Capped vs. Exposed Turrets: What is your application going to be?

[JW@TRACT]

Do you guys prefer capped or exposed turrets? What has helped you make that decision? While it seems like most of us who dial, dial for elevation, does anyone dial for wind?

 

[croben]

I’ve been shooting Nightforce for a while now. I like their system with the exposed elevation turret and capped windage turret. I’ve never been a fan of dialing for wind, so I rarely ever touch windage anyways. If you’re worried about exposed turrets spinning, you can go with zero stops.

 

[wapitibob]

Exposed with stops?

 

[RockAndSage]

Do you guys prefer capped or exposed turrets? What has helped you make that decision? While it seems like most of us who dial, dial for elevation, does anyone dial for wind?

What seems to be uncommon with optics manufacturers is appreciation of the value of low-profile turrets for actual field use

PRS, it doesn't matter so much, and the tacticool world doesn't seem to get it or care. But for hunting, it does help a great deal - especially in pulling out of a scabbard (ATV, horseback, etc), from the back seat of a truck, etc. Lower profile also can help make them more durable, just by getting bumped less, and there being less leverage against the mechanics if it's a short turret that gets bumped.

If you're digging into Rokslide for market intelligence, @JW@TRACT, please be sure to dig into the scope drop-testing of so many different brands. There's a lot of really good data in there, far more applicable than the lab-oriented recoil and g-force tests some companies tout. If you really want to knock it out of the park, speak to @Formidilosus directly - you'd probably have a hard time finding a better person to glean real-world product testing intelligence from.

Also, it's worth noting that one of your primary competitors - Maven - has been sold out of their RS 1.2 over the last few months for what may very well be because of the reviews and market demand generated on Rokslide and the tests that have been published here. They've been sold out within an hour of anyone here saying they're back in stock, several times now.

 

[Marbles]

Dial for elevation, hold for wind. So capped windage, exposed elevation is my preference.

Also, it's worth noting that one of your primary competitors - Maven - has been sold out of their RS 1.2 over the last few months for what may very well be because of the reviews and market demand generated on Rokslide and the tests that have been published here. They've been sold out within an hour of anyone here saying they're back in stock, several times now.

This^^^^^

 

[Dmoua]

Exposed. Never had an issue while out in the field.

 

[TN2shot07]

Depends on the intention for the rifle, I have a lot of set and forget it scopes. For those I’m perfectly content with capped turrets. If I was putting a rifle together with the intention of dialing, capped windage and exposed elevation.

 

[Hondo64d]

Do you guys prefer capped or exposed turrets? What has helped you make that decision? While it seems like most of us who dial, dial for elevation, does anyone dial for wind?

Low profile elevation with zero stop. Low profile capped windage. Dial for elevation, hold for wind.

John

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Do you guys prefer capped or exposed turrets? What has helped you make that decision? While it seems like most of us who dial, dial for elevation, does anyone dial for wind?

First, design a scope that will pass the drop test. Then make sure that it has exposed elevation turrets and capped windage turrets.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Biggest buck I’ve ever shot at (200” class buck) was missed because my turret got dialed busting brush.

I’ll take a capped windage and locking elevation with a zero stop!

 

[2buffalo]

Locking uncapped windage and elevation turrets ideally.

 

[TxLite]

Exposed elevation with zero stop/lock. Capped windage.

 

[MidGAHunter]

Low profile exposed elevation (preferably locking) and capped windage. And make a scope that will pass the drop test AND has a good reticle. Until you do both of those (drop test and reticIe) I won't even consider spending money with Tract.

 

[Kurts86]

I used to think exposed turrets were a liability before I used them in the field and a decade later I’ve never had them move on me or be a problem.

Capped elevation turrets are only desirable to me on a very light scope with a range expectation under 400 yards and a good BDC. Capped turrets mean lost caps when I dial on the range or in the field.

Windage should always be capped.

 

[TheM1DoesMyTalking]

I dial for elevation and hold for wind, so I'd prefer exposed elevation and capped windage.

However my primary hunting scopes have exposed turrets for both. In terms of importance, turret configuration comes after zero retention, durability, reticle design, reasonable magnification ranges, etc.

I have had an exposed elevation turret turn .1 mil from zero after a particularly nasty bushwack, so a locking turret sounds like it could be nice, but in reality I check my rifle often during a hunt and it likely wouldn't cause an issue.

 

[nagibson1]

What about caped elevation turrets on good quality scopes, for those that would like to dial beyond say, 300.
A scope like:

Nightforce SHV 3-10x42mm C610​

or
Trijicon 2900041 Credo 3-9x 40mm

Are these dials less accurate or durable? I'm finding that scopes with 10x or less magnification don't usually have exposed turrets, and are virtually all SFP. Or they have 56 or 36 objectives.

 

[Southern Lights]

I have used SHV 3-10x42s for years and they have dialed for me out to 800+yards reliably. I even used one a couple weeks back in a hunting comp and dialed all day without any issues.