Mil Dot Reticle Question
I'm thinking of getting a Mil Dot scope after reading up on snipercountry.com and I wonder if the cross hairs are fine enough to shoot a crow at 600 yds?
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If the cross hairs were any thinner you wouldn't be able to see them at all. At 600 yards the dot will probably cover the crow.
"LIFE IS NOT A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARIVING SAFELY IN ONE PRETTY AND WELL PRESERVED PIECE, BUT, TO SKID ACROSS THE LINE BROADSIDE, THOUGHRLY USED UP, WORN OUT, LEAKING OIL, SHOUTING GERONIMO!!"0 -
Depends on the scope, and whether it's adjustable to different magnifications. Generally speaking, with mil-dot and all other types of scopes, the cross-hairs will become larger as you increase your magnification. At 600 yards, you can probably have a middle setting (7-10 power) and do just fine without obscuring your target in any significant way.
My question is, what the hell did the crow do to you? As Hitchcock made clear, you better know what you're doing before you start messing with birds....0 -
Is there anyplace on line that gives a good tutorial on how to use a Mil-dot retical? I have a couple and can pretty well know how much to compensate at 100 for different loads, and can get pretty close at 200 & 300 but after that I'm pretty much lost ... our range only goes out to 300 so its not a big deal and I can't really justify spending $30+ on a "Mil-Master" chart ... yeah, I'm a tight-wad not that my wife would agree ... but we all have our priorities
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Chance favors the prepared mind
kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com0 -
I was trained at Quantico as a Marine sniper and we used the reticles extensively for range estimation. Using the reticle to estimate range to small targets in the field presents a problem though...that is that there must be an object of a known lenght/height in yards/meters to estimate range to that object.
You would best be served (especially at distances out to 300 yds max)to guestimate the range and use the mil dots as secondary 'cross hairs' to hold over or to hold for wind. A relatively flat shooting cartridge will have minimal drop at these ranges and most crow/woodchuck size targets can be easily engaged with a humane shot...you must practice your range estimation though. One way is to set cutouts of typical adult size for the game you seek at the 100, 200, & 300 yard lines. Become familiar with how many 'mils' tall or long these game are at those ranges (using ONE of the LOWER power settings and 'chart them on a 5 X 7 card that you laminate. ALWAYS measure from center of mil dot to center of mil dot.
You can note for example 'two mils in length..to just outside the far edge of the second dot'. This might be the height of a crow at 300 yards for example.
Once you know the distance you can set the power to whatever power you have sighted in at 300 yds (for example) and use the mil dots to hold over/under.
If you mix the power setting while ranging (using one power setting to produce your range card and another setting to determine distance to game in the field)or while holding over/under at a specific range the mil system WILL NOT WORK for you.
SEMPER FI0 -
Forgot to mention one qualifier when I stated that there will not be much hold over/under from 100 to 300 yds in a flat shooting cartridge.
The higher the centerline of your scope above the centerline of the bore, the greater the 'divergence' of sight line to trajectory. This is usually a small difference (3/8" or so) but can make a big difference on small, mid-distance (175 to 275 yards)targets if you are zeroed at 100yds.
Small is ground squirrel/walnut-sized targets. You might want to experiment with a zero at a distance greater than 100 yds if you use a large-objective scope mounted high above the bore's centerline.
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eazygo I have seen some of the Mildot scopes like weaver with a first plane feature. would this mean you could use any power setting. I'm assuming this means the dots appear larger as power increses. Thanks for the Idea of cutouts at various distance I have a bunch of crow decoys that would be perfect 0 -
I have never used a scope with a first-plane reticle. As far as I understand it (that the reticle is magnafied at the same rate that images are magnafied)I believe a first-plane scope can be used at any power setting.
This is ONE reason why the USMC uses a single power scope.
SEMPER FI0 -
Look at the Shepherd line of scopes, the "ranging rings" are in the first plane and the "standard crosshair" is in the second plane.
Items in the first plane stay the same size relitive to the target, but appear to change to your eye. Items in the second plane stay the same size relitive to your eye, but appear to change size relitive to the target.
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0 -
Thanks Tailgunner. I'd like to try a scope with a first plane reticle. Probably not a bad thing for competition...especially bench rest.
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