What scope do you use for .300 Whisper?

[Murmur]

Hi there,
I'm having a custom mildot reticle installed on my 2.5-8x36 leupold & ballistically matched for subsonic 240gr Sierra MK's to give 50yard hold points out to 300 yards. Should make for accurate field shots when combined with my lazer range finder.

[Cornholio]

Murmur, how much is that modification going to cost?

Joel, thanks for the suggestion. I looked through a Horus Vision once, and the reticle was far too busy for me. And far too expensive. But that probably really would work.

[SSN653]

My suggestion is that you get a scope like the Leupold Long Range Tactical with M1 knobs and a mildot reticule.

With the 300 Whisper (subsonic) 220 gr SMK you will need from 36 to 39 MOA depending on atmospherics to accurately engage a 300 yd target.

[Cornholio]

I'm thinking of getting the SWFA Super Sniper in 10x for $299.

[d-mon]

Also, having customs dots being set up on your reticle at different ranges can be good, I am not sure of the reliability of the system when atmospheric conditions changes, specialy at the longuest ranges (past 150yards).

I am playing with a 22lr ( with silencer and sub ammo) up to 200 yards, and I find that an accurate scope with precise and positive 1/4moa knobs + a laser rangefinder are doing very well. But I can have a big difference past 80 yards between a warm summer (25 degres C) and winter (+5 degrees C).

I do not know how the conditions changes can affect a larger whisper projectile but doing some tests before investing in a reticle that could become useless later seems a good idea.

D-mon

[John3]

I just got my Whisper upper with 10" barrel, and have been researching scopes and reticles. The .300 Whisper is difficult because it drops so quickly at sub-sonic velocities. It does have a very linear drop curve, though.

The best theoretical solution I have found for a reticle is the new Leupold SPR (Special Purpose Reticle). This offers Mil-dot marks at 2.5 mil intervals all the way out to 15 mils (vs. 1 mil intervals out to 5 mils in a standard Mil Dot scope). This gives you 215" (18 feet!) of drop path in the reticle.

According to my Oehler Ballistic Explorer program, the 2 1/2 mil marks closely match the 50 yard drop points for Corbon 220gr sub-sonic, all the way out to 400 yards, when sighted in with a 90 yard zero (this puts you 2.5" high at 50 yards, and 1.5" low at 100 yards). You could also zero at 100 yards, but this add a few inches of error at longer ranges.

The only problem with this reticle is that it is available as standard on just 2 Leupold scopes - the Mark 4 1.5-5x20 PR and MR models. Leupold will add it to any Mark 4 or Vari-X III scope for about $200 in their custom shop.

The advantages of this SPR reticle from Leupold are (in theory):

+ 2.5 Mil-dot Aiming marks calibrate to within 2.5" for Corbon 220gr sub-sonic load out to 400 yards

+ Max 2.5" error at every range can probably be corrected to < 1" error by slight power selector adjustment

+ 15 mils of drop marks instead of the standard 5 mils (yields Whisper aiming points out to 400 yards)

+ Has excellent range estimating capabilities on man-sized targets

+ Illuminated Reticle is possible with Custom Shop add of this reticle to illuminated scope

+ Even with the custom shop add, it's an all-Leupold product with single-source lifetime warranty

+ Re-usable/re-sellable for standard rifle calibers (Leupold pitches the SPR reticle for use with .223 and .308)

+ Can recalculate drop tables and use the 2 1/2 mil marks with super-sonic/any .300 Whisper loads

The disadvantages are:

- Expensive, about $200 to add SPR reticle in Leupold custom shop (but competitive with Premier Reticles prices)

- Needs range testing to confirm drop calculations

- Doesn't really work as well as 1 mil dots for standard rifle calibers or super-sonic Whisper loads


I have bought a used Mark 4 1.5-5x20 PR scope on eBay in order to test out the drop points with this reticle, and will post results when available. If this works, my plan is to buy a VX-III 4.5-14x50 Illuminated scope (#54922), send it to the Leupold Custom Shop for installation of the SPR reticle, and re-sell the low-power scope on eBay. I don't think you need the Target Knob version since the reticle should give you all your drops, at least for 220gr sub-sonic. I hate those things, anyway, since I always forget to reset them.

Here's the scope I bought used ($360) for testing:
http://www.leupold.com/products/tact...-5x20mm_PR.htm

And, here's the SPR reticle:
http://www.leupold.com/products/tact...ticles_SPR.htm

One last thought - the .300 Whisper 220gr sub-sonic at 400 yards still has more energy than a 45 acp at point blank range. I like to shoot gongs and varmints at long ranges. Even though 300 yards is usually considered the max, I believe that with a laser range finder, the right scope and a 1MOA rifle, you can make consistent hits in a 8" circle at 400 yards.

I apologize for the extended "Scope Nerd" discussion above, but thought some of you might find this useful.

[Cornholio]

John3,

I found your post EXTREMELY useful. I eagerly await your follow-up.

Before I read your post about the SPR reticle, I was thinking of an IOR scope with the MP-8 reticle.

[MGP]

I am going to buy a VX-I 4-12x40 from premier retical and have them install the RC-600 check it out

http://www.premierreticles.com/index...ge=1869&main=1

[Cheeks]

I plan on using the Leupold 3.5x10x40 LR M3. I filed the stop off the knob and use a 30 moa badger base. This should give me about 60-70 moa adjustment from zero. The 1moa clicks are the ticket I think.