What's your Scope type for longer range work?

Ballistic reticles only work if your load and your chambering is very standard. If something is not 100% right (and it wont) you will start having errors. Moreover the experience of BDC is not that you might think. Let's say you are using zeiss rapid Z just mentioned above.
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I don't understand why so many people can't grasp this simple concept of secondary aiming points be it BDC, MOA or whatever and make it more complicated than it is. No, no one reticle is going to work perfectly mathematically for every load. But most of the BDC reticles will work as good as most can shoot for any high powered rifle load you just have to zero it properly.

The easiest way to make one work is to ... hello... try it in the field. Running your load through a ballistic program first will save you some time if you want. Figure the drops in MOA with a 200 yard zero, or a 100 yard zero with magnums as they usually recommend.. doesn't really matter. Then google up the subtensions of the reticle from the manufacturer. This will show how many MOA drop each dash has. Now compare these drops with the drops that your bullet will take at 300, 400 etc. You'll quite likely find that you are within an inch or two of impact point out to 500 yards no problemo. If you've got a non standard load or for some reason there's too much difference between the two in your mind throw all that chit in the garbage can and just check it in the field. Zero your 500 yard hatch mark at 500 yards and check everything backwards at 400, 300 etc. Write down your results.
 
My favorite is MOA dials and MOA dashes on the reticle how can you go wrong? Piece of tape on the stock with a drop chart and you're good for as far out as your scope has 'up'. I bought a Sightron 6.5-20 last year for a target rifle so set up. Nirvana! Sadly, not too many hunting style scopes are set up this way :( But for 500 yards any secondary hash marks will work with a little fiddling and checking.
 
I use a 6-24x 50 Mildot reticle on a FCPK .223 for yotes over dead livestock and while calling over farm fields. It has the "target turrents" and is SFP.

In WMUs where there is no restriction on caliber for coyotes, and wolves are present I use a 4-16x50 FFP EBR-1 MRAD reticle and matching .1 MRAD turrets and is FFP. I can do 10 mils of holdover simply using the hash marks and post in the reticle. That 10 mils equates to 850 meters or farther depending on environmentals, caliber and load.(currently .308 Federal Gameking 165 gr.)

Facts of the matter with regards to what you are asking is basically the difference between fast/quick hits and precision hits. Hold over/hold off is very fast for quick hits especially while hunting. Dialing come ups and windage are better for attempts at precision hits.
 
I like the ease offered with my Leupold VX6 with CDS. It has the turret cut for 200 to 800 yards using a load for the 280 starting at 3006 fps.
however, I also have a Bushnell Elite 6 - 24 x 40 MD on my 300 mag. It was sighted in for 300 and I only had the opportunity to check the drop based on a computer printout to check it at 400 yards.
That printout is sitting on my desk and the drop figures to 500 could probably be mentally stored.
It is nice to be able to enjoy the best of both worlds.
 
Where people get into trouble with B&C reticles (and similar) is by guessing and not checking. Too many want a short-cut. Don't have 200 yard range to sight in? That's OK, just guess what you need to be high at 100 to make that work. Don't know the velocity? Take the book or the cartridge box at its word. Don't bother checking POI out to 450-500 yards because there's no way that a guess based on a guess based on another guess will ever bite you on the ass. Even that is guessing that the shooter understood what he was reading in the first place.

Sometimes a little tweaking is necessary to get the system working. Say for instance that you have a 200 yard zero and the combined errors and uncertainties lead to a POI of 4 inches low at 400 when you use the 400 yard crosshair. Take the 1 MOA adjustment so the 400 line works and you move the error back and ahead. Being 2 inches high at 200 instead of bang-on won't change your life, 300 will take care of itself and so will 450 and 500.

Another way of tweaking the above example to play with the magnification. Since in the example your 400 POI is 4 inches too low, setting the power to a lower setting will increase the distance between the lines. You can calculate until you're blue in the face but the only thing that matters is the holes in the target. Just get a big piece of paper and put an aiming point up near the top. Use your 200 yard (main) crosshair and shoot your group knowing that it is going to hit low. Mark the group with something that you can see from the firing position and while holding the main crosshairs on the aiming point crank the zoom ring until the 400 line is on the group while the main is on the aiming point. Whatever power it ends up at is what you need to make your rifle work, and it doesn't matter what triangle it was "supposed" to be on. Remember that that triangle was Leupold's guess to get you started. Since your 200 zero is bang on, and your 400 has been corrected its a pretty safe guess that 300, 450 and 500 will take care of themselves.
 
owlowl said:
First of all the scopes with rapid Z, and in fact practically ALL other scopes with ballistic reticles on the market are second focal plane. In short this means that the reticle only works on a very specific magnification of the scope and can not be used on all other magnifications. Such that if you didn't set it up to the appropriate magnification your reticle marks will be WAY off.
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For your secondary...long-range reticles to be yardage indicated you are correct you must use the appropriate magnification. You can use your primary 200 yard reticle at any magnification and zero remains the same. It's about as simple as things gets. The calculator does all the work and it's just a matter of truthing at the range. Remembering to dial to a specific magnification when setting up for a long-range shot isn't that difficult for most.
 
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Out to 500 yards, if you have a good quality scope, a rangefinder, and a flat shooting caliber rifle...you just aim a bit higher after 350 yards and a decent bit higher after 450...
 
for hunting, I like turrets for elevation and reticle for wind holdover...several scopes manufacturers have a reticle design that does this...swaro 4w, vortex ebr-moa, huskemaw, burris c4, leupold has a new moa reticle

my rifles are zeroed high at 100 to maximize dead hold range, 0-300 just put the crosshairs on the animal and shoot...past that distance I start dialing elevation on the turret...pretty simple setup, and shooting past 300 it's never been rushed shot, lots of time, usually animal isn't onto you, taking 10 seconds to range and turn a turret isn't a big deal
 
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