Cool NEW Goodies from Vortex

[Founder]

As many should know, Vortex is a big supporter of MonsterMuleys.com, so yes, this post I suppose is a plug for them in a way.
Anyway, have any of you used their new "Long Range Ballistic Calculator"? I got the press release and then this morning have been playing around with it. Some of the numbers I need I don't even know what they are, so......
I'm still old school, buy bullets at Walmart and go hunting. Don't shoot out past 400 yards much.

I know though that many of you get a kick out of seeing how good you are at greater distances. So, have you played around with their new feature. How is it?
http://www.vortexoptics.com/content/lrbc_tutorials

Vortex also offers custom Turrets. Prism was telling me all about them the other day. These I definitely want!! Here's my understanding.

You first get your rifle sighted in at 200 yards, then get on their website, enter all your data, and it'll give you an idea of how many click adjustments you need to hit at 600 yards. You go out to the range and starting at the approximate click increase their website suggests, you figure out EXACTLY the click increase to hit at 600 yards.
From there you can order the custom turrets. Place them on your scope. Then, you can just adjust for whatever yardage up to 600 yards you want. So it you range a buck at 550, you don't need to hold over, you just dial it into the 550.

Sounds real cool. I haven't had a chance to get them. Probably won't until after hunting season, but I want it that easy if I decide to start trying to hit stuff at 500+ yards.

Maybe Prism or someone else smarter than I can answer any questions if you all have them.

If any of you have the custom turrets, let's hear how you like it. Was it easy to setup? How long did it take to get them from Vortex.

How do those of you using the Vortex Long Range Ballistic Calculator like it?

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[Prism]

It's easy to use even if you're buying bullets from Walmart.

It DOES require that a guy actually has to shoot his gun at long range to determine the true velocity of his load. It takes real world experience and data to get an accurate outcome and accurate custom turret built.

Turrets can be custom marked for WELL beyond 600 yards. The one I just had done is marked from 200 yards to 1400 yards in 25 yard increments. When a guy is figuring out his true velocity by shooting long distance we recommend he shoots a minimum of 70% of the distance he wants to shoot to acquire his true velocity.

So, if I guy wants to shoot 1000 yards he needs to sight his gun dead on at 200 yards. He then needs to adjust his scope (keeping count of the clicks needed) to be dead on at a minimum of 700 yards, but it's better if it's out to the 1000 yards.

You'll the then input this, along with the BC of your bullet and other info like altitude and temperature into the program to get your true velocity. And then you can order an accurate custom built turret for that load.

Turrets can be ordered right off the vortex website for under $100 for the vipers and just over $100 for the razor.

I can't stress enough how important realworld experience and input/data is. You have to get out there and shoot. If you take the time to do it right it's amazing what the results can be.

I shoot weekly geneally out to around 800 yards, and believe that with the right equipment and practice most guys can greatly expand their effective range. Whether that's 300 yards or 800 yards.

I'll leave the ethics up to the mm ethics team and individual.

That's the basic run down. There is a lot more info on the website

 

[KBKILLER]

so can you order a turret from vortex for a different brand of scope?

for instance-(and i know i can get one from leupold also)but could i order a turret for my leupold or my weaver scope from vortex?

and great job PRISM on stressing how important it is to shoot 70%-100% of what you are wanting to shoot.

 

[Cahunter805]

LAST EDITED ON Aug-30-10 AT 06:56PM (MST)[p]Prism I have a question about the turrets. It is my understanding and maybe I am wrong but isnt the BC of a bullet dependent on a number of factors? I know the published BC of many bullets is sometimes far more or less sometimes then what the actual bullet is doing for a certain load. I only ask this because I am in the process of trying to determine which turrets I want to have built. I was told by a guy to shoot groups out to 600 yards or even 700 and find the actual drop of my load. Then using the ballistic calculator and knowing all the other data like velocity, scope height, altitude keep modifying the BC until the data matched my drop. What do you think? You can PM me if you want.

 

[Founder]

Don't PM, post it. I don't even know what BC is? I didn't spend much time trying to figure it out, but I don't know. I also really wasn't sure on the bullet selection part. I shoot the Remington KorLokt bullets.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com

 

[Cahunter805]

Brian BC stands for ballistic coefficient. It is basically a ratio that estimates the bullets ability to overcome air resistance while its in flight. Higher BC bullets travel through the air easier resulting in higher energy and less drop. If you begin to study the calculator like the one vortex has it will really give you an insight to what you bullet is doing in flight. The thing that surprised me the most so far is how much say a standard 165gr 30-06 will drift in a 5-10mph crosswind out to even 500 yards.

 

[Prism]

These turrets are Vortex specific. Here's a bunch of info that will do a whole lot better job explaining things than I ever could.

http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/lrbc_tmt_instructions-2-viper.pdf

http://www.vortexoptics.com/uploads/lrbc_instructions.pdf

 

[Prism]

Here's the link to the ballistic calculator. So far it's been the most accurate one I've ever played with.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/content/lrbc

Here's some great video going over the system.
http://www.vortexoptics.com/content/range_day_trajectory_validation_part1

http://www.vortexoptics.com/content/range_day_trajectory_validation_part2

 

[AWHOLELOTTABULL]

The ballistic calculator is amazingly accurate. I have shot close to 100 rounds with it so far and it is spot on.

As far as the ballistic coefficient goes, it's not as variable as one might think. The B.C. is a number assigned to the bullet itself. With all of the modern technology that the bullet manufacturers use you can trust that B.C. to within a couple of thousanths of an inch. I have never heard of anybody adjusting the B.C. number to find your drop. That's not saying they don't do it but I can't imagine anybody shooting sub MOA groups using that method.

Brian - the higher the B.C. number the better velocity, foot lbs, and accuracy you should get at longer distances. That of course has a lot to do with primers, powder, and obviously your gun/scope setup. For hunting purposes there are very few people that worry too much about the B.C. For people getting into custom turrets and high powered optics, it's a must.


It's always an adventure!!!

 

[bogey]

Read there info it will answer most all the questions. There calculator is for an estimate as they tell you you must shoot it for a true drop, make corrections on the sheet and then they use that to make the turret very accurate. Most companies are known to over state BC of there bullets. Shooting at distance is still the only way to be sure of the way you and your gun is shooting.