Mrad or moa ?

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What's the preferred choice in optics?

Gonna be used on a .308 bolt gun for "longer range shooting"

Does either option perform better or have advantages over the other?
 
I shoot mrad. The only advantage to one or the other would be if you’re shooting with a group that predominantly used one or the other. Otherwise it’s just one set of numbers or another.
 
Not really very experienced with these. A buddy is, and has been "coaching" me. Old military idea was that the mildots (Mrad) would be used as an optical range finder - how far to target? Then scope turrets had part-of-MOA clicks, so you then dialled in for drop and windage at that range estimate. I suspect most people now use a laser rangefinder for getting a distance number; various ways to establish a windage call - so using mildot for range is sort of "nice to know how to do", but I do not think is used much, any more, in competitions. Can also be useful for "holding off", if you do not want to twirl the turrets, or do not have time to do that.

I have an SWFA scope with "MilQuad" - so has mil-dots in reticle and turret clicks are 0.1 mils. So, if you get to see your splash, and decide that you need 3.5 mils windage (from what you saw in the scope), then can click 35 clicks (35 x 0.1 mils) on the turret and try again. When several people shooting, is apparently a deal for someone to discover that he needs 2.7 mils windage for the gong - everyone else who has mildot can either hold off or click that amount. A bit more math involved to shift that need for 2.7 mils into a how-many MOA adjustment.

Is all about what game you are in. Several competitive events apparently allow sighter shots, and then often shoot for a group. Another purpose is to fire one cold barrel shot and hit the "vitals" on the target - yes or no. Mildot system seems more based on radians, meters / centimetres; MOA system more about degrees, yards / feet / inches. Some struggle to switch back and forth with a mildot view, but MOA clicks. Should be no difference in how well either system works - up to the user to keep the numbers sorted out.
 
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Just go MRAD. You can use either for a rangefinder to be "close" on midrange targets, but quickly gets tough to be accurate. I always thought in 1/4" clicks, got my first MIL scope last year and love it. With either MILS or MOA, a proper reticle will let you measure and either hold or click the turret.
If I had spare cash, I would replace every hunting scope I have with MRAD as well. Not dots, but .2 hash.
 
I chose MOA just because I find it easier to do "Quick holds" and the turrets are usually in 1/4" per clik. I have a Bushnell Engage 6-24x50 SFP w/a C-mas tree reticle, on my Ruger American .223 (Good for MOA @ 180yds). It started on my Savage B22, and I found the Covenant C-4 in 6-24x50 FFP which also has the C-tree but Also has Numbers on every 4th bar - makes holds easier and quicker since I don't need to count as many of the bars.
That's on my B22 now and I'm thinking about another for my Marlin-60. Working on consistent MOA on the .22s, the Bs almost there and an A22 I just got is close, too.
 
MOA is a bit finer than Mrad at longer distances, Mrad is better to memorize for quick hold or dial, if you are trying to find a firing solution on your ballistics app, if you use MOA sometimes it will give you say 8.61MOA up and 0.81 moa left, it is very confusing, with Mrad its a different story.
 
Kezh1729 said:
MOA is a bit finer than Mrad at longer distances, Mrad is better to memorize for quick hold or dial, if you are trying to find a firing solution on your ballistics app, if you use MOA sometimes it will give you say 8.61MOA up and 0.81 moa left, it is very confusing, with Mrad its a different story.
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So when you use your ballistic program you always get exact even numbers? Never get 3.67 or 1.23 for an adjustment! Hows that not as confusing? I use both and each has its place but MOA is much finer at long range shooting and no more confusing than Millradians. Im just stating my opinion and every shooter will have a preferance. PRS shooters seem to prefer Mills to Moa but I think its dependant on what you learned with. Both are great once learned.
 
Target to hit is at laser ranged at 538 meters. How many clicks, if you think that you need 17 cm for wind at that range, if 1 click = 1cm? Oh crap, coyote has started to move - now what?
 
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Potashminer said:
Target to hit is at laser ranged at 538 meters. How many clicks, if you think that you need 17 cm for wind at that range, if 1 click = 1cm? Oh crap, coyote has started to move - now what?
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Who would look at a shot and wonder how many CM of wind they need? Or how many inches for that matter? These moa vs mrad conversations go off the rails every time
 
laker415 said:
Who would look at a shot and wonder how many CM of wind they need? Or how many inches for that matter? These moa vs mrad conversations go off the rails every time
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You are correct - for that shot based on any drifting snow that I might see in scope, I would think in "coyote body lengths" - so cross hair would be half a body length into the wind for the shot - and hope I could see splash - then correct as required until I had no more target. Then long walk out to look for blood trail - sometimes, even a hole through a leg gets a trail to follow. Wind error almost always is what beats me - I am not good at reading that! That shot could as easy have been a coyote body and a half, needed - and I get totally screwed if I miss any splash!!!

For longer shots - like beyond 400 meters, bullet drop is predicatable, pretty much - you can practice for that, can sight in for that. Wind allowance, however, is like a whole 'nuther thing - you will miss for sure if you do not allow for it - and is not something very easy to "call" - what environment doing where you are has not really very much to do with two swales over, and cross wind - or at least is cross wind where you are - might be straight away where coyote is...
 
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If a person was going to use "MOA is finer" as an argument in favour of it you should keep in mind that 1 MOA isn't exactly 1" at 100 yards. It's 1.047".

MOA Inches of Spread at # yards
100 - 1.047
200 - 2.094
300 - 3.141
400 - 4.188
500 - 5.235
600 - 6.282
700 - 7.329
800 - 8.376
900 - 9.423
1,000 - 10.47
 
Potashminer said:
You are correct - for that shot based on any drifting snow that I might see in scope, I would think in "coyote body lengths" - so cross hair would be half a body length into the wind for the shot - and hope I could see splash - then correct as required until I had no more target. Then long walk out to look for blood trail - sometimes, even a hole through a leg gets a trail to follow. Wind error almost always is what beats me - I am not good at reading that! That shot could as easy have been a coyote body and a half, needed - and I get totally screwed if I miss any splash!!!

For longer shots - like beyond 400 meters, bullet drop is predicatable, pretty much - you can practice for that, can sight in for that. Wind allowance, however, is like a whole 'nuther thing - you will miss for sure if you do not allow for it - and is not something very easy to "call" - what environment doing where you are has not really very much to do with two swales over, and cross wind - or at least is cross wind where you are - might be straight away where coyote is...
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This stuff gets way easier with the right kind of projectiles, scopes/reticles and practice. Projectiles that are much less influenced by the wind. No thinking in CMs, inches, or body lengths. And knowing the wind and your wind brackets. There is a little learning curve, but after that it's way more K.I.S.S. :)
 
b_w. said:
Mrad. I suppose it depends on what you are doing but all the guys I shoot with standardize on it.
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1X more vote MRAD/MIL

Just have to look at the 'EE optics' and see that there are more MOA based optics for sale with people switching to MRAD/MIL...
 
MOA is needlessly complicated, like imperial to metric. If you’re use to it it’s perfectly fine but if your starting off at zero MRAD makes way more sense. Get a FFP MRAD scope with a mil reticle and you won’t regret it.
 
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