Choosing a reticle for long-range shooting can be a bit tricky if you are quite new in the field. Should you opt for a simple reticle? Or perhaps a German reticle is the better choice? But how are they different from one another and with all these varieties to choose from, which one is the best fit for your goal as a shooter?
Truth is, although there are a lot of considerations that you have to include in your decision-making, and even if it may require a bit of technical know-how in order determining the best option that suits your needs, you only need to know about the basics and you can surely find the best perfect reticle for you! Let this article serve as a reference guide that you can refer to in making your decision.
Long-Range Shooting: Hunting or Target Shooting?
Before we go into the more laborious task of explaining the different types of reticle for you to choose from, let’s discuss the different types of long distance shooting first. Determining this beforehand is going to be significant in making your decision later on.
The history of long distance shooting goes way back from the early centuries when rifles were invented. It may be safe to say that it started from long-range hunting and then later on, breakthrough technologies advanced long distance shooting to include different shooting disciplines.
Long-range hunting
The typical maximum distance that long-range hunting covers is at 300 yards as it takes into account that hunters typically aim for live animals, a moving target that is sensitive to any sounds. Thus, shooting a rifle at a fair great distance from the target is required. The shot should also be fired a lot quicker compared to other types of shooting.
Long-distance target shooting
With target shooting, shooting is held at such distances that sight adjustment based on judging atmospheric conditions becomes critical. Unlike hunting, the target here is a fixed target where distance varies depending on the competition.
Important Factors that Affects a Long-Range Reticle
A reticle is an integral component on a scope, especially on long-range shooting. But before looking at the types of reticles and what they’re good for and which ones to avoid, it is important to gain an understanding of the two most important factors that can affect your choice of your reticle: the wind and gravity.
Depending on the conditions of elevation and the weather, among other things, the wind can influence your shooting immensely and at some point, can even push it off target completely. Even a slight breeze can slide the bullet a bit out of track, especially in long distances. If worse comes to worst, shooters may need the means to compensate for even a slight change of wind direction. So make sure to take note of these scenarios when choosing the best suited reticle for your shooting.
In addition to the wind, the effect of gravity on bullets is equally important when considering the sight components of a rifle. When applied to a projectile in flight, referring to the bullet, the effect of gravity is known as bullet drop. Understanding the bullet drop requires a lot of technical know-how in understanding trajectories. So if you are seriously considering entering the shooting field, better be ready by making sure you understand all these things. Most information is readily available on the internet, but if you know someone who has first hand experience, better to learn from them directly.
In addition to these two, other factors that you need to take notice of include spin drift, the coriolis effects, angled shooting, can’t errors, transonic flight, elevation, and the weather.
Which ones are considered great for long range shooting and which ones to avoid?
Now that we’ve covered the different types of shooting and the factors to consider in choosing a reticle, we can now decide which ones to avoid and which ones are best suited for your needs.
Honestly, the best way to sort this out is to determine if you are into long-range hunting or target shooting.
If you are into long-range hunting, you might want to avoid the plain crosshair that can easily limit your sight while aiming at your target. The MIL dot reticle may not be a good choice too because it is not that easy to learn and it may take some time for you to be familiar with how it works. Meanwhile, reticles with BDC scope are ideal for long-range hunting but you may also opt for an illuminated reticle if you fancy hunting at night.
On the other hand, duplex reticle, MIL dot reticle and range finding scope reticles are great choices for target shooting. Duplex and MIL dot both require technical know-how and familiarization with how the respective reticles work but it will surely be worth it once you get the hang of it. Meanwhile, range finding scope reticles has the uncanny ability to estimate the range to a target, especially with the use of laser technology. It factors in that it can also be used as a conventional scope.
What makes a great reticle for long-range shooting?
To sum up, knowing the type of shooting you are going to use the rifle for determines the factor that you need to consider in choosing the right reticle. Whether a reticle is great or not really depends on which reticle suits your needs the most.
