favorite hunting reticles?

[afrederick]

I need your advice on reticles, please.

I just bought a stevens 200 in .270. (father-in-law saw it on sale 4 years ago for $190 at Academy. But he's got other hunting rifles so he shot it, literally, zero times. Never even took it out of the box. So I bought it from him for his cost)

I think I'm about to click the order button on a Leupold VX-2 3-9x40. The question for you is, which reticle?

I plan to use it as a general purpose hunting rifle. Upstate SC, so deer, pigs, maybe a black bear. We've got lots of woods and hills, so probably not many long shots and there is a good chance of low light in the woods.

I want something simple and fast but also capable of precision, should the opportunity for a long shot present itself.

They offer it in duplex, wide-plex, german #4, Leupold dot (large), and LR duplex. I liked the German #4 but they said those come with turrets calibrated in centimeters instead of MOA. I think I prefer MOA adjustments.

I'm also kind of drawn to the LR duplex. Is it as fast and easy to acquire as the duplex or wide-plex?

 

[nettlle]

I have always liked the duplex. Over the years it seems to do everything that I wanted.

 

[jmr40]

I have VX-2's in a 3-9X40 with LR duplex reticles on my two go-to rifles. It is worth the extra $50 to me. The standard Duplex reticle would be my 2nd choice. I also have a Burris FF-II with a similar reticle on another of my favorite rifles.

If you want true long range precision something with dials is going to be more precise. Any of the long range reticles with dots are faster and simpler to use and accurate enough for hunting.

Don't get too carried away with exact drops. I use them on a 308, 30-06, and 300 WSM with bullet weights ranging from 130-180 gr. I simply zero at 100 yards and use the dots for 200, 300, and 400 yards. They are close enough to hit a deer with all calibers and bullet weights. There is simply less difference in bullet drop between all of the common cartridges than most think.

Some of the flatter shooting loads will be 2-3" above my point of aim, the ones with more arched trajectory 2-3" below. You'll not miss any big game animal if you're with in 2-3" at 400 yards.

The scopes with dials will allow you to dial in the drop for the exact range. More precise, but it takes longer too. I think this is a better option for target shooters, the dots are the better option for a hunter.

 

[1911 guy]

Unless I have a specific need for a specific reticle on a specific rifle, I opt for duplex. It it extremely versatile, especially when you know the subtention of the wires and the "window" where the wires change size.

 

[burrhead]

I have the very scope you're asking about on my go to deer rifle. Hunt Texas Hill Country and South Texas. 75 to 250 yards out of blinds. I have the Wide-plex but would be happy with a straight Duplex. Not a lot of difference between the two. I don't see any need for the LR at those ranges. I do have an LR reticle on my long range AR but I'm shooting out to 600 yards and it helps with ranging.

 

[plexreticle]

I prefer duplex reticle usually, however, I found a heavy duplex is easier to pick out in lower light or hurried shots.

 

[cdb1]

I like a German #4 but they don't come standard on that scope. You'd have to send it to the custom shop.

 

[Skoghund]

I have a Kahles scope with German #1 reticle. Not a modern reticle but works Ok for me. #FD4 in my Schmidt & Bender. Great reticle for shooting boar at night. The Zeiss has a #6 reticle. That scope on top of my Heym-Ruger has accounted for thousands of deer from moose to muntjac. 3 Totally different reticles that all do the job.

 

[Jim Watson]

I know one guy who prefers a BIG dot and another who sticks with the old post; but most hunters I know are happy with the duplex.
Sorry, I don't know the difference between the various trademark duplexes. Don't get one too fine for hunting.

 

[sappyg]

I've hunted the same area as OP. Duplex reticles are all I've ever used. Shots usually come fast and close. Optic quality and off hand practice is more important than the reticle pattern.

That said I am seriously considering one of those Leupold 1-4 hog reticle scopes to replace an older 1 3/4-5 duplex scope. Mostly due to quality issues. I seriously doubt it would help me shoot better.

 

[FSJeeper]

German 4a.

Only way to role on a serious hunting rifle. They tend to come standard on the higher end scopes but not always.

 

[X-Rap]

I've got the Leupold standard duplex on many of my rifles and I'm a fan. Any duplex will serve you well so long as the fine cross hair is really fine. I've seen some of the cheaper scopes like those from Bushnell that have cross hairs to thick to really check a group properly.

 

[ranger56528]

I've always liked Nikon BDC because I can use the Spot On program and do print outs with different loads and Mfg.

 

[afrederick]

Thanks!

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and thoughts! I really liked the German #4 but I don't want to mess with metric. So I pulled the trigger on the one with the LR duplex. To me, it looked like it should have the benefits of the regular duplex plus just a little extra information in case of a long range shot.

The UPS tracker says it should be here Wednesday! Can't wait to try it out on my new .270!

 

[Hookeye]

I have tried ranging reticles and those of additional aiming points.
Hated them all.

Give me a reg Duplex. Not a fine one, not a heavy one, just a regular one.

OK, I'll tolerate a CPC

Had the German post stuff and similar. No likey those either. My eye naturally goes to the center so I'm not buying this need for heavier duplex. Maybe for some folks' vision it helps- mine doesn't need or like it.

As for multiple aiming points, I maybe could tolerate the LRD. Thought about a 3-9X with that for my yote rifle. But it's zeroed and I'm used to the 4-12X AO w duplex on it.

Its not caused an issue, so I see no need to change it.

Chucks and yotes, I dim my fields so know the distances and just hold accordingly. Sometimes things are fast, there's no time to go through all that other stuff.

 

[Hookeye]

BTW, I think it more important to have AO than extra aiming points. I used a 3-9X tactical Leupold on a sporter .243 that shot .5 MOA..........and hated it.

MUCH prefer an adj objective. I set mine at 200 and just flick it to focus as needed. Shoot one rig enough and you'll set it (on or close enough) without even looking at the ring.

 

[I6turbo]

I'm a big fan of the Burris Ballistic Plex.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I have always liked the duplex. Over the years it seems to do everything that I wanted.

Absolutely. The duplex draws your eye to the intersection of the crosshairs, and can be used for a rough range finder.

And you never find yourself letting a deer get away while you puzzle out what all those marks and numbers are in your scope.

 

[RonSC]

Greetings from another upstate native ( Mauldin)!
Anything you are likely to encounter in Game Zone #1 or 2 would not require uber-magnification.
My go to rifle (Tika 7mm-'08 ) wears a vintage Leupold Vari-x II 2-7C Compact. I've always liked the Leupold standard duplex. I have never felt under scoped with this combo since "long shots" here would be under 100 yds and most likely less than 50yds. Most important features in scope selection is wide field of view and brightness for less than ideal dawn & dusk conditions which will be a given with any decent quality glass. I hunt with my scope dialed down to min. Remember that generally speaking what you gain with increased power range is negated by decreased brightness, and field of view which is not conducive to quick target acquisition and/or follow-up shots.
Another important feature is matching eye-relief to the specific rifle/caliber. For these conditions in a 270, I'd be looking for a decent 2-7 or 3-9 (x40) with a min 2 1/2- 3" eye relief.


Good luck,
Ron

PS:
Oops sorry to have been so long -winded...
Didn't realize you'd already ordered it,,,I failed to read entire thread! Hope it works out for ya'
Ron

 

[Speedo66]

Get the reticle you want. The metric is no big deal. 2.5cm per inch. Unless I'm missing something, if it's a cm per click, that makes each click 1/5" instead of the usual 1/4", so it can be sighted in tighter than normal.

 

[MCMXI]

I realize that the OP has already made his choice, but as someone who owns numerous scopes from Premier, Nightforce, Leupold, Zeiss, Vortex and Aimpoint, with numerous reticle types, I consider there to be no better hunting scope than a Zeiss Conquest with the RZ600 or RZ800 reticle. I have no interest in an AO on a hunting scope, or turrets to mess with. I'll take a Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm with an RZ600 reticle, or a 3.5-10x with an RZ800 reticle for a magnum rifle over anything else. I subscribe to the school of "aim small to miss small" and calibrated reticles help enormously in this regard. By the way, the steel target shown below (at 400 yards) is 8" round. The power ring of the Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40mm scope used to the take the photo shown below was set on 7.5X which is the required magnification for all of the stadia to be accurate for drop and wind.

 

[afrederick]

thanks for all the advice

MCMXI: That Zeiss looks awesome.

Speedo: That's an interesting point about the metric scope having finer adjustments. But I've been estimating in yards my whole life. I don't know, I guess if I never wanted to shoot it more than 200 yards (or meters?) it wouldn't matter. Maybe I'll get it on my next scope?

Ron: I get what you're saying. The German would likely work well in this part of the country (close shots, trees, low light). As I said to Speedo, maybe my next scope will have the German reticle.

But I got the LR Duplex. I figured even if I probably wouldn't have occasion to use it too often, it would be neat to be able to take a longer range shot if the opportinity arose. The VX-2 3-9x40 with the LR Duplex was waiting on my doorstep the other day. The mounts are still on a UPS truck on their way. But I took the scope outside and just looked throught it. And man! I love it. Very bright and clear! I can't wait to see what my new 270 can do with it!

 

[sage5907]

The LR Duplex was a wise choice. I always sight my rifles in at 200 yards so they work for me and putting that first dot directly on a 300 yard point of impact really appeals to me. I also have Leupold M3 scopes where you dial in the range but the 300, 400 and 500 yard points of impact are quicker to use and the scopes are a half pound lighter.

 

[henschman]

I like something with thick crosshairs, like a heavy duplex or one of the various German post-type reticles, for ease of acquisition in low light, unless it is an illuminated reticle, in which case I prefer something with useful ballistics info like a mil line or BDC reticle. My favorite hunting reticle is the Firedot TMR reticle on my Leupold Mark AR. It is a mil line reticle with an illuminated center dot.