target turrets or not

[agross]

I had a quik question that i was wondering if i could get some input.

I have a ruger standard Mark ii in 204 ruger (of course) with a bushnell 3200 7x21x40 scope with mil dots and normal turrets for some slow paced woodchuck crow varmint shooting.

The scope is only 1 year old and i bought it prior to doing research (where i mistakenly thought that the mildots were designed for holdover). The question i have is can i reliably dial in to my target with the turrets that come with the gun???

I know target turrets are resetable to zero for convenience but is the same simple principle of dial up for yardage going to work??? I was planning on setting my zero at 200 or 250 yds to minimize the clicking i will need to do.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks aaron

[Hotshot]

I think the scope you have is an excellent one. The problem with Bushnell is their lousey choice of reticles (in my opinion). I have a couple and the performance is fine. I don't think you can send that one to bushnell for a reticle change, but Lee might. Target turrets would be a plus for dial-a-rat shooting, but the clicks are clicks and you won't suffer too much with the dials on your scope. If you would go to the trouble of matching up your mil-dot spacing with a balistic chart you would know what range each mil-dot would represent for your load in your rifle. I've done that for the Leupold varmint reticle and my load and I love it. Instead of being 200 300 400 etc. you will be 270 390 460(numbers for example) but you have to do some work to match your load, rifle, and scope. Bushnell has promised to offer some better reticle choices in 2008 but that remains to be seen. The 204 is so flat trajectory that out to 400 is pretty easy. The additional aiming points will be helpfuul at longer ranges.

[Keith in Ga]

I have two of those Bushnell mil-dot scopes on my pd rifles, 22-250 and .204. I think with some work, you will be happy with their performance, and not have to "crank" knobs on the scope. I sight mine in at 200 yds, then shoot your rifle at 300, 400, 500, etc using your crosshairs dead on with your 200 yd hold. Measure the drop of the bullets (groups) at each range, and then you can calculate the exact hold on your mil-dot reticle. Of course, in the field, you will need a good range finder to know the range of your target. I used my Leica rangefinder for pd's, and was able to make first shot kills regularly at 400 yds using the mil-dot scopes. Bottom line is do your homework (shooting, measuring, and shooting again using your calculated mil-dot). Remember, it's doubtful if an exact yardage will coincide with an exact mil-dot. My 300 yd hold is half way between the crosshair and first dot.
The crosshairs on this scope are a little thick for really precision shooting, but for field use and on varmints, I think this scope gets the job done! Contact me by pm if I can help you further, or I didn't make myself clear on what I said. Good luck...