The Leupold CDS—Do You Need One?

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“Oh judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, and men have lost their reason.”–Barrack Hussein Obama (1)

“How’s that hopey-changey thing workin’ out for ya?”–King Louis XVI of France (2)

“His writing is devoid of fantasy.”–Ragnar of Ragweed Forge (3)_

Where the hell was I? Oh yes: Do you need the Leupold CDS?

The answer is, it depends on how you hunt. If you never shoot past 300 yards and you’re getting 2,700 fps or better, no. If you do take the occasional long shot, the CDS will make all the difference. A case in point:

One of my more effective handloads is a 200-grain Swift A-Frame in a .30/06. This long, tough bullet will kill just about anything, but its muzzle velocity is only 2,600 fps. Sighted in 3 inches high at 100 yards, it drops 7 inches below the point of aim at 300, 14 at 350, 24 at 400, and 35 at 450. If you get a shot beyond 300, you’re going to have a very tough time of it. Short of hyper-velocity rounds like the Weatherbys, Lazzeronis, and Remington RUMs, just about everything starts to plummet after 300 or 350.

Here are two things that I can solemnly assure you: If you see a hell of a good animal out beyond 300 yards, you’re going to shoot. If it’s the last day of the hunt and you’ve worked your ass off and come up empty and you see something past 300, you’re going to shoot. That’s when the CDS is worth it.

A couple of other things: I wear reading glasses, but I have no trouble reading the CDS dial without them.

The hex wrench that works the little set screws on the CDS dial is very small and easily lost, and if you go hunting with only one, you know what’s going to happen. Tape three or four to important parts of your body. Also, once a day, give those little screws a tweak to make sure they’re snug.

_(1,2) These have no relevance to anything that follows, but I like quotes.

(3) We were discussing Keith McCafferty, and the fact that he is the Real Deal._