Eight_is_enough
New member
Used to be I wouldn't buy a scope that did not have good hashmarks. Now I hardly ever even notice them, much less use them.
And I connect a lot more often. Go figure.
And I connect a lot more often. Go figure.
Do you use the hash marks on scope Reticle
- Thread starter Colorado Redneck
- Start date
Hashed reticles are for ranging and engaging targets at unknown longer distances . I shoot fixed distances . In my discipline "Hash marks" holdovers are a band aid for incorrect dope calculations. They can be useful for rapid shooting multiple known distances. For me tacticool Hashed reticles just add too much clutter in my focal plane. Just give me a old skool "duplex" and I'll handle the math by clicks. Same goes for BDC reticles. Just more gimmick wallet bait
Yep, definitely this.
The "tactical/tacticool" optics market is largely directed to separating your average deer-hunting Fuddley from his money, when an "old skool 'duplex'" works just as well, is simpler to use, and costs less.
Now, if you're playing in the long-range "sniper" competition leagues with ranging and shooting taking place out to 800-, 1000-, or even 1500-yards where you need a high probability of first-round hits, ... well, that's different.
Of course, then you're also not a Fuddley. More like an tuned-in, long-distance competitor using a custom shootin' stick from, e.g., G.A. Precision, that costs $6500.00.
Then the cost of your rifle justifies the cost of mating it to a high-end optic having a reticle packed with all manner of vertical/horizontal milling dots, dashes, and do-dads, including a quick wind-calculation matrix built in. Real Navy SEAL sniper stuff.
But waaay more than you need for deer-huntin', dontcha know.
Considering that the original poster mentioned his hobby as prairie dog shooting, perhaps all the "good enough for deer" discussion can be put aside...
As a few others have mentioned, I like using the knob for adjusting elevation, and the reticle for wind. I find it very easy to get lost in the reticle when trying to use it for both functions while also monitoring the target.
As a few others have mentioned, I like using the knob for adjusting elevation, and the reticle for wind. I find it very easy to get lost in the reticle when trying to use it for both functions while also monitoring the target.
Eight_is_enough
New member
Shooting p-dogs was where I learned my "hashmark infatuation" was misplaced.
The wind is invariably too, well, variable. It is constantly changing from 25 mph down to 18, then 12, then 26 again. I would no sooner get the 5th hashmark over lined up on the dog than the wind would change. Suddenly I needed to be using the 3rd hashmark, or I was going to miss. The wind was always one step ahead of me.
So I gradually came to just use the target as my scale, judging from the wind whether I needed to put my center "+" "two dog-lengths" over or three, or whatever. I found that to be a much, much quicker system than trying to count hashmarks over and then be sure you are keeping the correct mark on the target while the wind forces you to change marks. It is also way easier to keep the center "+" where you want it than to keep some outlier in place.
Anyway, it is not as exact as using hashmarks, but it is workable where using hashmarks isn't, and it therefore works way better for me in the typical prairie wind that varies a lot. Yes, not all p-dogs are the same length, but you get to where you can judge their size pretty well, and that is close enough.
Here is my favorite dog rifle, a 204.
The reticle in the 5-25 ATACR looks like this:
Note that none my useage has anything to do with "FFP vs. SFP." I still prefer SFP so the reticle doesn't get thick at high mag, even though the only part of it I'm using is the center "+".
The wind is invariably too, well, variable. It is constantly changing from 25 mph down to 18, then 12, then 26 again. I would no sooner get the 5th hashmark over lined up on the dog than the wind would change. Suddenly I needed to be using the 3rd hashmark, or I was going to miss. The wind was always one step ahead of me.
So I gradually came to just use the target as my scale, judging from the wind whether I needed to put my center "+" "two dog-lengths" over or three, or whatever. I found that to be a much, much quicker system than trying to count hashmarks over and then be sure you are keeping the correct mark on the target while the wind forces you to change marks. It is also way easier to keep the center "+" where you want it than to keep some outlier in place.
Anyway, it is not as exact as using hashmarks, but it is workable where using hashmarks isn't, and it therefore works way better for me in the typical prairie wind that varies a lot. Yes, not all p-dogs are the same length, but you get to where you can judge their size pretty well, and that is close enough.
Here is my favorite dog rifle, a 204.
The reticle in the 5-25 ATACR looks like this:
Note that none my useage has anything to do with "FFP vs. SFP." I still prefer SFP so the reticle doesn't get thick at high mag, even though the only part of it I'm using is the center "+".
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