Reticle Selection
Reticle selection is another contentious topic with shooters from different disciplines firmly convinced that their concept of a perfect reticle is indeed perfect for everyone out there. Truth be told, choice of a reticle, just like the choice of a rifle or a riflescope fluctuates depending on the usage and personal preferences. Naturally, there are some designs that are highly suitable for a number of applications, but no reticle out there is perfect for everything. Overall number of available reticles available in the market is quite staggering. Here is an assortment of reticles listed on Zeiss website. It is by no means comprehensive, but it is a nice sample of reticle types used in hunting scopes:
Tactical or precision shooting requires a completely different set of reticles as does target shooting. On top of that the same reticle will perform differently depending whether it is placed in the First Focal Plane (FFP) or Second Focal Plane (SFP) of the scope (more on this later). Then there is the whole issue of illumination.
Reticle selection deserves a separate, detailed article. Rather than try to go over the minutia of every reticle available in the market, I will simply describe the steps in my thought process when I pick a reticle (and there are quite otherwise excellent scopes that I have passed on simply because I did not think the reticle fit my needs). I will also list a few reticles that are my personal favorites.
STEP 1. Think clearly about the intended usage for this setup. Is this reticle going to be only used for aiming, or do you plan to also use it for rangefinding and/or holdover?
This will dictate whether I want SFP or FFP reticle. If I only need the reticle as an aiming point, I want some sort of a simple and visible design, likely in the Second Focal Plane (further developed in STEP 2A below). If the reticle is intended to be used for rangefinding and holdover in addition to aiming, than I definitely prefer more complicated patterns in an FFP design (STEP 2B below). When the reticle is placed in the Second Focal Plane, it looks the same regardless of which magnification the scope is set on. When your turn the zoom ring, the image will either shrink or magnify; however, the reticle will appear to be the same size. It makes for a consistent aiming point, but reticle dimensions (compared to the image) are different and every magnification setting. When the reticle is in FFP, it shrinks and magnifies together with the image. Hence, reticle subtensions cover the same portion of the image regardless of magnification setting (very helpful for ranging). Also, if there are holdover points in the reticle, they will represent the same holdover values at ALL magnifications. Holdover reticles (like the Rapid-Z designs above) are very popular these days in SFP scopes. The way they work is as follows: since relative reticle dimensions change with magnification, you tweak your scope’s zoom ring until the reticle subtensions work for holdover with your cartridge at the ranges you are interested in. Once that is determined, you are pretty much stuck using that magnification if you need to make a long shot, forcing you to use a variable power scope as a fixed power one. I am not a big fan of that scenario. I think that magnification setting should be chosen based on the conditions (like lighting) and holdover points should work at all magnifications. However, opinions differ.
STEP 2. Determine the general attributes you need in a reticle in order to work for you application.
STEP 2A. If in step 1 above you decided that you only need the reticle as an aiming point, you need to think a little bit about the type of targets you plan to engage.
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For a big game hunter, the target is usually fairly large even when looked at from 300 yards (and most people should really try to get a lot closer to the animal than that). On the other hand, lighting conditions might be absolutely atrocious, so a highly visible reticle is a must. That implies that the reticle should be fairly thick. That makes it not ideal for shooting groups, but much easier to pick up in a hurry. An alternative approach is to have a thin reticle that is illuminated. However, then you need to remember to turn the illumination on (unless it is a Trijicon, but that is a different story) and you end up relying on batteries. Make sure you have bold reticle you can see in any light, with or without illumination, is cheap insurance.
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For a varmint shooter, the target is often pretty small and fairly far away. Having a thick reticle might not be optimal because it can block too much of your target. On the other hand you might still end up in some reasonably unfavorable lighting conditions, so the reticle can not be too thin either. You want something in between. Perhaps, a reticle with very thin lines right at the center, but something a little thicker around it so that you do not lose the sight of it. For this application, you also may consider some sort of a holdover capability in the reticle to be used occasionally when you are forced to take a comparatively long shot and do not have time to twist the knobs.
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For a target shooter, target size varies,but is often either quite small or quite far 9or both). On top of that, aiming precision is critical for shooting tight groups. Lighting conditions are seldom problematic, so for this situation the thinnest of reticles are often the best ones.
STEP 2B. If in step 1 above you decided that you would like to use the reticle for ranging and/or holdover, once again you need to give some thought to what kind of a target you are likely to be engaging and at what distances.
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For close- to mid-range applications, where a man-size target is assumed, your best bet is a reticle that combines a very visible primary aiming point (for close range applications) with three or four holdover points that work with your cartridge out to 500 yards or thereabouts (think M4-type carbine with a low range 1-4×24 or 1-6×24 variable scope on it).
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For mid- to long-range applications, where you are likely to be looking at either man-size targets out to very significant distances or at small targets (practical rifle competitions, for example) at distances from a couple of hundred yards and onward, reticles with rather fine aiming points work well. If your primary focus is competition shooting, then you should be putting a bit more emphasis on really thin lines, since you are likely to be dealing with very small targets in decent lighting. If your application is primarily military and law enforcement, then the thinnest reticles might be too dependent on illumination. For most uses, something in between is the best way to go.
STEP 3. Now that you’ve zeroed in on your application and overall features you want in a reticle, let’s look at some specific designs that I like (there is a lot of personal preference involved here, so these are just general examples).
STEP 3A. Continuing on from step 2A above:
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For general use on a big game rifle, various plex type reticles are most common. These are not my favourites since most of the ones available are too thin. One of the nicer plex reticles out there is Zeiss’ Z-Plex. Personally, I am big fan of #4 reticle for allround use:
and various thick post reticles for the worst lighting conditions. A good example of that would the German #1 reticle or Trijicon’s triangle reticle:
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For varminting, either a thin duplex reticle or some sort of med-fine BDC reticle is a good way to go. Here is a picture of Vortex’ Dead-hold BDC reticle which I find sufficiently uncluttered to work well for this application
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For target shooting either a simple thin crosshair or thin crosshair with a small-dot work very well. A good example is Sightron’s fine crosshair with a dot or Vortex’ Target Dot:
STEP 3B. Continuing on from step 2B above:
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For quick target acquisition, I really like circular reticles. The way a human eye perceives information, makes it very easy for us to pick up circular shapes, like thick horseshoes with open bottom that allows for additional holdover points. The trend for such aiming points started some time back with a small company called GRSC, whose owner holds a patent on one of the better reticles of this type. The latest rendition of it is called M4-62 since it is calibrated for 65gr 5.56×45 ammo out of a M4 carbine. Here is a schematic of it:
I have evaluated several version of GRSC scopes that had different generations of this reticle in them and found it to be the fastest general purpose reticle for an M4 type weapon. The large horseshoe is very fast up close while when there is more time, you can use the small circles for very adequate ranging and aiming on human-sized targets out to 800 yards.
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Conversely, for longer range shooting, something as massive as that thick horseshoe above is likely to really get in the way. The “classic” reticle that really started the trend for ranging and holdover is the Mil-Dot, with small round dots spaced one milliradian apart:
These days there is a large number of other reticles with regularly spaced dots and/or hashmarks, that are a lot more complicated (or sophisticated) than the original MilDot. Almost every company that makes high quality tactical scopes utilizes some sort of a proprietary design (or multiple designs) either based on milliradian (mil) or minute-of-angle (MOA) spacing. I have tested and evaluating at least a dozen of them and while I have my preferences, most are perfectly serviceable. I have the most mileage with the MP8-A5 that John Boyette of Trace Armory Group designed for one of IOR’s tactical scopes, so that is the one I am most comfortable with:
This reticle has a reasonable combination of thin and thick lines to be useful in any lighting conditions, while the small dot in the center provides for a very fine aiming point.
Bottom line is that whichever reticle you choose, try to get some hands on time with it in the field. Something that looks good on paper, might not be optimal in real life, while a design that looks too coarse in theory turns out to work far better than you expected.
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