School me on optics for PRS-style long range

[Justin]

Tracking is number 1 , it's a gun sight first and a telescope 2nd .
Go look at a bunch of stuff at some matches first and then spend the money . There is a lot more options now than even 5 years ago and 2k buys a lot of scope now .

The big secret in rings and bases are EGW bases and Burris XTR rings .

On the scope base, for something like this, is it worth it to go with one of the 20 MIL elevated bases, or better to stick with a flat one?

Also, I see the EGW bases are very reasonably priced, which is nice.

[CS1983]

The elevated base assists w/ increasing your erector travel starting point so you get "more" out of the erector. In other words, it forces you to zero "down" and thus increase your "up".

https://warnescopemounts.com/20moa-explained/

[Justin]

Right. It's my understanding that's something that's built into the base of the Ruger Precision .22 in order to get you more clicks of elevation for longer shots.

For PRS type stuff, coupled with the scopes commonly found in that world, is the additional 20 MILs a base affords you something that's a necessity, nice to have, or does it matter at all?

[CS1983]

Bottoming out your scope is no fun. A xmas tree reticle can help in this case, but depending on various factors, it cannot hurt you unless the travel available from center is suddenly not enough to allow you to bring it on zero w/ the elevated base. At which point you have to increase your zero range and hold under on closer targets.

Some of this stuff can be mitigated with flatter shooting calibers.

Personally, I always run an elevated base.

[C Ward]

Never a bad idea to use a base with cant built in . Depending on caliber at least 20 MOA , sometimes as much as 40 .

[Justin]

Cartridge-wise, I'm leaning towards something like 6CM.

[C Ward]

20 will be fine , but if you want to play further out 30 would be better .

[XC700116]

Justin, definitely go with a 20 MOA Base.

And if you're interested, I have a 4-20 XTR-II SCR MIL I could probably cut you a deal on. Not in a hurry to move it but if you're interested when your rifle is ready drop me a line.

[Justin]

Ok, so here's a somewhat goofy plan to get me from where I am today (really dumb on the knowledge required for long range stuff, don't have a perfect rig for it) to where I'd like to be:

1. Get a decent scope, like the Burris 4-20x or 5-25x
2. Mount it on my .22
3. Start participating in Hoser's long range .22 match, as this seems like a good way to learn the mechanics of long range (e.g. building dope cards, learning how to dial and read wind, shooting from field positions, etc.)
4. In the meantime, put together the rest of the components needed for a PRS rig
5. Once the PRS rig is ready, move the scope from the .22 to the PRS rig
6. Then start competing in local PRS matches

Thoughts?

[Tim K]

That's a great plan, Justin. You'll learn everything except recoil control shooting your .22. Just brace yourself for the cost of decent .22 ammo.