Your BDC Reticle, Your Load - How Close?

[Chuck]

I've gotten to be more interested in BDC reticles although I don't own one at this point. I've heard that they match the trajectory of most cartridges well enough that I believe they work appropriately well. However, I am curious just how precisely it matches up with what people are actually shooting.

Here's what I'm curious about:

1) What cartridge are you shooting, what bullet and what velocity?
2) What BDC reticle are you using?
3)How precisiely do the holdover marks relate to the trajectory of your load?

That and any other related info would be great

 

[LloydM]

Since a BDC would be completely useless out to 200 yards, I think it is safe to assume that someone looking for a BDC is interested in longer range shooting. I am not a fan of "holding over", I like a precise mark that exactly matches where my bullets will go. If you are interested in anal precision then the following applies, if you are a "close enough" kinda guy then forget the following...

I am not a fan of BDC reticles that are disigned for a specific caliber with elevation marks labeled something like
1-200 yards
300 yards
400 yards
etc.

The elevation marks on these reticles match the actual POI close enough for the first 300ish yards, but start to missalign at longer ranges. To get your POI to match up exactly with every mark on the elevation of your reticle is wishful thinking unless you can exactly match the bullet diameter, velocity and ballistic coefficient used in the mathematical model wich was used to create that reticle - this exact combination may not shoot accurately at all in your specific rifles barrel. Some of the BDC reticles are calibrated to closely match military FMJ ammunition - if you are a hunter shooting expanding ammo or a precision shooter using Match ammo you are likely to have a bullet trajectory very different from the default mathematical model. At this point I will mention that the only BDC reticle I have used was an Elcan, and this was the case. But the physics should make this clear without the need to try one for yourself. Another downfall is that you don't get to choose which distance to zero your scope at - you have to zero for whatever distance the optic is callibrated at ie. 100, 200yards...

What I do like are reticles calibrated in MOA or Milradian; the two are comparible in terms of what they allow you to do. For example you could put the same Mil-dot reticle scope on a .223 Rem or a .338 Lapua. Either reticle will also allow you to estimate a targets range (often difficult to do with the little circles common in many BDC reticles), and you will usually get more elevation marks in your reticle which you can use as drop points.

The best approach is to measure on a target how far bullets from your favorite load drop at various ranges and tape it as a little chart to the but of the rifle... then a quick simple math calculation and your POI will match your reticle drop point exactly. Another advantage is that you can also set drop points to distances outside of 100 yard/meter increments such as 950 yards for example, which would be a guessing game between 900 and 1000 yards if you were lucky enough to have a BDC that gave hold points for that long of range in the first place. Remember that the farther out you shoot the more influence wind has on your shot placement - with a MOA / Milrad reticle you will get hold points on the windage part of your reticle as well; most BDC reticles I have seen are weak in that department.

For Nightforce Scopes I like the NP-R1 reticle which is callibrated in one MOA increments on the elevation line. The NP-R2 would work well too if you like less clutter in the reticle (it has two MOA increments on the elevation -half as many). I have used this reticle more than any other for my long range shooting. Any reticle which is truly calibrated in MOA of Milradians will be almost identical from brand to brand.

 

[Dogleg]

Chuck,
I've got a few of these, Leupold Varminter, B&C, and the plain Jane Leupold LR. The one that gets the most use is the B&C on my Kimber 22/250.
Something you have to decide is how close is close enough. 3/4s of big game rifle owners will sight in 3 inches high at 100 believeing that plus or minus 3 inches out to 300 yards doesn't mean ####. By that measure, if your bullets are landing within 3 inches of the holdover lines you are just as good as the MPBR method.
There's more that you can do to fine tune though. The subtension of the reticle changes with the power setting of your variable scope. The easiest quick and dirty method is to sight in at 200 then go straight to 400 and shoot a group still useing the main crosshairs. Mark the 400 yard group with something visible, then go back to your firing point and crank the variable knob back and forth until the main crosshairs are on the target center and the 400 are sitting on your marked 400 yard group. Now that 200 and 400 are taken care of, 300 and 450 will take care of themselves at that power setting. Past that, you may be happier twisting turrets.
The guy who sights in at 100, guesses what it'll take to be on at at 200, then expects the magic crosshair to make him a 600 yard shooter is kidding himself. Play with them a bit and fairly good work can be done. My 22/250 has shot truckloads of quarter mile coyotes, using the 450 line at the suggested 14.5 power. The 6.5-20 on my .223 needs to be set at 14 power to hit gophers out to where I have trouble seeing them. My STW needs the power set at 14.5 to track my 140 loads, but honestly a 300 yard sightin with the main crosshairs and a center hold takes care of zero to 400 rather nicely all by itself. The 200 and 300 yard crosshairs take care of my .375 H&H and 270 grain loads rather nicely at 10 power. I don't see any need for it past that so haven't checked.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

There's an interesting bit of advice in the instructions with the Burris scopes that have the "Ballistic Plex". They say that you should zero the rifle, using the appropriate hash mark, at the furthest distance you will be likely to take a shot, to minimize the error. That makes sense to me for a rifle that I'm likely to be shooting game at 100-300 yards. Zero it at 300 and I'm likely to see inconsequential error at 100. I'd rather be 3/4" out at 100 than 3" out at 300.

 

[dutchhunter]

around herein southern ont most scopes with bdc are used on muzzel loaders and shot guns for deer hunting .and are perfect for shooting 50 yatds to 200 yards .thy do work well for this job we also use a simaler system on are crossbows DUTCH

 

[redleg]

I have a Leupold MK IV 1.5-5 scope on my Black Special Target. With C77 ammo, at the APRA range (4,000+ ft asl) the BDC is dead on out to 500m.
This is the only time I have ever had one come close. Remmeber that the scope height over the bore, bullet weight velocity and shape, barrel length, bore diameter etc all affect trajectory. Getting a BDC that is close is highly unlikely. Even where scope, ammo and rifle are matched (IE C7A1, Elcan and C77) they were never really that close.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I have a Leupold VX2 3-9X40 with the LR reticle. I use the reticle mostly for jusging the range to a deer and a quick estimation on antlers at a distance.

I had this scope on my 7Mag for a short stint. The hold over points were nowhere close. I chucked that rifle to the curb as I developed a dislike for belted magnums.

Mounted the scope on a 35 Whelen and sighted the crosshairs at 1/2 inch high at 100. The points intended for 200 and 300 are almost perfect when shooting Remington 200 grain Corelokt. The 200 point is dead on and the 300 is about an inch low. With 250 grain Corelokts, the centre crosshair is dead centre at 100, impacts an inch low at 200, and the lowest aimpoint works great as 250.

 

[lcq]

I have 2 Burris 4.5X14 ballistic plex scopes. The one on my Savage 223 is within an inch from 100-300. The other on my 308 is within 3 inches out to 400 with the loads I use.

Brian

 

[blargon]

I think the easiest thing to do would be to develop your load, then see where the hold points hit. For hunting it should work well, if you know your 2nd mark hits on at 225yds, and the 3rd is on at 350yds, with your load.

How often are animals standing right at the 300 yard mark?

 

[sheephunter]

I've gotten to be more interested in BDC reticles although I don't own one at this point. I've heard that they match the trajectory of most cartridges well enough that I believe they work appropriately well. However, I am curious just how precisely it matches up with what people are actually shooting.

Here's what I'm curious about:

1) What cartridge are you shooting, what bullet and what velocity?
2) What BDC reticle are you using?
3)How precisiely do the holdover marks relate to the trajectory of your load?

That and any other related info would be great

Nice thing about that Rapid Z system is that you can dial it to your exact load by changing the magnification with the help of an online calculator. The Leupold and Bushnell systems have about a 10" margian of error at 500 yards through the load range they are reportedly suitable for and the factory suggested magnification setting.

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for the information guys. I'm seriously thinking that I may have to switch to a BDC reticle on my .270. I've managed to do some good long range shooting without a BDC but it just seems to me that a good BDC reticle will reduce the likelihood of a mistake.