Ballparking it, I would go with about 4 inches drop at 200 yards assuming about 2700 FPS.
Exactly. I used Weaver mounts for many years when there wasn't much else around. I began using Redfield mounts after that and now use Leupold which are the same as the old Redfield mounts. I think the internet pays way too much attention to the latest fad in mounts.thornblom said:I doubt that you are getting 2700 ft/sec from your 20" barrel. If you are loadedclose to max, I would say 2600 to 2650 ft/sec. My 168 gr load at 2600 ft/sec drops 4.3" at 200 yards with a 100 yard zero. That bullet is a SMK. Your ballistic silvertip has a little lower BC so you would be in 4.5" to 5" drop area. Worse case sinerio, if your load drops 5" at 200 yards and you held 5" high, you probably hit that deer right where you wanted to. Chances are the bullet didn't open up or expand, just punched a .30 caliber hole straight through. I would search a few hundred yards in the direction that the deer ran after the shot. Take a trail dog with you. You will more that likely find him. The standard Weaver rings are not pretty, but they are strong. I have rifles with scopes mounted in Weaver mounts and rings that have been there for 25 years are more and still shoot good.
Lots of luck to you.
Sincerely,
Dave (Bubba) Thornblom