Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold CDS...how well do they work?

For those of you that use the CDS dials, how well do they work for you? I have a freshly built 280 Remington that I'm going to use primarily on fields, and a very long power line cut. Shots will be out to 600 on the power line.

The ease of just dialing to the yards on the dial is what I'm interested in, as a deer crossing a power line sometimes doesn't allow for a lot of time.

So, are they as accurate as I'm hoping for? Will they put me on a 8 inch plate as well as my SWFA's, and Athlons with dials out to 6-700 yards?

I'm specifically thinking of the VX3HD 3.5-10x40

Real world experience appreciated. Thanks

I have a couple, I've tested them out to 600 (that's a LOOOOONNNNGGG shot in Coastal Georgia!!) Yes they work as advertised and intended,

You send Leupold the info and a dial is laser engraved for your specifics.

Yes, they work - takes the "math" out of the equation,

That's good to hear. The big Ag fields that I hunt aren't a problem with a turret scope. Most of the time, there is plenty of time to range, plug in the numbers, and then dial. But cutting out the app step out would be nice when a deer is crossing a 50 yard wide power line cut.

My furthest steel gong is 370 yards. Primary rifle is a Rem 700 KS chambered 270, with Leupold 2.5x8-36 CDS on top, zero'ed 1" high at 100 yards. No issue hitting the 370 yard gong, first shot, cold bore by dialing the CDS dial. I just tape my "dope" to the stock of my rifle.

As long as the erector tracks and your MV is temp-stable and consistent, the CDS concept will get you within about 0.5 MOA of your desired POI, depending on atmospheric conditions.

Will a CDS dial be as accurate at 600-700 yards in all conditions as your SWFAs with a good ballistic solver? No. You give up accuracy and versatility for convenience and simplicity. Will it be accurate enough in any condition for your needs? Well, that’s for you to decide. Based on my experience, I’d also have a lot more faith in your SWFA’s mechanical reliability than a CDS scope.

Why not just put white tape on your SWFA or Athlon elevation turret and mark distances, if you’re wanting a CDS-style solution? You’d combine the mechanics of the SWFA/Athlon with the ability to easily change the tape if atmospheric conditions or your load change.

I would do the tape thing to a scope you already have and trust dialing. In concept the CDS is a nice idea and I like the zero lock, but.. I have found that predicted dope isn't always perfect. it might be the scope doesn't dial exactly to spec, or your bullets BC isn't right or temp humiidity/altitude or MV is a little off.. it seems as the range gets out there I do better with confirmed dope than the theoretical dope on a CDS dial. If you live near where you hunt..confirm your dope and make a tape.

Lettering on a turret,doesn't enhance the erector. Hint.

I'll greedily take an etched reticle instead and simply paste it as I please. Hint............

Id trust the mechanical reliability of the SWFA over the Leupold as well. I've had 2 Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 with CDS fail. Not a good track record there. The only thing the SWFA is lacking over the Leupold is glass quality, but that's great if you want to see your misses on a nice buck when your CDS takes a chit on you.

The cds scope I had did work in the limited use I did with it. Leopold uses very small dinky threads to hold the turrets on with their low end scopes. As in it’s only held by 1.5 tiny threads.

For what you wanna do I would get a nightforce nxs compact or a Zeiss v4 if you can handle a bit more weight. Out of 4 swfa scopes. Only 2 of them tracked perfectly. Not good odds.

Ammo velocity and bullet trajectory change with temperatures and air density, which CDS dials do not take into account.

Learn to use turrets with corrections in MOA or MILS. An hour of time reading is enough to grasp the concepts and end up with a far more useful and precise tool.

Correcting for elevation is easy, wind is the invisible hand that moves the bullet and is the real challenge.

Correcting for wind requires learning plus practice.

There is no substitute for practice.

If only in "fairness",I've nearly a hunnert SWFA scopes and have yet to have an "issue",though I actually fhuqking shoot. Hint.









Fhuqking LAUGHING!...............

Leupold is perfect for limited use.

I had one on a .243, it worked perfectly out to the 600 yard mark.

I have CDS scopes on several scoped rifles- a .280, a .270 WSM, a .30-06, and two 6.5 PRC's. All work to perfection. I have also found that a lot of my handloads are so close to each other ballistically that the same CDS dial works for several different bullets in the same caliber.

The LESS you "know","see", or "do",the "better" CDS is. Hint.

If you simply shoot 100yd paper,one will CERTAINLY see that Reupold hasn't the mechanics or mechanisms to arrange such. Placing a sticker upon an erector,do NOT "enhance" it's mechanics. A bumper sticker doesn't make a VW into a Porsche,if only OBVIOUSLY. Hint.

It is funnier than fhuqk,when Drooling Fhuqktards embrace these notions and swoon same. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!..............

If you give them the specifics, the Leupold CDS can be made to take expected atmospherics into account (altitude/barometric pressure, temp, etc) and your bullet’s velocity and BC (published, tested, or your own drop figures). The dial is only as good as the info you give them. I have a few and they’ve worked fine for me out to 500 yds or so.

NONE of which makes a fhuqk,because the internals are compromised. Hint.

NONE of you gals have actually shot them on paper,which is funnier than fhuqk. Hint.

It is funnier than fhuqk,that you swoon a sticker for a fhuqking turret,who's erector is a Goat Fhuqk. Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!................

Yep, they work fine if set up properly and used properly.

IF your atmospheric conditions never change.
IF your velocity is very consistent - read - you never change factory ammo, never change ammo lots, bought a lifetime supply, and/or handload to tight specs always using the same components.

And the biggest one of all:

IF the scope works as designed. Holds zero and tracks properly. Roll of the dice with the scope in question.

You like all those IF’s? Rock on with your CDS.

If you use a data card taped to your stock, you’re assuming one, maybe two sets of atmospheric conditions too …