scope reticle...

buying Nikon 4x12 or 4.5x14 but just can't decide on reticle.....  BDC or Nikoplex.

going on a .270 WSM Tikka so 300 yd shots are easily in range.  never used BDC but am leaning that way, as it seems like that's exactly what I need...  just don't know the pros or cons. 

For a 270 WSM and 300 yard shots, don't bother with the BDC.  Use MPBR and you'll hold on fur the whole way out to 350.  A 130 gr BT moving 3300 will shoot 3" high at 100, dead on at 300, and 4" low at 350.  You'll be +/- 4" all the way to 350, which means holding center of chest on whitetails.  No guessing which BDC dot to use- just point and click.

Thanks,
Rick

had never known that term before...  a quick search brought up a bunch of articles, but this one is pretty spot on to what I've done before, but I had it zeroed for 200 yds which meant a bigger drop at 300 than I wanted.  didn't know that the bullet was still on the rise at 200.  wow.  that speed is why I chose the round.


http://www.chuckhawks.com/ultra-long-range.htm

oh, I had him alright...  I just was off by a hair on the elevation.  everything else was spot on.  if it weren't for the snow, I'd have no idea where that bullet hit, but since the white stuff was there, I know he was dead had I had the height better.  he died 100 later with 5 holes in him.  none were mine.  :(  someone jumped our drive.  he put himself in our shooting lanes.

I think I'll give that 3" high formula a good try.

no personal offense taken. To be truthful, the short of the long of it really boils down to giving myself the best possible chance to hit the animal I'm aiming at having put in the best amount of time I can afford with the best equipment I can afford.  I wouldn't have preferred to pull the trigger on a 400 yd shot.  I saw that buck bust thru the trees at 500.  It wasn't until I realized I wasn't the only one who saw him and the lead started flying that I realized they were after the deer that was meant for me.  I was being patient enuff to stand there waiting for him to get to within 150 yds, which is where he was headed.  I made a snap decision, and it nearly paid off in the form of a real trophy of a buck, but instead I got a good lesson on long range shooting, not to mention drive-sniping settups.  (don't listen to Matt... go with my instincts instead)  ;)

I don't have unlimited time and money to sit at a bench to become a sniper-quality shooter, but that won't stop me from making the best effort I can given the right circumstances...  and if they're not right, I'll hold that trigger.  Been there, done that.  I did, however, buy that rifle to have a shot at any legal deer I see.  I intend to continue that.  I just have no experience with BDC  It seems that unless it's made for the exact cartridge I'm using, I'm better off fine-tuning my current technique, just with better optics.

Thanks. 

Got a love/hate relationship with this kinda talk- After bout 50 years of Deer hunting have finally admitted to myself that anything much over 100 is a free deer. Thats free to do what it wants and go where it pleases cause I aint even gonna try anymore.
   Dar- as usual- is spot on with the need for mucho practice under strict conditions never to be varied in the field unless ya want to miss ---or worse.
  Any suggestion of a 'last minute' decision as to weather or not to make a shot just means ya werent really ready in the first place- We all been there and done that .
  Best long practice I ever did was for chucks- They move around a bit- are smaller than deer and mostly make you have to ensure proper shooting procedures- this after lotsa range work. An dont just sit around for the chucks either- move around looking for them just like ya are deer huntin.

Dar- Guess it depends on how ya want to hunt sometimes or even what conditions or physical restraints must be applied.
Personally - I like to get out there and findem -with Sitting as a second choice, both in woodlands. That leaves not too much room for excessive ranges.
A close relative however has a Farm close to lotsa Urban settings and most of his Deer shootin is out of his back Barn door. Complete with table, chairs and a cooler of soft drinks and lunch. Even has friends over to chat with while waiting for one to show. Dont know how legit it is outa the Barn but thats what hes stuck with on his own place. They shoot long under those circumstances and conditions  too.
   Would think those beanfield or big cornlot fellas have a much different thing to deal with than we New England guys- Just a different way of gettn the same job done- Personally think the long stuff is a very hard thing to do and have great respect for those making that effort.

 I use 150 grain fusion rounds 30.06 3" high at 100 ,at 200 it lands 3 3/4 high and at 300 its dead nuts, I like this set up and have used it for about 8 years easy for those out there shot's

there is a website for nikon scopes online called spot-on for bdc scopes and all you have to do is put your caliber gun your ammo match it to the scope you want and it will tell you what range all the reticles are and the yardage the are for and they also make turrets that will allow you to shoot out 1000 yards that you can order for 99 bucks also

ORIGINAL: HaveJeepCanGo

I have to admit to being a better shot in my younger years when I had plenty of time to shoot in all sorts of conditions and bullets cost less.  I've made some good shots in recent yrs but have passed on those "unfreakingreal" shots that were part of my testosterone-fueled youth.  I had marginal tools, but incredible reflexes and muscle memory then.  Sorta opposite now.  :(  

BTW- this isn't all about distance...   In trying to make the purchase, I was wondering if it's worth the effort to go from a plex reticle to the BDC which is a radical change for eyes that have looked through the same style scopes for 30+ yrs.  The price point doesn't change much, but will the results?  I'm leaning away from the BDC at this point of the discussion.  The bullet I shoot has a 5.1" drop at 300 yds.  I'm finally stepping up to put the type of scope I've always wanted on it, and I think I'll stick with what I know and fine tune that rather than a radical departure. 

DarDys, is the quality between the Pro Staff vs. Buckmaster worth the money, IYHO?  I can't go Monarch, but the Buckmaster is reachable.  I've read and heard nothing but great things about Nikon scopes.  From the moment I ordered my rifle, I've wanted to put one on it.  I finally can afford one.

 
Can't rightly tell you the difference between the Pro Staff and the BuckMaster because I have all Monarch UCCs.  I would say, unfortunately, like everythng else, you get what you pay for, so I would go with the most expensive one you can afford.
 
The one thing that I noticed, about the Nikons is that you can tell that their heritage is in camera and microscope lenses.  (Side story, the reason I bought Nikons in the first place is that at a former employer, that had extremely close tolerances, the only microscopes they would ever buy were Nikon.)  What I mean by that is this, on my scopes at least and with my eyes, at anything above 8 power, the parallex adjustment becomes critical for having both the recticle and the target on the same plane and in ultra sharp focus. 
 
The parallex adjustments are also different than most scopes, stepping back to the camera heritage.  On the 4-12, the parallex is marked at 50, 60, 75, 100, 150, 200, 300, 500, 1000, and infinity.  For me, there is a difference between the focus at 50 and 60 as well as all of the closer distances and the 200 -300 yard differences, much like the focusing of a camera lens.  As stated, this is only an issue above 8X.  Below that power, there doesn't seem to be a problem.
 
As a quick and dirty method for hunting applications, I set my scope on 8X and 75 yards.  This seems to give me the clearest, most on-plane view, from zero to about 200 yards and is certainly clear enough (clearer and more on-plane than most scopes at their best) to make a hunting type shot with.  But if time and conditions warrant, fine tuning the power to the max needed to "aim small/miss small" without losing target perspective and basically focusing using the parallex adjustment, brings out why one shelled out the money for this type of glass.
 
Just this season, I had a deer I was going to harvest (kill, whatever) step out at about 60 yards.  My initial scope setting was just fine.  However, the deer walked directly away, not presenting a shot of any type.  As it got farther away, because I have messed with this type of scope for years, I started to crank up the power and adjust the parallex (while peering through the scope and not looking at any of the adjustments) to keep everything clean, sharp, and on-plane.  When the deer made the error of taking one step sideways and presenting me with a shot before it disappeared, it died.  Since I was watching the deer in the scope the entire time and was making adjustments to keep the sight picture constant, I had no idea how far it had gone.  When I checked my set-up after the shot, I was at 12X and just slightly beyond the 200 mark on the parallex.  After recovering the deer, the shot was ranged at 227 -- not a real long way, but not a gimme either.
 
Let us know what you decide to get.

The human eye can only focus at one distance at a time.  Hold you finger about six inches from your eye, but a foot from your computer monitor.  You can either focus your eye on your finger and the monitor is out of focus or you can, for lack of a better term, look through your out of focus finger, and clearly see the monitor.  The farther two objects are apart, the less in focus one will be when the other is in focus.
 
If there were no parallex adjustment on higher power scopes, the focal plane of the recticle and the target would be so far apart that neither are clear.  With a properly set parallex adjustment, the recticle and the target appear to be in the same focal plane, or on-plane, with each other and both are clear.  If the parallex is not adjusted correctly, one or the other is in clear focus, while the other is somewhat fuzzy.  At times, if the recticle is in clear focus and the target is not, due to an improper parallex adjustment, the clear and sharp recticle will appear to float in front of the target and not be on-plane with it.  This can often cause an issue with oyur eye not being able to decide which to focus on and to involuntarily keep switching back and forth between the two planes.
 
With my Nikons, that seems to be the case at anything over 8X.

went with the 4.5x14 Buckmaster. Should be here mid-week, and if this weather pattern holds, I should have it at the range the day after. As much as I've anticipated getting a Nikon, I'd rather be ice fishing than sighting in rifle scopes, but when life brings lemons... shoot those lemons with a high powered rifle.