Leupold’s Custom Dial System

Anyone using this?

Waste of money.

Get a Mil/ Mil scope and label the turrets yourself, with a label maker. When the environmental conditions change, and your trajectory changes you can adjust as needed.

I used this tip from you after I took your shooting class Fireman, I love it!

Great in theory. But only applicable to one bullet at one velocity at one condition.

The more posted solution on the board is to use mil or Moa turrets for more control

The VX3 CDS was a waste of money for me. It didn't track well when I pulled it out of the box and tracked worse after Leupold "fixed" it. I'm sure others have had better luck. I would love to hear of some scopes, in that price range, that track well enough to depend on when hunting.

This one will
http://swfa.com/Vortex-4-16x44-Viper-HS-T-30mm-Rifle-Scope-P63837.aspx
If it doesn't then Vortex will fix it. The 2 I've had tracked as close to perfect as I can shoot, and would always return to ZERO.

I will say that the CDS has some limitations that posters above have mentioned BUT if you are aware of them then it works as advertised. In fact the picture that FiremanJG posted showing a homemade version which is essentially the exact same system only not as permanent proves it is effective. The advantage of CDS is an etched turret that is durable and clean looking but does limit you to that load and set of conditions..... which for some folks is completely acceptable.
The best example I can give is I have a good friend who wanted a 7mm WM just for hunting his ranch in the Davis Mountains. He likes the caliber as he uses it on his S Texas Ranches but wanted to be able to make longer shots on Aaudad and Elk out west.
Horizon Firearms built the rifle and I mounted a Leupold and calibrated his CDS for his load and the conditions out West and last year he was 3 for 3 on shots from 550 to 642.
Some of the pictures of his kills are on Horizons web page.

I have had better luck. I have mounted 4 VX3's and 2 VX6's and all tracked well (not all were perfect but close)and returned to zero. I never took them past 750 yards I must admit. They were on hunting rifles not Tactical precision type weapons. I personally don't use the CDS but for some folks it is a viable option.

What's a good way to test if your scope is tracking well?

Make a dot on a piece of paper. Shoot 4 shots into that dot, then turn your windage 6 inches right and fire 4 more times at the dot, then turn the elevation up 6 inches and fire 4 more shots at the dot, then turn windage 6 inches left and fire 4 more shots, then turn elevation down 6 inches and fire 4 more shots, you should at that point have 8 shots in the original dot. That's how I do it

I have one sitting in a box that I picked up a few weeks ago. A VX3 3.5-10x. It was on sale at $400 down from $550. I had $200 in Cabela's points so I took a chance on it. I plan on playing with it after hunting season. You can do the same thing with tactical turrets for sure but Leupold's tend to be lighter which can help if you are trying to keep rifle weight down.

I use it and for my needs it has worked. I set it up for an average for the places I hunt and a specific bullet.

If you're a person that hunts the same topography and you're not a tactical dude or wannabe within 5-600 yards it will work fine.

there are multiple ways to accomplish the task. I try to test both tracking reliablity and check to see if my scope is tracking straight up vertically at the same time.
I take a large paper target usually 4' tall at 100 yards. You can draw a line vertically and then hang it straight with a level or easier just hang a plum line. Put a sticky dot near the bottom just to one side of your vertical line. I shoot one shot at the dot then dial 10 mil elevation ( if MOA I dial 15-20 elevation)and you should theoretically hit 36 inches higher and the same distance from the line as the dot you are still aiming at. Dial back to zero and you should hit the original dot. Clear as mud right!
I used to check windage but not so much anymore as it's not as critical to me personally for most applications.

What scope tracks in inches?

jvr_dejesus,

You have to have a super tight shooting rifle to shoot it. The better method involves one shot, and no others, but you need the rifle locked in so it cannot move.

Make an "X" on the top of a 3' tall piece of paper at 100 yards. If you are in Mils, come down 3.6" and make a narrow line, 3.6" from tjere and make another one, repeat until you are 36" down from the X.

Make the scope look dead center of the "X". THE SCOPE CANNO MOVE FOR THIS TO WORK!

Dial impact up 1.0 Mil, the reticle should now be looking exactly on the first hash mark below the "X", make any notes telling perfect, high or low in Mils. Dial impact up 2.0 Mils, the reticle should be exactly on the second line below the "X". Repeat for as many Mils as you will ever dial.

If you want to shoot it to see (need a very tight shooting rifle) make the X on the bottom of the paper. Check zero there. Dial up 1.0 Mil, shoot one round. The bullet hole should measure 1.0 Mil above the "X" in the reticle, repeat as far up as you would like.

Replace the Mil with MOA if you have an MOA scope. Then you would make a line 1" above the "X", 2" above, ect.

Checking windage tracking is not something I ever do, since I rarely dial wind anyway. Elevation is way more important since it is dialed all the time.

The difference is that I actually shot every distance, wrote down perfect corrections, then attached the labels after the fact. Any tracking error in the scope was built into the labels as opposed to relying solely on a ballistic calculator to give predicted corrections. And the ballistic calculator assumes a perfectly tracking scope, which rarely exists.

If you use the G7 calculator(I'm sure others do also, but that's one I've used) you print one out as a starting point. After trajectory validation, which is the same method you used, which takes into account any individual tracking anomalies, you have an accurate representation of your actual trajectory. You then send in your dope for your custom turret. That's how Gunwerks and Vortex do it.

Now, we all know that's only good at one altitude, temp, etc., but you can still cheat a click here or there as needed.
I don't see anything wrong with it when done correctly. It's when someone guesses muzzle velocity and/or guesses trajectory that the turret becomes worthless. It is also not meant to be abused where you validated to 400 but are now attempting a 600 yd shot because the turret said so.

So in theory your method would work on any scope with a turret you can mark correct? Shoot at the distances you would like and mark the turret. It would work for mil or moa along with the Leupold cds turrets.

But if you are going to validate your come ups, why would you need a marked turret. If shooters would learn how to properly dial in mils (or moa), they will be better off. I will never understand why a shooter would spend all this time, effort, and money on a good rifle, ammo, and scope, then go with a "custom turret" set up and make this the weakest link in the chain. If you want to dial quickly out to 400-500 yards, then it will generally get you on target. Beyond that, the turret can easily be off.

We are shooting these days with the best bullets, powders, barrels, and scopes. The marked turret waters down the consistency. I've had multiple shooters call me frustrated because they set up their turret and could not get on target with factory ammo.

Yep.
To answer Fireman I do not disagree with your assertion but that is why I check the scope rfile combo with the ammo before having the CDS made. So far tracking errors are so small to be negligible and for hunting big game not a problem. Now if I were shooting smaller targets at 1000 plus CDS is not really a viable option IMO.

Chad I agree but some folks are not into ballistics and ammo and have no real interest in learning. You can argue they have NO business shooting longer ranges but that does not prevent them from taking that 500-600 yards shot.
I had one buddy tell me of dialing his scope to first 500 then after a miss dialed to 750 for another shot at a running hog. He said he never saw where the bullet hit either shot. he then showed me the rifle with a 4-14X40 Nikon scope... I asked how he dialed quick enough since it had covered turrets?? He showed me how he dialed to the ranges marked....... on his parallax! I fixed him up with a CDS VX6.

Excuse me, 6 MOA, you knew what I meant.

You need to verify in hot and cold conditions. Here in North Texas our hunting season temps range from 80°-20° plus or minus 10° and not all loads or powders are as consistent through temp swing as others are. This can cause issues at range depending on how far and how much of a swing will determine the amount of discrepancy on target.

Not just theory, proven.

Say a guy really wanted a Schmitt and Bender that costs $3500, and he could only afford one. He could have a pic rail on every rifle and with the right rings, move the one scope on every rifle he had. From .17 rimfire to .50 BMG and everything in between. Elevation is in Mils and Windage is in Mils. Take notes of the environmetal conditions before learning how the load shot at various distances. Make a custom turret if you like. All it is, is a place to put a DOPE chart. It's the same information, just in a handy place on the rifle.

My issue with the system is the CDS dial will not stay in place under field conditions. Three times I found the dial off zero during use. IMO it was a system designed in a lab and was never taken afield. Mine is a VX 2, in the glossy ad it looks like there is a locking lever on the VX 6 CDS but according to Customer Support there is no locking feature. It is back in the box for now waiting for a paper punching rifle to arrive.

there is a model of the VX6 that has a zero lock for sure. I just put two of them on 300 Win Mag's.

Bingo, I really like them and put them on a ton of rifles. I don't use it as much on my personal rifles because I can't ever decide on what ammo I am going to shoot as we are always testing stuff. However my wifes gun is set up with one and I have used it out to 771 and its bingo. The trick is once you get the turret zero it at 400 on whatever spot on your turret is 400. IE if you turn it to 400 and you are 2 clicks low make the adjustment and set your 4 at that distance. Dial it back to 200 (what I use as my zero stop) and bingo for every hunting situation they are wonderful. For my wifes 7 we have 3 turrets, one that will cover Texas, one for our place in New Mexico, and one for my buddys place in Wyoming. Gets the job done simple and nice. My opinion great way for people to extend the range a little bit while you learn more about long range hunting/ shooting.

I have one on my Swarovski and love it. Out at JGFireman's place it was right on out 200 to 700 yards. Coulda maybe hit plate at 800 but ran outta time

Now, it's a hunting rifle, , 6.5 Weatherby. I use one proven load, great for known distances, fast.

I am going to get one from Leupold for my V-6 as soon as I settle on my .223 AR load.

With the lock on the dial then yes it is a functional system, but without it buyer needs to be aware of the turning dial under field use. I am going to call Leupold again now that the locking dial has been confirmed on the 6.Tks

Does the vx3 have a zero stop as well?

I own one scope with zero stop and have not seen it be any kind of determining factor in what scope I buy or not buy.