My Browning X-Bolt Speed was checked by my son Jason with Nosler 175g ABLR bullets at his F-Class  range at 300 and 600 yards. My scope is the famed Leupold VX-6 3×18 44mm on a 20 MOA Picatinny rail.

As my readers are aware, I am moose hunting in Newfoundland this September.  Newfoundland’s boreal forest is replete with expansive water soaked bogs and stunted clumps of black spruce known as tuckamores. A great place for moose to thrive, and a tough place to hunt. Distances in these bogs can be as-small-as 100 yards or as far as a 1000 yards or more.

Accordingly, the 300 yd target below shows 2 bullet holes at 11 o’clock at my calculated drop of 3 MOA. Wind was near still so we adjusted 1 MOA for the 6 inch 10 ring and came right 1 MOA. Happy now with the scope at 2 MOA drop at 300 yards with three 10 ring hits and terminal energy is 2578 ft-lbs. Wow!

At 600 yards my ballistic data said to shoot at 10.5 MOA drop. Below, the first 2 bullets at 12 and 1 o’clock in the 7 and 8 ring shot 10 inches high, thus we adjusted 2 MOA and shot low at 7 o’clock. We readjusted up 1 MOA and hit the 10 ring at 10 o’clock..

Total actual drop was 9 MOA and not the 10.5 my calculation indicated.

Details matter! Using a laser rangefinder when moose hunting these expansive bogs is a must.

Testing bullets at long range showed that calculated MOA put us on paper but not best for hunting. Making the adjustment on the range just 1.5 MOA up put me in the boiler room at 600 yards. Nice! Energy at 600 yards is in the 1800 ft-lb class. 

UPDATE

My Leupold VX-6 Scope was dialed back to its 100 yard zero, thus I took it back to my range and fired a single 100 yd shot below. Nice!

Good Shooting!

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