Reticles & Group Accuracy

[Outdoorsman12b]

Does anyone else find that a fine reticle gives much better accuracy in their groupings? I can't pull off the same groupings with a fine reticle as I can with something like a standard duplex on the same rifle/ring system but different scopes.

Now to connect the dots does it matter when it comes to hunting situations?

 

[rayporter]

personally i shoot a 45x with a fine crosshair for target work [competition ]

but it is your eyes that have to be happy when you shoot.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

A reticle that can be advantageous at the range can be detrimental while hunting.

I have a Vortex Razor LH with the G4 reticle. At the range I would consistently shoot even smaller groups with (compared to the same scope but with the HSR-4 reticle) . However, if the target (paper/steel/animal) was darkish, then the reticle would "disappear" (at least to my eyes). Since it was near worthless to me for hunting, it got moved over to a Tikka T1X for practice. On a side note, Vortex did "fix" this by adding the illuminated reticle on the LHT.

This is my opinion:
Folks spend way too much time attempting to repeatedly shoot tiny groups. Once your rifle is "on", then you'd be better served training to actually improve your success at hunting. Train to get shots off faster and still hit your target. Train to shoot off a variety of items (ex: backpack, shooting sticks, trekking poles, fence post, etc). Can't recall who it was, but one poster provided an ego-crushing training plan. That PITA plan is pure gold come hunt time. This will have a significantly more positive impact on your overall hunting success than being able to consistently shoot a tiny group at the range.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

If you're taking long range shots you definitely need to be tuning your loads for accuracy, which means small groups.
I really like a floating dot reticle like the leupold PR1-moa or vortex EBR-7, you get the fine aiming point with thicker crosshairs around it

 

[Outdoorsman12b]

A reticle that can be advantageous at the range can be detrimental while hunting.

I have a Vortex Razor LH with the G4 reticle. At the range I would consistently shoot even smaller groups with (compared to the same scope but with the HSR-4 reticle) . However, if the target (paper/steel/animal) was darkish, then the reticle would "disappear" (at least to my eyes). Since it was near worthless to me for hunting, it got moved over to a Tikka T1X for practice. On a side note, Vortex did "fix" this by adding the illuminated reticle on the LHT.

This is my opinion:
Folks spend way too much time attempting to repeatedly shoot tiny groups. Once your rifle is "on", then you'd be better served training to actually improve your success at hunting. Train to get shots off faster and still hit your target. Train to shoot off a variety of items (ex: backpack, shooting sticks, trekking poles, fence post, etc). Can't recall who it was, but one poster provided an ego-crushing training plan. That PITA plan is pure gold come hunt time. This will have a significantly more positive impact on your overall hunting success than being able to consistently shoot a tiny group at the range.

Totally agree with what you have said above. I am just not a fan of managing illumination throughout the day. I do put a big emphasis on getting a solid zero which is where the group size comes in. Once I have that I don't try and shoot groups. Just swapped scopes on one of my rifles that I know can shoot very tight is what spurred this. Instead of a 1MOA 10 shot group it is a 2MOA 10 shot group. If your talking about the shooting drill that Form posted yes I have tried it and had my reality check.

 

[DogBones11]

For the typical hunter... Buy a nice target scope 24x or 36x or higher magnification JUST for range work. Put it on your rifle for JUST load development etc. After you've worked up a load or compared loads, REMOVE IT and install your 3-9x or whatever hunting scope to go hunting. You won't be able to shoot tiny groups as easily but you don't need to for hunting.

Stop buying multi-purpose scopes and guns. You'll be happier. Get a target rifle for the range, and get a different hunting rifle for hunting. Otherwise you'll be over magnified in the field and under magnified at the range, and you'll have to compromise on optical quality.

Some of these lifetime warranty Vortex scopes are a decent deal used or at discount, as are fixed scopes from Weaver etc. Considering the $$ you spend on ammo and range fees etc, investing in a load development scope isn't very expensive.