Newbie Reticle Question

[Sweetroels]

Newbie reticle question. I am an old fart and have only used the standard duplex reticle. I am starting to shoot beyond 200 yards with most of my guns. I have a Christiansen Arms 300 RUM I love reloading for and shooting. I have opportunities to shoot game out 500 yards and would like to upgrade my scope. Some of the guys in camp have scopes they had the manufacture program scope for gun/caliber and they just click to range and shoot. Some of these guys have had issues with the program. But I would prefer to just aim and shoot with hold over and use the B&C (Leupold) or BRH (Swarovski). I am looking at scopes that are around 3k so don't want to be stuck with something I don't like or doesn't work. So click vs. holdover is the question. Is this the correct question? I just want to keep it simple

 

[Zen Archery]

Rarely have I had time to dial up and confirm. I prefer BDC with holdover for hunting and dial for paper, target, or steel.

 

[snox801]

I prefer dials but understand why holdovers work. I like a clean standard aiming point with a dial.
With that said you have the option for both if needed. They swaro is a very good choice. Also March. I for one really don't like the leupold stuff. But know many who do.
Basically find the glass you like and see what you think of the built in drops. They just make sure to confirm them to your rifle.

 

[sierracharlie338]

6 of one and half dozen of the other. Its all really personal preference and there is no one size fits all. I recommend finding some guys local to you that wouldn't mind letting you try their set ups. The BDC type reticles aren't always close and this is why I prefer to dial.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

swaro would be my vote , it is what i have on my hunting gun , just as you describe, and for just that reason ,simplicity. magnify all the way down when in timber , magnify all the way up when bdc is needed , very good for up to 500 , but if you ever think you'll be comfortable taking a shot past that , the turret will shine because the fine tuning between the hashmarks will be needed

im just using a second focal plane , older Z3 , but feild of veiw is great and it is very bright at earlier than "sunrise" + much cheaper than 3k

if you were to go the leopold route , be aware there are alot of very believable fakes over the last few years , be sure you are buying from a place that will take it back ,

 

[Sweetroels]

Thanks all, great responses. I was looking at a Swaro Z6i 2.5-15X56 Gen-2 BRH-I or VX-6HD 3-18X50 ILLUM B&C These are second focal plane scopes, don't really know the dif between 1st and 2nd. Sorry such a beginner. So this scope would distort with holdover at around 500-600 yards? I can't see shooting much beyond that. I did look at the Nightforce scopes for the dial option. They are nice but the glass seemed better on the Swaro, especially for dawn and dusk and the reticle seemed very thin on the Nightforce.

I reload and shoot a lot so practice is not an issue, I just have to keep it simple and the shots I have at long range don't give me a lot of time to make clicks/dial and scope adjustments. Clicking seems to be more accurate? The main objective is hunting so want to keep it easy. I am still confused on which way to go.

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

your definitely gonna wanna read up before you buy anything

If, you have a second focal plane , turned up to the highest magnification and zero it at 100 to the center cross hairs , then validate every yardage for each or the lower hash marks , say IE? 100 204 310 430 560

if you shoot on lowest magnification , the hashmarks will change to 100 , 230 375 510 770 968 (( EXAMPLES ONLY ))

if you have magnification set to any mid-range number say 6x or 8x between highest and lowest , hashmarks will all change values ( the center one will be the same at 100 )


first focal plane , if turned up to the highest magnification and zero it at 100 to the center cross hairs , then validate every yardage for each of the lower hash marks , say 100 204 310 430 560 same as before , if turned all the way down you will see the retical will look much bigger through the scope but all the hashmark values will be the same

 

[DUSTY NOGGIN]

maybe i just havent seen the need but id say illumination isnt as much needed when you combine good clear glass with a larger 50mm or 56mm front bell , either will bring in plenty of light at all hunting hours

welcome to the forums btw , good place talk shop

 

[bassassassin104]

Do yourself a favor and read up on First Focal vs Second Focal. In a nutshell…

First Focal, the reticle will always have the same spacing between the markings of the reticle, so regardless of magnification setting, the reticle is accurate. The catch is, as you increase magnification, the lines of the reticle actually get thicker.
Second Focal Plane, the reticle spacing is only accurate at one magnification. Depending on the scope manufacturer, it will likely be maximum magnification. Before you buy anything, please do some additional reading on the matter and find a First Focal Plane scope to look through. Some people hate them and others love them. It really depends on personal preference and what you are using them for. YouTube is a great research tool!!!

 

[Mark37082]

Very good suggestions to read up on the difference between SFP and FFP. SFP is probably the most common hunting scope. Just make sure you have the scope at the right zoom setting before using the reticle for hold overs. I personally don't like cluttered reticles like the Christmas tree style. If your not going to be dialing a lot, Swarovski will be hard to beat.

 

[BillLarson]

Unless you,re shooting running game....
I believe dialing for distance is much more accurate than holdover.....

 

[bassassassin104]

If you decide to go BDC style, you can easily make yourself a cheat sheet with IStrelok (or I could do it for you) that shows the distances for which the reticle is exact for your load. The attached image is the data for my Black Powder Rifle.

 

[Barbourcreek]

BDC looses its ability to work past 600 yards even closer with angle shots
Temperature, station pressure angle etc. will degrade the capability of the BDC reticle
Do yourself a favor get a good MOA dial scope and a ballistic range finder and never look back
Suggestion'
Sig kilo 10 K RF bino
and Nightforce NX8 MOA FFP

 

[ShtrRdy]

OP - if you do it take a class from James at Barbourcreek. (post #13) You will get all your questions answered along with some live fire practice.