stupid question re range finding

crunchiespg

crunchiespg

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
33   0   0
Location
Alberta
im just getting into learning long distance stuff. now i know you can use a mildot scope for range finding. eg using a 6 foot tall man and seeing how many mildots he covers.. now what i cant work out is surely if you have a zoom scope the mildots stay the same whatever the zoom, but the man would appear bigger or smaller in relation to them depending on the zoom...

so how does this work? can someone put it in idiot language for me. thanks
 
If its a FFP (Front Focal Plane) reticle, the dots are always the same size in relation to the field of view. The reticle gets bigger as you go to a higher magnification. The mildots are always calibrated.

In a regular scope, the reticle stays the same size, so it's only calibrated at one magnification. The zoom ring is usually marked to show this.
 
crunchiespg said:
im just getting into learning long distance stuff. now i know you can use a mildot scope for range finding. eg using a 6 foot tall man and seeing how many mildots he covers.. now what i cant work out is surely if you have a zoom scope the mildots stay the same whatever the zoom, but the man would appear bigger or smaller in relation to them depending on the zoom...

so how does this work? can someone put it in idiot language for me. thanks
Click to expand...

Assuming it's not front-focal-plane (as it's not what you're describing) you need to know which magnification level the mildots are calibrated to. It is either the highest or lowest setting, I believe this can vary by manufacturer. If you are then ranging out of your 'natural' magnification you need to multiply/ divide the number of mils using a ratio.
Example;
My mildot scope is calibrated to the lowest magnification setting [3x]. If I measure something when under [9x] magnification, I simply divide the number of mils by 3... clear as mud?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom