Set up your turret tape right.
Measure the dial, feed the builder clean data, test the fit, print at actual size, and confirm the finished tape at the range.
One $18 custom setup delivers a print-ready PDF with 10 matching tapes. It covers one rifle, load, and turret configuration. Nothing ships. Print at home and reprint whenever you need a spare.
Download the printable setup guide (PDF)
1. Make sure the turret can take a tape
Your scope needs an exposed elevation turret with a smooth, flat band where the strip can sit. A coin-slot adjustment under a cap will not work. Knurling, a tapered surface, crowded markings, or too little vertical space can also keep the tape from lying flat.
Measure straight across that smooth band with calipers. Do not measure the main scope tube. No calipers? Leave diameter blank for the first sample preview, print its sizing gauge at 100%, wrap it around the band, and enter the estimate.
Test the sample seam. A gap means increase the diameter. An overlap means decrease it. Compare the actual-size height strips at 4–11, 13, and 15 mm with the usable band, then choose the tallest height that fits cleanly.
2. Gather the exact rifle and load data
- Projectile: Use the published ballistic coefficient for the exact bullet. Match G1 to a G1 value or G7 to a G7 value. Enter the correct bullet weight and ammo identity.
- Velocity: A chronograph reading from your rifle beats the number on the box.
- Zero: Enter the distance you confirmed on paper.
- Sight height: Measure vertically from the center of the bore to the center of the scope tube.
- Conditions: Enter altitude, temperature, and humidity for the place you expect to shoot. Station pressure is derived from altitude, so there is no separate pressure entry.
Projectile identity, including ammo, BC, bullet weight, and drag model, cannot be changed after purchase. Check those fields twice.
3. Match the turret mechanics
Choose the unit your elevation turret actually uses, MOA or MIL. Enter its actual clicks per unit and units per complete rotation. Check the turret or scope manual. Do not mix MOA values with MIL settings, or the other way around. Clicks per unit multiplied by units per rotation must make a whole number of clicks.
One wrap is the first turret turn. With two wraps, the second-turn row prints above the first. With three, the third-turn row stacks above the second. Read the bottom row first, then move upward after each full rotation.
A requested distance is only an upper request. If the selected rows cannot hold the needed rotations, later marks are left off. Transonic records can be trimmed where predictions become less reliable, but trimming is optional and disabled by default.
4. Test fit and readability
The free sample preview checks diameter, tape height, colors, and layout. Its yardage marks use a demo load, not your ballistics. Print it at 100%, cut it out, and wrap it around the intended band before buying.
Choose yards or meters to match how you range. Pick high-contrast colors that stay readable on the rifle. The builder gives an advisory warning below a 3:1 mark-to-background contrast ratio, but it does not block your preview or order.
5. Print at 100% and apply
Each PDF contains 10 matching cutout tapes for one custom setup. Cut out one and keep the others as spares. Reprint whenever you need. No physical tapes are shipped.
Printer settings
- Print at 100% scale. Turn off "fit to page" and any shrink option. Scaling changes the wrap length and the tape will not fit your turret.
- Pick your printer's best quality. Most printers have a photo preset (glossy or matte pictures), and it prints the crispest tick marks. Standard quality can come out grainy.
Paper
Vinyl sticker paper makes a weather-resistant, peel-and-stick tape. Plain printer paper works too. Lay clear tape over the printed strip before you cut it out.
Apply it
Cut the strip out and wrap it snugly around your elevation turret, with the zero mark aligned to your scope's indicator line. Vinyl sticks on its own. Hold plain paper down with clear tape. Either way, finish with a thin strip of clear tape across the seam so nothing lifts in the field.
6. Verify before you depend on it
A calculated tape is a starting solution. It is not a guarantee of impact or of an ethical shooting distance. Confirm your zero and come-ups with live fire at several known distances under representative conditions. Stop at the distance where you cannot make reliable hits.
Each setup includes one correction to eligible ballistic inputs within 7 days of purchase, such as velocity, zero, and sight height. Ammo, BC, bullet weight, and drag model stay locked. New-location atmosphere updates and style updates are free and unlimited, with no deadline.