Ballistic Drop reticle or Mil-Dot for 18 inch AR in 308?

[Mags]

Getting a 18 inch barreled AR in 308/7.62, this gun will be used for taget shooting to 500-600 yards and for hunting. What scope reticle would you reccomned and power?

I am thinking of a 4-12x or a 4-16x scope with a bullet drop compensating reticle or a mil-dot.

 

[UnTainted]

You'll have to learn the dot for each different round or bullet weight, depending on what range you zero at, but it'll be good once you memorize the notches.

 

[Z-Michigan]

The BDC reticles will only take you out to 500 yards with a .308, but are simple to use and available in a wide range of prices. I personally like the Nikon one found in the Team Primos and various other Nikon scopes.

A mil-dot gives you more options and flexibility, and provides a scale for windage adjustments as well, but most shots will require you to stop and calculate things; otherwise you'll be guessing a holdover to a greater extent than with a BDC. It would be my choice for slow precision shooting but probably not so much for hunting. It would definitely be my choice if you want to shoot past 500 yards though.

Vortex offers a BDC reticle that also has mil-dots on the horizontal line and can be used basically like a mil-dot reticle with minor adjustments if you refer to the reticle reference sheet. That might be a good hybrid option.

I think 4-12x or 4-16x makes good sense.

 

[ArmedBear]

I find the ballistic drop reticles to be distracting, as they tend to draw the eye down below the crosshair. That bodes poorly for quick target acquisition. I would get the mil-dot, just so it's symmetrical.

Also, those dots are good for other things. You can learn quick range estimating when you know the approximate size of the target, or an adjacent object.

 

[TIMC]

I just installed a Burris Eliminator on my AR-10 recently. I have only had a chance to work with it out to 200 yards so far but it has performed well. I am hoping to get out and test it at at 300-500 yards before too long. So far I am very happy with it.

 

[MCMXI]

I have a front focal plane (FFP) Leupold Mark 4 3.5-10x40mm with M1 elevation and windage knobs on my P-308 and find it to be an excellent optic on the AR. The scope has a Tactical Milling reticle (TMR) which is one of my favorite reticles and 10X is plenty out to 600 yards and even further than that. The "only" things that would make the scope better is if it had an illuminated reticle and milrad adjustments. Once Leupold offers the moa to milrad conversion service, most if not all of my Mark 4s will be heading to Oregon. You may want to consider the Super Sniper 3-9x42 since its FFP, has a mildot reticle and milrad adjustments. I've never used one but based on its specs, it might make a good hunting/target optic.

 

[Mags]

What do y'all think about a fixed 10x mil-dot scope for hunting and plinking? Midway has the Bushnell Elites on sale for 199$.

 

[ArmedBear]

Depends on what you're hunting, where and how.

If you're hunting prairie dogs at 400 yards, should be great. If you're jumping deer, not so good, as I learned the hard way last season when I had my 3-9 cranked (accidentally) when one jumped up real close. Not good.

Add to that the fact that an AR is not gun that naturally mounts and points like, say, a Model 70 Featherweight, and it's doubly bad. I would want to be able to drop the power way down so I could get on target.

 

[Z-Michigan]

What do y'all think about a fixed 10x mil-dot scope for hunting and plinking? Midway has the Bushnell Elites on sale for 199$.

I own that scope - bought it when it was on sale a couple months ago (same price). It's also a mil/mil setup, for those who don't know.

The Elite 3200 10x mildot is a good value for the money. It is not the clearest or brightest scope I own - I have a Weaver Grand Slam 3-10x40 mil/mil and a Nikon Team Primos 3-9x40 that are roughly tied for clearest and brightest, both claiming about 95% light transmission. The other, probably bigger issue with the Elite 10x is that it can't focus sharply closer than about 30 yards. Admittedly that's really close for any rifle worthy of a 10x mildot, but it's noticeable in comparison to all my other scopes, and is a drawback when checking zero at a short range, for instance.

On the plus side, it offers a LOT of elevation/windage adjustment (around 80 MOA), it has Rainguard, it really looks and feels like a quality scope, and as a fixed power it's theoretically tougher than a zoom scope.

I would seriously consider it if your hunting is only larger game (not varmints) and you have no need to shoot closer than about 30 yards.

Otherwise I agree with ArmedBear on the drawbacks.

If you want a top value mil/mil mildot for not too much money, the Weaver Grand Slam ("tactical") 3-10x40 mil/mil that Midway offers is great. Standard price is $399 but mine was on sale for $299 and I think I saw it offered at that price again very recently. That's another Midway exclusive AFAIK. It's also made in Japan, and comparing it side to side against the Elite 3200 it's better in all ways except elevation and windage adjustment range (only about 56 MOA I believe).

 

[UnTainted]

If you're hunting prairie dogs at 400 yards, should be great. If you're jumping deer, not so good, as I learned the hard way last season when I had my 3-9 cranked (accidentally) when one jumped up real close. Not good.

I learned the same thing one year with it on 12 and one was 15 yards through the trees. Now I just leave them all on 3, and dial it up if I need to.

 

[Mags]

I found a nice Bushnell elite 3200 in a 5-15x Mil-dot. Do you guys think the 5-15 x is too much?

 

[Z-Michigan]

No, sounds like a great match to me. I was debating whether to recommend the similar Weaver 5-15x mil dot.

 

[Mags]

Thanks Z, I will also look into the Weaver.

 

[Zak Smith]

First define the role


article | Fighting Carbine Optics

Then here's about LR scopes


article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part II - Optics

 

[Mags]

Thanks for the articles Zak. After reading the first article it seems my desired range of 5-600 yards is right on the threshhold of type II and III optics.

So now I wonder if I should go with a 1-4 or 1-6 for a type II optic or a 3-9 or 4-12 in a type III optic.

Just when I thought I figured out what I wanted (5-15x mildot) you give me more info to think about.