effective, if you don't practice...

each season I shoot little varmints ( sage rats)... at first anything beyond 100 to 125 yds, I suck.
spend a little time out there, and suddenly once again, 200 yds is close to a chip shot...
ya get back "into the swing"....

I'm a bolt gun guy..... to get myself tuned up for hunting season or varmint season...
I find spending time with my CZ 452 and a large batch of 22 LRs, pays a lot of dividends...
I limit myself to a range session of 100 rounds from various positions, at distances of 100 to 125 yds.
doesn't take long to find groups on the target getting smaller...

then I switch to targets I run off on line, that are NRA targets... that are reduced in size, so that they look like what at NRA target would look like at 300, 500, 800 meters....at 100 yds..

spread that with practice with your main hunting rifle, once you get squared away and back in the grove with the 22 LR..... deer season rolls around....one standing at 400 yds, looks like a dump truck out there...

I say the same thing about sage rat season... you spend time sending 5000 to 8000 rounds down range
shooting at something the size of an 8 or 10 ounce pop bottle at most.. at distances of 50 to 200 yds..

a deer on 4 power at 400 yds, looks like a dump truck out there...

getting your eye and your trigger finger timed and tuned together.. I find making those shots pretty easy when they present themselves. matching your scope on your 22, to what you'll carry on your deer rifle helps a lot also....

The 6x mil/mil SS would work. I think the 3-9 SS has better glass and its first focal plane as well so you don't have to worry what the mag ring is turned to. A little practice and 500 should be pretty consistently doable. But hunting being what it is Murphy sometimes seems like the only partner you can always count on.

Bb