Leupold CDS Dial issue
 

i bought a VXR 3x9 Firedot with the .30mm tube.

I did not have time to totally play with the system as hunting season was rapidly approaching . So I sighted it dead nuts at 100 yards . Luckily all,of my shots were close this season as I was set up mainly for bow hunting.


Fast forward to today. Shot it at 100 yards and decide to play with the dial. 3min is equal to 12 clicks. It only brought it up 2 inches at 100 yards with a 100 yard zero.

pronlem I am facing is I can only go up to 6min on the dial which is 22 clicks and then I top out. Dial,will not move past there.

i wanted to get a CDS custom dial for my load but if all I have is 22 clicks available to me what's the point? 22clicks or 6min is only going to get me about 5.5 inches of elevation change. Give or take.

so am I wasting my time and money with this scope? I really did not want a 2inch holdover at 100 yards but could do it if neccesary.

BTW my load is .50 cal MMP Orange with 300 Gr Sierra .458 bullets. 100 GR BH209 by volume. CVA Optima V2 DNZ medium 30mm scope rings/ bases.

Sounds to me you have a mounting problem.

If you only have available 22 clicks UP from your 100yd zero to the turret stop, turn the dial DOWN and count the number of TOTAL clicks until the turret stops. My assumption is, you'll have many more clicks down. That's going to indicate a mount problem. I don't believe you'll ever have an equal number of clicks, both up and down equaling a zero but, if the scope mounts and rings are right, you should be much closer to the center number of clicks available.

To the OP............

Did you test your scope turret and clicks and I so, what were your findings?

Not sure if they make them for the v2, but a canted rail/scope base is 1 option. It'll point your scope down, raising point of impact when you shoot, requiring you to lower the scopes zero-setting to be on-target again. This leaves more of the adjustment in the scope available for coming up. Another option is burris zee rings. You can use the ring inserts to have the same effect by offsetting them so the scope again points down.

You're talking about a 10 or 20 MOA base?

With only 22 clicks left to go up its most likely just his current mounting system. He should have "close to" (not exact), almost as much up as down adjustment if the scope and mounting system is correct.

It'll be interesting to find out what the total number of clicks in his scope is, which will give the OP an idea how much the mounting is off. That scope is a 60 moa total scope.

Yes...but he can still benefit from canted mounting as his replacement.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/154...le-rings-matte

Maybe but, that's like putting a band aid on a broken finger.

The OP hasn't responded stating any results..........

It seems to me, the off set inserts would cure the OP' problem, and make the CDS dial fully functional from stop to stop.

Changing your mind or what? :confused0024: I just suggested a different mount.. might as well use canted mounting with turrets so all your ele travel is left for going up. At least that's what I do. But I only have 6 er 7 leupolds with turrets.

The OP stated: "BTW my load is .50 cal MMP Orange with 300 Gr Sierra .458 bullets. 100 GR BH209 by volume. CVA Optima V2 DNZ medium 30mm scope rings/ bases." Does he really need the full elevation of a 60moa scope?

He could try your suggested rings and if it were all in his mount, he may still not have full access to the entire vertical adjustment. My personal preference is to identify the entire issue. If I needed more elevation, I'd rather use a 10 or 20 moa base, than shim a scope.

The custom engraved dial has ball stops that allow it to turn 1 revolution. One revolution is 15 moa on that scope? The OP has 6 moa right now. What is needed to fully utilize the custom dial is 9 moa. This 9 moa can be provided by a beer can under the rear of his mount, or the zee rings using the off set inserts, or a 10 moa base.

It makes sense that Big Z likes the Zee rings. :biggrin:

Sorry I spent so much time getting back.

I spent some time talking with two different Techs at Leupold.

They ran me through a series of test and determined that the scope is functioning and responding correctly. It does seem to be a mounting issue.

I have several options. These are the two I am leaning towards. I really do not want to get away from the DNZ mounting system as I like the one piece construction. It looks like the most rock solid scope mount I have ever used.
Here are the options I am leaning towards.


1. Shim the rear of the base so I can get more elevation travel.

2. Keep it the way it is. When I run it up to 3 MIn I am around 4 inches high at 10O yards. With that I should be close to dead on at 150 and just need a mild hold over at 200 yards.

I know 1. would get me where I intended to go with this scope. 2. would work for almost 95% of my hunting situations.

I think I will shoot it some more and see where I stand with it. I bought two of these scopes at the same time because they are by far everything I ever wanted in a scope and then some. I may put the other on another project I am working on. Something I can put a 20 MOA base on and get the full ran

Beer can shim under the Rear base is exactly what the experts at leupold told me.

Was that after they suggested that you purchase Leupold mounts and rings?

It was evident that it was related to your mounting system. With a scope that has a total 60 moa range, unless a receiver or frame is bad, its the mount.

It never came up in the conversation about purchasing Leupold mounts or rings. He was just trying to identify my problem and find me a solution.

I had to move the scope up significatly to get it to bore site not sure how many clicks that was. . Then it was still shooting 6 inches low at 50 yards. I had to click it up something like 40 ISH clicks to get it to zero. Then at 100 yards I had to bring it down 4 clicks if memory serves. . So right there I had lost a good 20 MOA or better.

On a conventional scope I would never question it. Just dial it in and leave it alone. I have some Leupolds VARIX III that are going on 30+ years old that have NEVER had to be adjusted unless I changed bullet selection or load data.

Ive only had two scopes in my day that were dialers. All the rest of them have been fixed and done pretty well by me. I sometimes wonder if I am over thinking my issues.

The VX-6 on my rifle was pretty close at 100yds when it was mounted. but I sure do like the CDS dial. I set the zero at 200yds, then just turn the dial for any range beyond or closer and shoot. I just don't like multiple reticle scopes.

Do you or anyone know how many equivelent MILs or clicks there are between the intersection point and the thicker cross hair below?

Ive used this before for long range shooting. Just line the bottom cross hair intersection on the target and send it.