Tales of the BDC {bullet drop compensator}

John Y Cannuck

John Y Cannuck

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I was given a scope, on my uncles death, that has what purports to be a bullet drop compensator. (Bushnell)
anyone out there have, or use on of these?
Obviously, it can't possibly compensate for the drop of every bullet from every rifle, or cartridge.
What were they thinking?
You sight in for 100 yards, then just crank the top post to the desired range and you are supposed to be on.

The optics seem pretty good anyways.
Will be fun to play with when PFG finnishes the 300 yard range.
 
I have one, complete with drums. Tried it once or twice - its really a gimmick thats not needed for hunting here in Ont. The parallax setting on the scope (Scopechief VI 4X) is rather long - somewhere around 450 y. Always wondered if the long parallax was purposeful...
 
i've got a couple of them- one's on a scopechief with rangefinder(stadia type) and the other's on a banner , both 4x12x40 - i've never tried the other drums , just the blank as i handload - personally, i just make up a cheat sheet and zero the scope like normal- in other words, i don't bother with it
 
basically what that is, is an MOA drop turret. Its probably calibrated for something common, like 270 130 gr or 30-06 180 gr.. Turn the dial to a certain yardage and it will probably get you close (maybe not), for your required MOA lift, without having to use a drop chart.

Id question the tracking ability of the Bushnell scope, more than the dial's range markings itself. I need that puking smiley now.

All three of my centerfire scopes have MOA turrets, so I dont have to guesstimate drop at longer ranges, when playing around. They are Leupold scopes, two of them use Stoney Point turrets, the other straight from Leupold's shop. With a drop chart for the load, they are very slick.
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Each method has it's advantages and disadvantages, though the mil dots take practice. Their advantage is there is no extra gear to carry and generaly faster to use.

As an example with my mil-dot on 6x if I can put a dot on the top and bottom of a coyote chest it is inside 275. Buy the time you have lasered it I have already killed it ( maybe ). Though as the range extends the laser has the advantage because there comes a point where +- .1 mil means a complete miss, but that depends on how big you target is.
 
Though as the range extends the laser has the advantage because there comes a point where +- .1 mil means a complete miss, but that depends on how big you target is.
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Not to mention the differences in animal sizes.Even the difference between a large deer and a small deer can introduce enough error for a miss or a wounded animal at longer distances.
 
275 yards? just hold dead on
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That was the idea (identify max point blank range) I use it for those cross valley shots were it is easy to get fooled.

Yes animal size is an issue if I was to make a chart to tape on the stock I would have 2 or maybe 3 columns small, medium and large but I only utilize them for a go or no-go decision.

You can do the same sort of thing with most multi plex recticals. Lots are 30 moa between the heavy posts. Take a paper or cutout that shows you an average size deer chest figure out what it looks like at known ranges and power setting, it's rough but it is better than SWAG.
 
I still believe having a good laser RF and a drop chart for your load, is a better way to go than mil dots. I had one mildot scope, hurt my brain figuring it out, so I sold it :D :redface:
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That is OLD tech for sure... but in the day it had it's use. You can still get various pawls for it for different calibers. You can even get a blank one that you can mark yourself for your own rifle and ammo. I had one that was very usefull before the advent of range finders and ballistic programs.
 
O yea I forgot I had a bdc scope once the exposed adjustments are vunerable to getting unintentionally ajusted, cost me a bear once some how it got adjusted to 400 yards from 200 . The closes guess is that I hit the bear above the lungs but below the spine. It crumpled at the shot but ran off and 3 of us worked weel into the night but could not find it. There were also blank drums where you could DIY the marks.

Tod you are right for untimate precision laser is best, I bet the Canuk with the longest combat sniper kill was not using mil-dot at the time. Though I bet that he knows how to use one and the scope recticle he used had it.
 
I played around with a Redfield accu-trac in the '80's. It had a stadia wire and a set of cams for the elevation turret. If everything went right it would work fairly well, however what the book says your drop should be is sometimes very different than the reality of so many variables. I would prefer to do my own ajustments at the time of the shooting.
 
Trident said:
Just how well will that work on a Lever gun anyways ? ? ? :D
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Very nicely on my 88 Winchester in 308. :p

The original rifle was chambered for 30-06. It has only the drum that's in it.
Doesn't really matter, as I'll never use the thing for anything but a traditional scope, and as backup to my Leupold.
 
Rohann said:
+1. But even better than that are modern mil-based reticles, such as the TMR; less unneeded math ability and simplicity.

-Rohann
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I would dare to disagree with you a little bit.
Nothing beats the simplicity of a BDC.

For a gven load, the BDC can be set up to be "on". It takes some time to figure them all out, but that doesn't come even close to the amount of time one needs to learn (not just read) the meaning of using mildots.

it sure makes a lot of sense for a pro' who's passion and attention is undivided from the shooting hobby, but think on a larger scale.

Military can only train a "hadful" of true snipers, police can or not afford the cost of a serious course - and even then, one has to match the job with the person.

I like BDCs. I don't say they are better than Mildots in every aspect, but I guess it all boils down to one's prefferences
 
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