Balisitc Reticles?
- Thread starter Venom 9
- Start date
They work good if you have the mindset to use them. Some are precalibrated to certain cartridges, others will cover several cartridges and the hold over points have different values depending on your cartridge.
What I have done in the past with this style of reticle is first to find the load my rifle really likes, zero the main crosshairs at either 100 or 200 yards depending on your ability and the terrain you plan to hunt, and then "walk back" until you find the next zero distance for the next hold over point. Mark this distance down and repeat. I then make a little chart and laminate it or tape it right to the butt stock of my rifle. Sounds complicated, but it is fun, gets you shooting, and gives you real world values instead of some computer generated table that may not be right for your gun, shooting style, load, or environmental conditions.
What I have done in the past with this style of reticle is first to find the load my rifle really likes, zero the main crosshairs at either 100 or 200 yards depending on your ability and the terrain you plan to hunt, and then "walk back" until you find the next zero distance for the next hold over point. Mark this distance down and repeat. I then make a little chart and laminate it or tape it right to the butt stock of my rifle. Sounds complicated, but it is fun, gets you shooting, and gives you real world values instead of some computer generated table that may not be right for your gun, shooting style, load, or environmental conditions.
sir_springer
Regular
- Location
- East Kootenays
If, IMHO, you're inclined to take shots out beyond 350 yds, you have a rifle capable of it, you are confident in your ability to be accurate at long range, and you're likely to be carrying a good rangefinder, then a ballistic reticle has its merits.
However, for regular hunting inside of such ranges, I think such complex reticles more often than not cause a lot of game to get impatient and wander off unscathed.
I've read a ton of comments in articles by guides/writers about lost opportunities because their hunting client/partner got messed up just trying to decide and then adjust his power setting on his variable scope. Now imagine tossing a ballistic reticle into that scenario...
In the heat of the moment, and things are happening fast, simple is better.
In about 99% of such situations, nothing beats a duplex reticle.
For me, if I need a ballistic reticle to make the shot, I'm still too far away.
FWIW.
However, for regular hunting inside of such ranges, I think such complex reticles more often than not cause a lot of game to get impatient and wander off unscathed.
I've read a ton of comments in articles by guides/writers about lost opportunities because their hunting client/partner got messed up just trying to decide and then adjust his power setting on his variable scope. Now imagine tossing a ballistic reticle into that scenario...
In the heat of the moment, and things are happening fast, simple is better.
In about 99% of such situations, nothing beats a duplex reticle.
For me, if I need a ballistic reticle to make the shot, I'm still too far away.
FWIW.
I Love'em
I have ballistic reticles on my Weaver and Burris Scopes. I really like them as they very quickly take the guesswork out of "where to place" the crosshair.
My advice though, is to go to the range to see where a particular loads likes to hit at various ranges, as most reticles are set up for a median load.
The only thing it does not do is give an idea as to how far a target is (I would like to find a scope with some really good stadia marks).
I'm really satisfied with my scopes though.
I have ballistic reticles on my Weaver and Burris Scopes. I really like them as they very quickly take the guesswork out of "where to place" the crosshair.
My advice though, is to go to the range to see where a particular loads likes to hit at various ranges, as most reticles are set up for a median load.
The only thing it does not do is give an idea as to how far a target is (I would like to find a scope with some really good stadia marks).
I'm really satisfied with my scopes though.
My thoughts exactly. I have a couple of rifles with the Burris ballistic plex. Seems pretty close for 308 150 grain ammo. Gives you a good consistent reference point for hold over.
Last edited:
For the most part I only buy hunting scopes with the B&C now. That doesn't mean that I'm throwing away all my Duplex scopes though. If you're willing to do a little shooting at the distances, and a little thinking about magnification levels and have a LRF it's a pretty good 500+ a little yard big-game system. If you aren't willing to put in the legwork, and are hoping for a quick fix solution you might be better off forgetting the whole thing.
Yes I use the Rapid Z reticle. I'm not a hunter yet. I do however target shoot and plink. I have a Rapid Z 1000 reticle on a Remington 5R milspec rifle in .308. The reticle is matched for .308 ammo. I zeroed the rifle at 100 yards. Shooting 168 Federal Gold clones (handload) it was accurate using the holdovers. I hit a tennis ball shaped target at 310 metres, by going just below the 300 yard crosshair. Dead on.
For ultimate match shooting you'll want to be dailing it in. For quick plinking, varmiting and police marksman situations I really like the Rapid Z reticle. Works well and is quick.
Another thing about this reticle. The crosshairs are clearly marked for which distance they represent. Once you are used to it, you won't screw it up and you won't be counting the lines to try and use the holdover. It works well.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
It still mystifies me that Jack O'Connor and Elmer Keith killed anything. Jack used a plain-jane 270 with (maybe) a 4x Weaver scope. And Elmer? Well, hate all you want, but he killed lots of stuff out at ballistic reticle distances with iron sighted 44 spl, 44 mag and 45 Colt. I'm sure that when Elmer did shoot stuff with a rifle he had no more than a plain crosshair to aim with.
Maybe the air is thicker. Maybe global warming, El Nino or my carbon footprint makes shooting animals at 300 or 400 yards more challenging than it was 60 or 70 years ago. But it seems to me that with the wonder magnums of today, scopes with ultra light-transmissive glass and precise repeatable adjustments, bullets with a BC over 500 and laser rangefinders accurate to +/- 1 yard out to 1600, that a reticle with a Christmas tree of stadia lines to compensate for bullet drop should be excessive even for the least prepared shooter.
Sighting your 30-06, 270, 7 Remington or 300 Winchester 2.5" high at 100 yards will let you hold on hair way out to 400 yards which, frankly, if further than most shooters have any business shooting at game.
Maybe the air is thicker. Maybe global warming, El Nino or my carbon footprint makes shooting animals at 300 or 400 yards more challenging than it was 60 or 70 years ago. But it seems to me that with the wonder magnums of today, scopes with ultra light-transmissive glass and precise repeatable adjustments, bullets with a BC over 500 and laser rangefinders accurate to +/- 1 yard out to 1600, that a reticle with a Christmas tree of stadia lines to compensate for bullet drop should be excessive even for the least prepared shooter.
Sighting your 30-06, 270, 7 Remington or 300 Winchester 2.5" high at 100 yards will let you hold on hair way out to 400 yards which, frankly, if further than most shooters have any business shooting at game.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
"Try", no doubt. Remember, they were also paid to write articles abotu new and wonderful things. "Stick With" might be a stretch. I think they would have used them and subsequently announced that, while not without merit, such gadgets were not truly necessary and would serve only as a crutch for the unpracticed.
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
If you want a bit of a challenge you can try mil-dots. You can range find , allow for holdover and windage without taking your eye from the scope. This is once you get proficient at it, but once you do it is fast and easy and no batteries to change when the range finder suddenly dies
- Location
- Prince Albert, Sk
X2, I must agree here that some of the reticles are a bit coarse for fine shooting(cover too much target area).Guess it will depend on your application and magnification.
I'm now debating a new scope purchase now and there is a choice of ballistic reticle or straight duplex.
The scope will have external turret adjustments for sure and I'm thinking while setting come ups from a range card tapped to the scope cap and using target turrets would be slightly slower than the ballistic reticle it would still offer a higher degree of precision than the ballistic reticle which may or may not be tuned to your most accurate load.
That would seem more useful to me than a couple of 2 or 3 seconds saved before the shot goes off especially for longer distances.
I assume the need for speed and hence the ballistic reticle is due to being in a hurry to take that 400 meter shot. In my hunting experience I've never been pressed for time for shots of that nature.
It should be noted time needed to get off an accurate shot at distance should also include time to get into a solid firing position, time to verify through optics that this is indeed the target I want to be shooting at, time to laser or mil dot the target for proper range, time to establish wind velocity and direction and how it might affect the shot as well as factor in any extreme uphill or downhill shooting.
As you can see there's a lot of factors to consider which take time before attempting a shot so a few extra seconds to adjust target turrets for optimum precision is not that big a time issue in the overall picture. IMHO
The scope will have external turret adjustments for sure and I'm thinking while setting come ups from a range card tapped to the scope cap and using target turrets would be slightly slower than the ballistic reticle it would still offer a higher degree of precision than the ballistic reticle which may or may not be tuned to your most accurate load.
That would seem more useful to me than a couple of 2 or 3 seconds saved before the shot goes off especially for longer distances.
I assume the need for speed and hence the ballistic reticle is due to being in a hurry to take that 400 meter shot. In my hunting experience I've never been pressed for time for shots of that nature.
It should be noted time needed to get off an accurate shot at distance should also include time to get into a solid firing position, time to verify through optics that this is indeed the target I want to be shooting at, time to laser or mil dot the target for proper range, time to establish wind velocity and direction and how it might affect the shot as well as factor in any extreme uphill or downhill shooting.
As you can see there's a lot of factors to consider which take time before attempting a shot so a few extra seconds to adjust target turrets for optimum precision is not that big a time issue in the overall picture. IMHO
The 3.5-10x50mm Leupold VX3 with a BC reticle mounted on my Rem700 LSS LH 300RUM is a perfect match. When I turn the scope up to 10x (as instructed) the stadia are so close to dead on at all ranges it's scary. Zero at 300yds. Then 400, 500, 550 and lastly 600yds. I've tested it at actual lasered distances on paper targets in a pal's farm field on a dead calm summer day. At all ranges the hits were within a couple inches of bullseye. Overkill as far as accuracy needed when you just need to place the correct hold on a buck's chest and shoot. I will admit that a laser range finder is a necessity with these reticles. Unlike my mildot setups. I don't use the Leupold ranging system much but it's there.
I like the ballistic reticle for target shooting & hunting when there is time to take the shot (like varminting). I also found it handy for reduced loads. Instead of rezeroing my scope for the reduced power load, I use one of the holdover points. Like others mentioned, the holdover points only work if you actually test the distances by firing on paper and keeping a record of it handy. For game that may flush, the MPBR method and simplicity seem to work well.
