MV Chronographs, Calculators and Accuracy

[b6graham]

Well nothing is perfectly flat of coarse, but there is a pretty good list of those that work pretty well for that.
And yes as has been mentioned there are some reticle choices that will assist in doing that.
Fact is there are still a few of us around here who remember well when only target scopes like Unertl and a couple of others would even allow for dialing.
Fortunately there were a few people like Premier Reticles who would build custom reticles which allowed for holdovers, and many of us had them and still use them.

Besides, the sign over the door here says ( Long Range Hunting ), and those of us who do realize there isnt always the amount of time required for ranging, dialing, etc etc. when the opportunity finally comes along.
But then in Pa, we also teach the young boys to **** 500 yards. lol

so you're saying, since this is long range hunting, its ethical to shoot an animal out to 500y without ranging it and only using holdovers

 

[Greyfox]

so you're saying, since this is long range hunting, its ethical to shoot an animal out to 500y without ranging it and only using holdovers

For quick work at 500 and under I find it's fast and easy enough to get a pretty accurate range on most deer sized game using Mil reticles….Chest size of a deer at 500 yards, 1MIL, 250 yards, 2MIL… If the range is actually 600 instead of 500 yards, a miss or badly placed shot is likely. If I have enough time, I prefer to dial but holdovers will work if time is limited.

 

[yobuck]

so you're saying, since this is long range hunting, its ethical to shoot an animal out to 500y without ranging it and only using holdovers

Well some day take a prarie dog hunt, and see if your opinion changes.
You just might find you have more natural ability than you thought you did as for guessing distance and using holdovers.
Otherwise you will be doing alot of ranging and dialing but not all that much shooting, and it wont take long for the lights to turn on. At least for most of us.
Deer hunting is no different, at least out to the distances were discussing here.
My advice would be to take your gun out to the places where you can shoot those distances and see for yourself.
But if you think that by owning a chronograph and having a perfect chart will make you a more successful hunter for 500 yard shots, thats fine with me.

 

[BrentM]

Everyone should know how to reticle range as a form of understanding both viability as well as non. Grey fox hit the nail, the limits of reticle ranging need to be respected. For those hunting prairie dogs, it's usually done with a fast cartridge, so margin isn't that bad. I used a 220 swift with a long barrel and pushed 60 grain bullets to almost 4000 and a 204 running 3980 with a 40's. Compared to a standard hunting cartridge they are fairly flat. I never used a range finder back then.

 

[Dragoon300]

That's what made the Swift a great cartridge!
Flat shooting! I grew up with my Dad's model 70 he purchased in 1958 for Fox hunting. I shot it a lot and never burned out the barrel.
No one had a ranging reticle in 1935 when the Swift came out, and the average shooter didn't have a chrono, ballistic calculator or rangefinder.
But now that we do we can make more accurate decisions if we want to. And that is always a good idea. I can shoot either way, but enjoy the ability to be more precise and predictable.

 

[BrentM]

That's what made the Swift a great cartridge!
Flat shooting! I grew up with my Dad's model 70 he purchased in 1958 for Fox hunting. I shot it a lot and never burned out the barrel.
No one had a ranging reticle in 1935 when the Swift came out, and the average shooter didn't have a chrono, ballistic calculator or rangefinder.
But now that we do we can make more accurate decisions if we want to. And that is always a good idea. I can shoot either way, but enjoy the ability to be more precise and predictable.

Exactly. Shooting vs precision shooting. I use the technology we have offered to us today and will use the tech offered tomorrow. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop using my recurve bow tho. Just different skill sets and purposes.

 

[waveslayer]

True MV out to 600, then you true BC past 800. The bullet never lies

 

[Mike Matteson]

Everyone should know how to reticle range as a form of understanding both viability as well as non. Grey fox hit the nail, the limits of reticle ranging need to be respected. For those hunting prairie dogs, it's usually done with a fast cartridge, so margin isn't that bad. I used a 220 swift with a long barrel and pushed 60 grain bullets to almost 4000 and a 204 running 3980 with a 40's. Compared to a standard hunting cartridge they are fairly flat. I never used a range finder back then.

Back when they didn't have a range finder. Kentucky Windage. I used a 55gr in my 220 Swift. Moving up to a 6mm/280AI for prairie dogs.