Help with Scope advise on reticle ?

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May 13, 2020
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Wallace CA
Im sure this has been covered many of times but Im just hoping for an scope for dummies explanation of the difference of reticles ?? I am looking for a scope for 6.5prc Christensen Arms and just need someone to simplify it is so overwhelming! Also hoping for simple recommendations of scope TIA
 

Trigger06

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Jun 16, 2017
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You're going to need to provide a bit more information.

What is your budget?
What is your intended purpose for this rifle?

Let's start there.
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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Wallace CA
You're going to need to provide a bit more information.

What is your budget?
What is your intended purpose for this rifle?

Let's start there.


Yes I guess that would help .. I would like stay under 1k I will use it for hunting and want to be able to play around with some long range i.e. 1,000 yards capable even I may not be but want to work up to it
 

Trigger06

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I prefer scopes in the 3-5x on the bottom and up to 18x on the top end for a dual purpose scope (hunting / target shooting).

For simplicity (sfp, simple reticles), the vortex razor lht 3-15 or the leupold vx5hd 3-15 would be my choice. Both are designed to dial your range corrections and are right at your price point.

The 3-18 Meopta optika 6 is another good choice if you're wanting to get into a more complicated ffp setup. A touch cheaper too at around ~$700.
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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Wallace CA
I prefer scopes in the 3-5x on the bottom and up to 18x on the top end for a dual purpose scope (hunting / target shooting).

For simplicity (sfp, simple reticles), the vortex razor lht 3-15 or the leupold vx5hd 3-15 would be my choice. Both are designed to dial your range corrections and are right at your price point.

The 3-18 Meopta optika 6 is another good choice if you're wanting to get into a more complicated ffp setup. A touch cheaper too at around ~$700.

I will take another look at those
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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Wallace CA
I prefer scopes in the 3-5x on the bottom and up to 18x on the top end for a dual purpose scope (hunting / target shooting).

For simplicity (sfp, simple reticles), the vortex razor lht 3-15 or the leupold vx5hd 3-15 would be my choice. Both are designed to dial your range corrections and are right at your price point.

The 3-18 Meopta optika 6 is another good choice if you're wanting to get into a more complicated ffp setup. A touch cheaper too at around ~$700.

Looking at the Vortex and it shows 3 different reticle options MOA,MRAD,BDC I dont know the difference yes I googled and can see the view is different but how do I know what one to select without buying and trying obviously that is not an option thank you
 
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OP, swfa's 3-15 was instock this morning but sold bacck out, for the money that or the 3-9 would be what I'd spend my money on but YMMV.


The 3-18 Meopta optika 6 is another good choice if you're wanting to get into a more complicated ffp setup. A touch cheaper too at around ~$700.

At least the way I process things, a FFP is far less complicated as your subtensions never change. no adjustments with different powers
 

jray5740

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I personally like the Vortex Razor 3-18 EBR-2C in MRAD. Yes its heavier than other options, but it is also a 34 mm tube, has outstanding sub tensions, is shorter than a lot of "Tactical Hunting" optics, and truthfully the weight in the optic is much different than the weight in a barrel or stock to me. I don't notice a 3 pound optic nearly as much as 6-8 extra ounces in a stock or barrel.

Ultimately I went with the Razor, at a smoking deal close to your budget if you scour the inter-web, because the glass is great and during my shopping/comparison I couldn't find anything really close to the features it has for the price it is. Also, I have a hard time trusting optics companies in general, so my price-feature-warranty-usability matrix led me to the Razor even if it is the heavier option.
 

Trigger06

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The razor is a great scope, but where did you find it for $1000? My Google fu must be weak.
 

jray5740

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The razor is a great scope, but where did you find it for $1000? My Google fu must be weak.
I bought mine a while back when the EBR 2 series reticles were being phased out and the 7 series was the new model. I just did a quick search and found many. I bought mine off gunbroker, check there......I have rarely not found the cheapest price on items on the web using gunbroker. Europtic is also a great place to look, just be careful....prices are either best around or out of the ballpark. The Swaro X5 is a great deal on there lately.

FWIW-if you google for items for sale, automatically move to page 5 and up of your results. Smaller businesses with less "hits" run these pages and this has often rewarded me with great deals
 

Low_Sky

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Looking at the Vortex and it shows 3 different reticle options MOA,MRAD,BDC I dont know the difference yes I googled and can see the view is different but how do I know what one to select without buying and trying obviously that is not an option thank you

MOA (minutes of angle) and MRAD (milliradian) are just units of measure for angle. In the Vortex lineup, MOA and MRAD reticles do the same thing, just on different scales. Think miles vs kilometers. The horizontal and vertical crosshairs of the reticles are marked like a ruler so you can use them for holding an elevation or wind correction. These days the industry has figured out that reticles and turrets need to share the same units, so that measurements you take with the reticle (zeroing, spotting impacts, etc) are easily dialed with turrets with no math involved.
BDC (bullet drop compensator) reticles are designed so that the tick marks on the vertical crosshairs correspond to range holdovers for a particular cartridge. If you’re shooting a good ballistic match for that reticle, you aim with the “400y” tick to hit at 400y. This a simple idea, but the ballistics rarely line up perfectly like that, and the farther the target the worse the error. The good news for BDC reticles is that you can workout the ranges where the tick marks match your load’s actual trajectory, so that “400y” tick mark may be 480y in your rifle with your load.
Hope that gives you a better understanding of what you’re looking at. Reticle design is a big can of worms, but this should give you enough to get started learning.


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Joined
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Here is my 2 cents. There is no perfect approach for everyone. You'll need to figure out what works best for you.

You can use a reticle for shooting at distance. If this is the route you want to go, then go with a FFP scope if it works with your eyes at lower magnifications. You can do this with a SFP but there are drawbacks (distances per sub-tenstion will change based on magnification).

You can ignore the "noise" in many reticles and just dial your elevation an/or wind. If this is the route you want to go, then it does not matter if you go with a FFP or SFP scope.

I primarily do the second option but will use the sub-tensions for quick shots within a certain distance past my zero. I'll range spots around men. I know that if something pops up in location X, then I can go with the first sub-tension. But it if it in location Y, then I can go with the second sub-tension. But if something pops up further, then it's time to dial.
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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MOA (minutes of angle) and MRAD (milliradian) are just units of measure for angle. In the Vortex lineup, MOA and MRAD reticles do the same thing, just on different scales. Think miles vs kilometers. The horizontal and vertical crosshairs of the reticles are marked like a ruler so you can use them for holding an elevation or wind correction. These days the industry has figured out that reticles and turrets need to share the same units, so that measurements you take with the reticle (zeroing, spotting impacts, etc) are easily dialed with turrets with no math involved.
BDC (bullet drop compensator) reticles are designed so that the tick marks on the vertical crosshairs correspond to range holdovers for a particular cartridge. If you’re shooting a good ballistic match for that reticle, you aim with the “400y” tick to hit at 400y. This a simple idea, but the ballistics rarely line up perfectly like that, and the farther the target the worse the error. The good news for BDC reticles is that you can workout the ranges where the tick marks match your load’s actual trajectory, so that “400y” tick mark may be 480y in your rifle with your load.
Hope that gives you a better understanding of what you’re looking at. Reticle design is a big can of worms, but this should give you enough to get started learning.


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That does help make a little more sense for sure thank you! So lets say Vortex is the route I want to go and I want simple simple simple what cross hair config would you go with and is MOA or MRAD what is simpler ? I am going to spend this weekend watching some you tube videos and make a drive to Scheels or Cabelas so I can get them in my hand and see them I need to " pull the trigger" on one soon no pun intended.. Its hard to even go to there website fo any of the manufactures is just so overwhelming.. What is important to me is A) a good scope B) simple C) i want to turn the turret and dial yardage
 

Formidilosus

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That does help make a little more sense for sure thank you! So lets say Vortex is the route I want to go and I want simple simple simple what cross hair config would you go with and is MOA or Mil simpler.

What is important to me is A) a good scope B) simple C) i want to turn the turret and dial yardage


Mil is easier to grasp quickly.



Vortex is not the droid you are looking for.
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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Mil is easier to grasp quickly.



Vortex is not the droid you are looking for.

Thanks for input.. What would your recommendation be ?
 
OP
BrokeTrapDad
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If you are learning to shoot distance, dial, etc. you need to eliminate variables.

What is the honest range you’re looking to kill deer sized game?

Hunting I would like to realistically be able to reach out 500'ish for out on the range I would like to reach out to 1k for enjoyment
 

07yzryder

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Las Vegas, NV
First there are 2 Units of measurements, MOA and MIL.

MOA is roughly 1 inch at 100 yards 2inches at 200 yards etc, its acutally 1 cm at 100 meters (metric system yay)
MIL is 3.6inches at 100 yards and same concept at MOA doubles every 100 yards.

Reticles can have hashes/dots etc all based on these principles. Personally i find too much in a scope is confusing. Give me matching measurements between turrets and reticle (IE if my reticle is a hash every .5 MOA then give me MOA on the turrets, some mix and match and its not worth the headache)

My NF is MIL/MIL notches every .5 mil, short notch for .5 and longer notch for whole numbers, allows you to quickly gauge wind and elevation calls. It has 4 very fine dots at the ends that are .25 MIL and honestly if im not looking i dont notice them.

Some people prefer the christmas tree/grid. These will have your normal hashes as well as dots sloping out ad down. thought is you fire, watch the impact in the grid and put that grid on target and shoot again. To me its too much going on and im going to sell the one i have after this season.

TL/DR: get matching turrents and reticle, for hunting keep it simple, i prefer full hash at whole number and half hashes at decimals for shots without adjustin my turrets.
 
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