Leupold CDS setting recommendations for a .375 H&H

[Hunt anything]

Not an H&H but a .375 Ruger, I had mine set at 100yds but have never used it.

 

[JimP]

I think you make a great point here which needs to be reiterated, in that the atmospherics of your hunt location are likely going to be very different from your zero geography (living in Minnesota and hunting in Mozambique for example) and that's going to throw off your CDS. Get a good ballistic app, true your data, run atmospherics when you get on ground. If you're using mils, your adjustments will be pretty easy to remember.

A nice thing with sending the dial out to Leopold is that you can put any elevation and temperature in for your dial that you want. Same with a ballistic program, at least on the one that I have. I can set it for any temperature or elevation that I am likely to hunt in.

 

[Daisy]

CDS dial meant for 100 yard zero.

If you like MPB range shooting then just set the dial at 200 and leave there.

 

[dchum]

I think you make a great point here which needs to be reiterated, in that the atmospherics of your hunt location are likely going to be very different from your zero geography (living in Minnesota and hunting in Mozambique for example) and that's going to throw off your CDS. Get a good ballistic app, true your data, run atmospherics when you get on ground. If you're using mils, your adjustments will be pretty easy to remember.

The difference between a .375h&h at 600 feet above sea level vs 4700 feet above sea level is less than 1.75 inches at 330 yards. Just checked that on a ballistics calc.

Not much different and you seemed to have made it a bigger deal than it is. Just my opinion! Inside 425 yards the variables are very minuscule. That’s why I like my CDS.

 

[Scott CWO]

I have two 375 H&H rifles with 2x-12x CDS scopes. One is setup for the 270gr Barnes LRX bullet and the other is setup for the 300gr Swift A-Frame.

My A-Frame load is 78.5 grains of Sta Ball 6.5 powder with Remington cases and Federal 215 Large Rifle Magnum primers with COAL of 3.55. This load chronographs at 2650 FPS. As with any rifle and load, don’t start there. Start with less powder and work up while checking for signs of pressure.

I have the CDS dial set for 100 yard zero in Africa at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t remember the elevation I used but I looked at elevations in Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, etc… and they weren’t very far apart so I went with an average.

This difference for this setup for a 50 yard shot was minimal so nothing to worry about. For longer shots well past 100 yards, you can easily do what some guys have said and just hold a little higher, especially when you don’t have time to use a rangefinder and if you are a good judge of distance. If you have time to use a rangefinder, it is nice to just dial and hold dead-on with the crosshairs. Just make sure to always reset your dial to 100 yards before resuming hunting. This system is quite easy and uncomplicated so why not use it?

For the guys that don’t use this scope and dial system, you weren’t really asked to offer opinions. I don’t know why some people always have to jump in and discourage the use of equipment they don’t even have. Nobody is telling you to use this system so why tell someone who has it to not use it?

 

[Daisy]

The difference between a .375h&h at 600 feet above sea level vs 4700 feet above sea level is less than 1.75 inches at 330 yards. Just checked that on a ballistics calc.

Not much different and you seemed to have made it a bigger deal than it is. Just my opinion! Inside 425 yards the variables are very minuscule. That’s why I like my CDS.

It’s also easy peasy to get a second cds dial for location you are hunting. Can replace dial in 2 minutes.

 

[John the Electrician]

Thank you all for the input. I do appreciate the various responses/suggestions. I know I can aim a little higher, use max point blank range; I have been doing that my whole life.

With this dial, I can have some more reassurance that the bullet will hit where it’s dialed to. It’s one thing for me to feel confident holding higher on a whitetail I have seen thousands of with no trophy fee attached. It’s another to second guess myself on a big bodied kudu or a tiny ten that that is 265 yards away but the kudu looks way closer and the dik dik looks way further away.

If the technology is there, why not have another arrow in the quiver?

 

[Nhoro]

Download the Hornady app. It is free and is pre- loaded with Hornady factory ammo. It will give you a ballistics chart in intervals to whatever distance you want and then you can play around with zero distance, velocity etc. That will show you your trajectory at different zeros. Try it, it is free and easy. Then you can decide on your load, do your development and get a cds if you want. You will probably be surprised how flat it shoots and push your zero out to 150 or more.

 

[Altitude sickness]

100 yards.

The only reason I would do anything different is if all of your other rifles are zeroed at a different range. It might be good for muscle memory to stay the same.

 

[62flint]

100 yards.

The only reason I would do anything different is if all of your other rifles are zeroed at a different range. It might be good for muscle memory to stay the same.

I agree. I zero most of my rifles for 100 yards and dial or use the reticle for distance depending on the time I have. Even the flat shooting ones .

 

[IA1865]

The difference between a .375h&h at 600 feet above sea level vs 4700 feet above sea level is less than 1.75 inches at 330 yards. Just checked that on a ballistics calc.

Not much different and you seemed to have made it a bigger deal than it is. Just my opinion! Inside 425 yards the variables are very minuscule. That’s why I like my CDS.

It all depends on the amount of geographical difference. Running the variance accounting for elevation, pressure, humidity, and temperature between my cabin in MN and where I hunted in SA in January today, at 350 yards you have a 4.4 inch difference which rises to 7.3 inches at 400 yards for a 300 DGX factory Hornady load. We're not talking huge numbers here, but 4.4 inches is half the vital area depending on what you're shooting at that can be the difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal.

Obviously northern MN at 36 degrees and 700 feet of elevation and SA at 83 degrees and 5,600 feet of elevation are quite different scenarios and everyone's home conditions are going to be different. You're also less than 3 inches of variance 300 yards and in which is where most shots are going to be taken.

Its all very solvable and easy math, and there's no right answer here! My opinion is that I'd rather have just standard mil markings and not have to deal with different dials but that's just me. CDS can be a great system and as others have noted, it's easy to get Leupold to make you a new dial or just note the variances in yours and remember your new distances.

 

[JimP]

It all depends on the amount of geographical difference. Running the variance accounting for elevation, pressure, humidity, and temperature between my cabin in MN and where I hunted in SA in January today, at 350 yards you have a 4.4 inch difference which rises to 7.3 inches at 400 yards for a 300 DGX factory Hornady load. We're not talking huge numbers here, but 4.4 inches is half the vital area depending on what you're shooting at that can be the difference between a clean kill and a wounded animal.

Obviously northern MN at 36 degrees and 700 feet of elevation and SA at 83 degrees and 5,600 feet of elevation are quite different scenarios and everyone's home conditions are going to be different. You're also less than 3 inches of variance 300 yards and in which is where most shots are going to be taken.

Its all very solvable and easy math, and there's no right answer here! My opinion is that I'd rather have just standard mil markings and not have to deal with different dials but that's just me. CDS can be a great system and as others have noted, it's easy to get Leupold to make you a new dial or just note the variances in yours and remember your new distances.

As was mentioned a number of post ago.

All the user needs to do is have the dial done for the area that you are hunting. If you are hunting in South Africa at 2000' where the average temperature for the time of year that you are hunting is 70 degrees then that is what you have the dial etched for.

The only CDS dial that I have I had it done for 7,000' and 60 degrees temperature and it shoots fantastic. If I would take that rifle and scope combination to South Africa I would have a new dial etched for the proper conditions.

Or if you don't want a new dial then just sight it in at your preferred distance at home, zero it once you arrive at the hunting location and leave the dial alone.

I hunted for over 50 years without a CDS and a few days in Africa isn't going to bother how I shoot.

 

[btheis13]

I've always been a little different!
I look at the ballistic trajectory of each gun and then decide where zero will be.
I recently did this calculation with a 375h&h with a 300 grain bullet.
25 yards. -.25"
50 yards .50"
75 yards 1"
100 yards 1"
125 yards .75"
150 yards 0"
175 yards -1.25"
200 yard -3"
With a 150yd zero, I can aim and shoot out to 175 without thinking about it.

My 7mm rem mag has a 175 yard zero.
50 yards .25"
75 yards .75"
100 yards 1"
125 yards 1"
150 yards .6"
175 yards 0"
200 yard -1"
Again, aim and shoot out to 200 before needing to make any adjustments.