SCJ429 wrote:I agree Blade, you can use the illuminated retical to help you but for me, every time I need it the battery has gone flat and I forgot to take a spare. The other way to get around the draw back of a FFP is to get a fixed power. Then you get the size retical you want and the graduations cannot change like a SFP.
Yes, the biggest drawback to illuminated optics, including holographics and red dots, is that they have to be turned on when you need them (a pressure switch for your left hand is good for this), and the batteries have to be charged. Modern "shake technology" means you can simply leave these switched on now as they switch themselves off if the firearm is not moving, though I don't think most are sensitive enough to remain on while you're lying up watching over a likely spot.
I think people get way too caught up in reticle hold overs, especially for hunting.
Out to 300m, or a bit further, you really don't need to use any holdover marks on the reticle with most high-velocity rifles, they shoot flat enough that when zeroed around 220m-250m the bullet is only going to be maybe three or four inches above or below your line of sight. You don't need reticle marks for that, at least not once you gain some experience of the size of the targets you are engaging. If you're shooting within the 100m-180m range then hold a little low on the target, if you're shooting out near 300m hold a little high. This is all you need to reliably head-shot rabbits and foxes out to 300m (simple duplex reticles and capped turrets were all we had in the old days). Even a duplex reticle has a basic BDC "circle" formed by the the points of the duplex posts. If it's 3MoA from the cross to the point of the duplex post you can use that for your holds under, over, and for wind.
Further than 300m if you want to reliably hit small targets then dial the elevation up to give you dead-on holds, don't expect to do precision shooting using holdover marks or BDC's, at least not without a lot of practice.
The BDC is a rough stadia originally designed to put military bullets into human-size targets, at speed, under combat conditions, they were never intended for precision shooting. It gives you a few marks for holding high out to about 600m to put your bullets within a foot or two of where you want them. The BDC really shines as a learning tool more than anything, in my opinion. And it's great fun for informal target shooting at extended ranges. But for engaging live targets, and killing them humanely, you want precision aiming. Accurately estimate, or lase, the range to the target, and dial the scope to put you right on the crosshair at that distance.