Bullet Drop Reticles

Dan in Alaska · 11-19-2006, 11:09 AM

I am looking for a scope for a long-range (400-500 yards) rifle. There are several scopes on the market with bullet drop reticles....

Leupold Mil-Dot (VX-II's)
Leupold Boone and Crocket (VX-III's)
Burris Balistic-Plex
Nikon BDC

Of the choices listed, I like Leupold's Boone and Crocket version the best. They are pretty proud of it though, it costs and extra $80 on an already expensive VX-III scope. If I am going to spend over $500 on a scope, I want it to be a Zeiss - BDC reticle be damned.

I am having a hard time deciding if one of these reticles is actually benficial, or if they are just a gimick. Anyone with experience with any of these? Are they accurate in predicting bullet drop?

TheRogue · 11-19-2006, 11:17 AM

My buddy swears by his 4.5-14 B&C VX-III. He and his brother routinely shoot out to 600 yards. They've both killed bulls in the last couple of years at LONG distances, and are supremely confident in their abilities; they like that reticle because it does away with one guess factor.

You can also get a standard reticle Leupy and send it back to the factory with the ballistics of your favorite load, they'll calculate and install a B&C reticle based on that load.

I know others who swear by calibrated turrets...rather than having extra stuff cluttering up your field of view. Range the distance, click your elevation turret to the correct yardage, and use your single crosshair. Seems pretty simple. Usually, you have ample time to do that on long shots.

I was going to do the 3.5-10 B&C VX-III on my new rifle. I'm torn between that, the custom reticle, or the custom turret.

TR

Dan in Alaska · 11-19-2006, 01:57 PM

I was looking at the 3.5-10x B&C as well. The price, $549.99, has me a little shell-shocked though. I have never spent more than about $300 on a scope before.

cooky · 11-19-2006, 01:59 PM

I have a burris eurodiamond 3X10X40 witht the ballistics plex and have found it to be a very good scope. It has served me very well and I understand the company has a good warranty but I've never had any problems with the scope that I have. You can find them for about 450.00 on binoculars.com last time I checked.

SeanD · 11-19-2006, 02:26 PM

Leupold has the LR duplex available in the VXI and VXII scopes if you dont want to spend the $$$ on the VXIII.

http://www.leupold.com/products/Info...ing_System.htm

chromebright · 11-19-2006, 03:46 PM

I have the the Leupold 3.5 X 10 VX-III B&C reticle on my 270WSM and love it. I got mine new off ebay for about $450 a couple years back.

Actually I got two of them for that price(another story), but was honest enough to return one.

pythonwill · 11-19-2006, 04:47 PM

I sent my vari-Xlll in to Leupolds custom shop and had teh B&C retical put in it and seviced to LNIB condition, it was $150 and my scope has never been better (since ive had it) I havent got to really try out the drop on the retical yet. I have it sighted in at 100yrds and I shot once at 250yrds with the second cross hair and hit right on. But thats about as far as I have got a chance to do. I think the next time though I will go with the BDC turret insted .

adobe wall · 11-19-2006, 05:57 PM

I'd say a mil dot if you really want some reference points on your scope. The "up and down" of bullet trajectory is fairly predictable and if you've got the basics of your load (bullet weight, bc, caliber, velocity, sight height, and zero distance) you can easily determine the yardages the bullet will cross the mil dots and put a cheat card on your stock.

It's the SWAG factor of wind, mirage, thermals, etc- the side to side stuff- that is really tough. Making a first, killing shot at long range is tough- kinda like putting a round in the x ring at Camp Perry with no sighters and a cold barrel. The calibers that will defeat the wind will have most folks shaking their head and saying "overkill".

Of course, there isn't any such thing as overkill. Dead is dead and as far as I'm concerned I always shoot the heaviest caliber I can shoot accurately. Magnums aren't necessary for any North American game but the extra energy does provide insurance for things that "happen". Kinda like the best buck I ever killed- the bullet passed through a wrist sized tree before hitting the animal.

Sorry about the rambling post...mil dots or just crank the scope turret.

jmho aw

alaskan · 11-20-2006, 10:41 AM

Dan if you really want to get more info on scopes than you wanted to know, come back in the store and talk to Seabass. He'll try to sell you a Nightforce, but he'll also explain why, and how to use them correctly. Then you can use the same idea on all the others.

I think if you actually learn to use the mil dots, Ballistic plex, B&C reticle they are a great thing. Unfortunatly I see a lot of people buy them and then think they are going to be right on for their rifle.

Quaka Wacka · 11-20-2006, 10:51 AM

I have the VX-III in 4.5-14 on my 300 and it works great. But it locks you into set marks on the scope. Before you buy this type, check the MOA distance for the marks in the scope and make sure they match up to whatever load you are shooting. A Mildot scope would be more versitile. And the turret method works well too. Whatever you decide it will only get you close, you need to practice at the distance, in the conditions, and with the rests you plan on using out hunting. Good Luck

Wreckless · 11-20-2006, 10:58 AM

My muzzleloader won't shoot that far!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist:blush:

Actually it will, but it's TOUGH with open sights!!

Quaka Wacka · 11-20-2006, 11:01 AM

It would probably shoot that far, you just might have to hold-over a bit.

gerry · 11-20-2006, 05:49 PM

All this is pretty useless though unless you know the distance to your target, right?

adobe wall · 11-20-2006, 06:48 PM

"All this is pretty useless though unless you know the distance to your target, right?"

yep, but line of sight distance measurement is pretty straightforward. Rangefinders have taken the guesstimate out of that.

As for BDC type scope reticles, they are actually pretty versatile if you know the MOA between each of the points. If you know that, and can calculate out the ballistics for the round you are shooting, you may not get a neat "100,200,300...etc" point of impact for each point but it is still quite useful. Just as with a mil dot, the bullet won't cross the points on a BDC reticle at precise 100 yard increments. Just work up a range card or memorize it.

I sure haven't found a way to make windage that straightforward. I remember the first time I bought a windage card- I had a Kestrel windmeter and really thought I had things nailed down.

Held the magic meter in the wind, it read 5 mph. Watched the windflags and they were steady. Checked the handydandy windage chart, cranked on the sight knob, held and fired- right into the 7 ring.

I held on faithfully for 20 rounds and was worse off that when I was guessing, cranking, and shooting.

Problem is, that wind is rarely constant in any direction, speed or across the full range of the bullet. I've seen wind flags at 600 yards pointed at 9 o'clock at the firing line and at 3 oclock at the target, with the midrange flag spinning straight up!

Best wind indicator I've found is mirage, but in hunting conditions it's not always there.

regards, aw