Scope... mil dot or not?

erwos · Jun 1, 2016

trickg said:
I understand that not everything is perfect - that a BDC scope is based around a specific calibration consisting of a specific barrel length, muzzle velocity, altitude, bullet weight, etc, but it could still be pretty close, and more than good enough for a weekend varminter.

Like I said: if you know your load's ballistic characteristics, you can get the drops in exact distances. They just won't be neat multiples of 100m, or whatever. (My experience is that most BDC reticles don't do that even if you use the load that they're nominally designed for...)

steveh326 · Jun 1, 2016

thanks everyone for the advice... I ended up picking up a slightly used (no marks, looks like it was never even mounted) Leupold Mark AR 4-12x40 mildot. came yesterday and mounted it up last night, so far really like what I see but haven't been to the range yet and prolly won't have time until next week. As someone pointed out earlier, have the best of both worlds, use the turrets at the range when speed isn't a factor, and use the mildots in the field. Seems like it makes perfect sense to me.

Elgan · Jun 1, 2016

As an aside, something like Mildot Master can help you with milling and ranging distances, or otherwise use the mildot to it's fullest potential. There's also scads of books and Youtube videos about how to properly and efficiently use a mildot reticle too. Can't wait to get my barrel for my Rem 700 back from the smith... now you have me jonesing for some bolt-action action!

outrider58 · Jun 1, 2016

Pardon my ignorance, but wasn't the mildot reticle devised to estimate range by comparing known shapes(I.E. human bodies or heads), thereby allowing the shooter to make proper elevation and windage adjustments to preset calculations for known distances with particular ammunition? I realize it's more complex than that, but wasn't that the basic idea?

Jerry M · Jun 1, 2016

You can estimate the range if you know the size of an object at that distance: like a tire, stop sign, door, length of an AK etc. Humans too, but they come in various sizes.

Good luck

Jerry

Magnumite · Jun 5, 2016

outrider58 said:
Pardon my ignorance, but wasn't the mildot reticle devised to estimate range by comparing known shapes(I.E. human bodies or heads), thereby allowing the shooter to make proper elevation and windage adjustments to preset calculations for known distances with particular ammunition? I realize it's more complex than that, but wasn't that the basic idea?

That is how I first heard understood it. But I have worked with using the dots instead of ajusting the turrets. Not long range but enough to compare.

antco · Jun 5, 2016

outrider58 said:
Pardon my ignorance, but wasn't the mildot reticle devised to estimate range by comparing known shapes(I.E. human bodies or heads), thereby allowing the shooter to make proper elevation and windage adjustments to preset calculations for known distances with particular ammunition? I realize it's more complex than that, but wasn't that the basic idea?

That is correct. MilDot reticles were designed to be able to "range", or determine the distance to, a known-size target. Once the distance is determined, the shooter would then calculate his known bullet drop at that distance as well as the wind drift according to conditions, and adjust the scope knobs accordingly. Once the shooter has that mastered, he can then reverse calculate the range to determine his "hold overs" or "holds" and place the POA on a dot or a graph projected by the dots, instead of cranking the knobs on the scope.

antco · Jun 5, 2016

steveh326 said:
Will be finishing up a pre-2013 lower I have soon with a flattop upper. My plan is to install a Leupold Mark AR scope on it. Scope is available either with standard crosshairs that I am used to, or mil dot. Never had a mildot scope, not sure if it's the way to go or not, any advice from anyone?

the mildot reticle is a couple more $$ than standard crosshairs but that's not a deciding factor. so far all my reticles are either standard crosshairs (or some variation) or BDC reticles.

Whatever you buy, don't buy one with just a simple crosshair. There are a lot of options out there for reticles these days and the worse of them all for any sort of distance shooting is the simple crosshair reticle. Get some sort of variety of reticle that has ranging capability in a measuring system that matches the knobs (moa/moa or mil/mil). Do not get a scope with MOA knobs and MIL reticle unless you like making extra work for yourself.

Now all of that said, I've found it very productive to pick one reticle and stick with it across all of my rifles. I use MilDot. Is the best? No. Are there better options these days? Yes. Does it work? Yes. Am I well versed and experienced in using MilDots effectively? Yup, so I'm sticking with what I know and am good with instead of re-equipping my all of my long-distance rifles.

steveh326 · Jun 6, 2016

antco said:
Whatever you buy, don't buy one with just a simple crosshair. There are a lot of options out there for reticles these days and the worse of them all for any sort of distance shooting is the simple crosshair reticle. Get some sort of variety of reticle that has ranging capability in a measuring system that matches the knobs (moa/moa or mil/mil). Do not get a scope with MOA knobs and MIL reticle unless you like making extra work for yourself.

Now all of that said, I've found it very productive to pick one reticle and stick with it across all of my rifles. I use MilDot. Is the best? No. Are there better options these days? Yes. Does it work? Yes. Am I well versed and experienced in using MilDots effectively? Yup, so I'm sticking with what I know and am good with instead of re-equipping my all of my long-distance rifles.

I picked up a used Leupold Mark AR 4-12x40 mildot and mounted it up (used but looks like it had never even been mounted). I figured I can use the mildot just like standard crosshairs until I learn how to utilize the mil dots properly. took it to the range yesterday for a short while and was extremely disappointed... all over the paper... finally discovered the scope was loose in the mount and I didn't have a torx with me. it's goodntite now but haven't gotten back to the range with it.

note to self... when tightening a scope in the mount, use your damn glasses to confirm its a TORX and not an allen !

outrider58 · Jun 6, 2016

Web search turned up a number of scales. This is like the one I have...

Scope... mil dot or not?

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