Mildot Scopes

Rifle scopes, iron sights and optics. Spotting scopes and target acquisition devices.

Mildot Scopes

Post by AusTac » 19 Oct 2016, 7:58 pm

Hey gents,

Bit stuck on what to get, would like to keep it under $1000,

VORTEX
VIPER
6.5-20X50 MIL DOT RETICLE

Dots are only accurate at 14x being a sfp scope

Bushnell elite 6-24x50

Don't know much but have heard good things

Its going on a lithgow .308, for range work and the odd hunt, Ideally a 4×16 would be nice but nothing with mildot comes in that apparently

Bit all over the place with it at the moment,

Also one peice mount vs rings?

I use hold overs ALOT which is why i've have a fetish for a mil dot for a while
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by Gwion » 19 Oct 2016, 8:14 pm

Personally i prefer hash mark stadia to 'dot' stadia. Just me. The 'dot' reticles just seem too busy.

My Sightron is 'mil hash'.

Also, i don't seem to have too much issue putting them close to bull out to 600 (or right in the X when i can pick the wind) with a max mag of 17.5 (min 2.5). Chose it because i can dial it back if i ever want to use it for a bush scope and all reports i read of scopes in my budget (<&1300) were that over 20x they started losing clarity.

I do recall reading a lot of good stuff about the Bushnells, though. In the end it was the lower min mag that put me on the Sightron. I need to read wind a hell of a lot better before i need any higher mag to shoot any further than i am now.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by Gwion » 19 Oct 2016, 8:14 pm

PS: Very keen to see pics and range report on the new Lithgow!
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 19 Oct 2016, 8:46 pm

AusTac wrote:Hey gents,

Bit stuck on what to get, would like to keep it under $1000,

VORTEX
VIPER
6.5-20X50 MIL DOT RETICLE

Dots are only accurate at 14x being a sfp scope

Bushnell elite 6-24x50

Don't know much but have heard good things

Its going on a lithgow .308, for range work and the odd hunt, Ideally a 4×16 would be nice but nothing with mildot comes in that apparently

Bit all over the place with it at the moment,

Also one peice mount vs rings?

I use hold overs ALOT which is why i've have a fetish for a mil dot for a while



Do you want to use it for rangefinding or do you simply want some reference marks for your hold overs?
The Bushnell AR Optics have a BDC reticle with hold overs marked at roughly 1.56, 4.11, 7.43, 11.7MoA, 17.17MoA. Just a matter of working out your ranges to suit the marks.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6555#p99712
But a variable scope reticle is only range-accurate at full power, although if you're shooting far enough to need hold-over you're probably on full-power anyway. You could of course work out the ranges to suit lower magnifications as well.

The one-piece mounts with integral rings are good as they minimise any twisting of the scope due to ring misalignment. But they're expensive and have minimal if any adjustment in them. I prefer a rail so I can position the rings where I want them. And rails also allow you to hang other things off the rifle as required.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by brett1868 » 19 Oct 2016, 8:47 pm

Dots are only accurate at 14x being a sfp scope


This ones a bit confusing, I assume it's only accurate for calculating range when set to 14x ?
I've made the mistake of using a hold over on a target then changing zoom only to miss by a country mile, scratched my head for a while till I figured it out and gave myself an uppercut for being a dumbass.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by AusTac » 19 Oct 2016, 8:57 pm

I'll have a look at sightron G, never heard of them but the more you know.. well the more you know right, and yeah i'm keen to deck it out this weekend :D

Once i get my head around the maths ( far from my strong point ) or get a mildot master and find some wide open shooting land then yeah that would be good, but for now mostly just as a reference, to shoot till i hit whagever i'm aiming at haha as for the mount nothing out there seems to be for the lithy yet so j'm thinking one peice picatinny mount ( lithy comes with rail )

And lol yeah brett, being a second focal plane scope its apparently only accurate at 14x, which makes no sense to me, i would have thought max zoom would have made more sense.. but what do i know, the first focal plane scopes are like $1600 which is a bit silly for my skill level use, i'm just goofing around rather than glassing a mountain top in the sand pit.

For centrefire I'm used to a .303 with iron sights so still a little to learn. Bit of a different ball game to rimfire
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by brett1868 » 19 Oct 2016, 9:16 pm

Bingo, Bladeracer touched on it. The drop lines are only accurate at 14x but to be accurate in the first place the ammo must match what the scope was calibrated to. I have a couple of the AR BDC Scopes, one on the .223 and the other on a 22, great little scopes but I don't use the drop lines for they're intended purpose.

If you really want to confuse yourself, try a scope that has CM graduations....had to bang my head on the manual a few times to get it to sink in.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by AusTac » 20 Oct 2016, 5:15 am

One of the blokes at the shop tried to sell me a hawke endurance 223/308 reticle with calibrated hashes but it was in yards, so if i shoot 300 metres, the hash will line up with roughly like 263m or whatever it converts to, so id be forever shooting strange distances in terms of target stuff, and as you said brett thats only with nato spec ammo
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by Gwion » 20 Oct 2016, 6:22 am

It's never that simple. All rifle/ammo combos will produce different velocities. To know what your stadia represent in real terms you need to know what they mean in MOA or MIL and then get a accurate indication of what velocities your rig is producing. Then you can plot a trajectory and create drop charts.

A basic way to establish drops is using each stadia to aim at bull to see where POI is with each one. Repeating this at 100/200/300 will give you some idea of what's going on but wind and user error will play into it.

Simpler and probably more accurate to get a good load and test it over a chronie then plot s drop chart with a decent ballistics calculator. Once you have your chart you can dial in the zero for that range.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by MalleeFarmer » 20 Oct 2016, 7:50 am

I have a 6-24x50 Bushnell elite in FFP with the G2 mil hash reticle it's a very good scope for the money. I also have a 4.5-18x44 Bushy LRHS with the G2H reticle which is the same thing slightly modified for hunting. Both are very good. I agree with gwion mil hash marks are much better as they don't cover big areas like the dots and can be used like a standard crosshair
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by on_one_wheel » 20 Oct 2016, 8:42 am

I've just got into milldot scopes and I'm loving them.

Yes for ranging you need to have it on the correct magnification.... that all good if your confident about the size of your target.

If you have it accurately ranged and you use balistics software then it doesn't really matter where you set your magnification.
This is how my .223 shoots
Pictures showing same wind and distance but different magnifications
Screenshot_2016-10-20-08-52-08.png
Screenshot_2016-10-20-08-52-08.png (136.86 KiB) Viewed 5076 times

Screenshot_2016-10-20-08-54-01.png
Screenshot_2016-10-20-08-54-01.png (133.4 KiB) Viewed 5076 times


I'm looking at saving a picture of my reticle at full magnification and sticking it on my flip up cover for a quick reference.

Most of the time I'm using the dots as a reference only and not ranging with them.
My range finder is way more accurate ... zero guess work involved as far as target size goes but being able to get a reasonable idea of range using the dots is pretty cool.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2016, 8:59 am

brett1868 wrote:Bingo, Bladeracer touched on it. The drop lines are only accurate at 14x but to be accurate in the first place the ammo must match what the scope was calibrated to. I have a couple of the AR BDC Scopes, one on the .223 and the other on a 22, great little scopes but I don't use the drop lines for they're intended purpose.

If you really want to confuse yourself, try a scope that has CM graduations....had to bang my head on the manual a few times to get it to sink in.



The ammo doesn't have to match the reticle graduations, it's extremely unlikely any ammo will do so with any precision, unless you're putting down suppressing fire on human-sized targets.
It's far, far easier to simply have some reference marks (even arbitrary marks) for hold over and then determine the ranges that those marks zero at.
Examples from my post on the other thread:
With the 223BDC the dots should fall roughly about:
100yd zero
200yd –1.56MoA
300yd –4.11MoA
400yd –7.43MoA
500yd –11.7MoA
600yd –17.17MoA
That's the trajectory of 5.56NATO SS109 at 3100fps but it wouldn't surprise me if they're using lower velocities to suit AR15's. I know that the 500yd dot in my scope is almost exactly 300mm below the crosshair at 100yds as an A4 page fills it perfectly - and 300mm at 100 yards is near as damn 11.7MoA.

On my 7mm-08 with Sierra’s 100gn HP at 3200fps:
90yd zero
200yd –1.56MoA
300yd –4.14MoA
395yd –7.43MoA
490yd –11.7MoA
580yd –17.17MoA
I haven't grouped these past 400yds so I can't confirm the accuracy of the last two figures. As you can see though, it's a tiny reference chart you can print and laminate for each load.

I haven't got the 162gn ELD-X's yet but they should drop on the dots at roughly:
100yd zero
185yd –1.56MoA
300yd –4.13MoA
420yd –7.43MoA
560yd –11.7MoA
715yd –17.17MoA

EDIT: I have now got the 162gn ELD-X's but haven't shot them yet.
Last edited by bladeracer on 20 Oct 2016, 9:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2016, 9:10 am

AusTac wrote:One of the blokes at the shop tried to sell me a hawke endurance 223/308 reticle with calibrated hashes but it was in yards, so if i shoot 300 metres, the hash will line up with roughly like 263m or whatever it converts to, so id be forever shooting strange distances in terms of target stuff, and as you said brett thats only with nato spec ammo



It doesn't matter whether it is in yards or meters or cubits or fathoms.

Yes, it might line up sufficiently close for NATO ammo, from a NATO 7"-twist barrel, 10" long...that shoots 3-4MoA anyway...on a very good day. At 600yds you're talking about a rifle that has a decent chance of hitting a 24"-wide target...under ideal conditions.

Ignore the "ranges" of the stadia, determine the ranges yourself with your ammo in your rifle.
That goes for whatever type of reticle you get.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by Wylie27 » 20 Oct 2016, 9:13 am

I have the bushnell at 3-12 223 bdc and it's quite useful to have the dots as a guide.. the scope is good and clear. I just put a deposit on a the 4.5-18 scope. $279 can't. Omplain!
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2016, 9:27 am

Wylie27 wrote:I have the bushnell at 3-12 223 bdc and it's quite useful to have the dots as a guide.. the scope is good and clear. I just put a deposit on a the 4.5-18 scope. $279 can't. Omplain!



I've got four of the 4.5-18x40's so far, love them :-)
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by AusTac » 20 Oct 2016, 9:29 am

This is good stuff fellas, i appreciate the effort


So if i was to buy a 308/223 bdc using one cartridge, and plot a chart like whats up there, say if i'm at the range, i know the distance, plonk my rifle down reference the chart say 200m, and then hold over somewhere between the 200-300 yard marker, right?

The reason i was a little sceptical of a scope with those specific hash marks is i'd always be holding over in between the marks, but when you put it that way id be doing that no matter what measurment it was in ( which i kinda expected )
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by Wylie27 » 20 Oct 2016, 9:29 am

Hijacking time... is the ar 223 ok for a .22lr? Given the paralax sdjustment?
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2016, 9:42 am

Wylie27 wrote:Hijacking time... is the ar 223 ok for a .22lr? Given the paralax sdjustment?



I only tried with one of my 4.5-18x40's but I can actually read an A4 page of text at 10m on 18x, it should work brilliantly for very close range work.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by bladeracer » 20 Oct 2016, 9:45 am

AusTac wrote:This is good stuff fellas, i appreciate the effort


So if i was to buy a 308/223 bdc using one cartridge, and plot a chart like whats up there, say if i'm at the range, i know the distance, plonk my rifle down reference the chart say 200m, and then hold over somewhere between the 200-300 yard marker, right?

The reason i was a little sceptical of a scope with those specific hash marks is i'd always be holding over in between the marks, but when you put it that way id be doing that no matter what measurment it was in ( which i kinda expected )


Unless your targets are happy to sit at specific distances then you are unlikely to ever be holding perfectly on any mark.
If you are shooting for precision on a range, or long-range varmints, you would want to dial in your elevation to put the crosshair on your target. Hold-over stadia are not intended for precision shooting.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by happyhunter » 20 Oct 2016, 10:52 am

AusTac wrote:
Its going on a lithgow .308, for range work and the odd hunt, Ideally a 4×16 would be nice but nothing with mildot comes in that apparently



Meopta make mildot scopes in the 4-16x range.

Your original post shows you understand the difference between having the reticle in the 1st or 2nd plane. If you can't fork out the cash for glass that places the mil dot reticle on the first focal plane then a 2nd focal plane reticle that is scales correctly at full power is the second best option. A scope that requires a mid range setting to achieve the correct scale is a pain in the arse to use.
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Re: Mildot Scopes

Post by happyhunter » 20 Oct 2016, 10:57 am

Here ya go.. Some useful info about mil dot scopes. Might help you decide if it's what you need.

The Truth About Mil Dots

By: Michael Haugen
Copyright 2001


 


Anyone associated with snipers and sniping is familiar with Mils and Mil dots. However, it seems that there is a substantial amount of confusion regarding their origin, limitations and employment. 


Before I begin I must admit that most of the technical aspects of the proceeding is the courtesy of Chris Thomas of Premier Reticles LTD. They have done extensive research on this subject and currently are responsible for the Mil-dot reticle in the USMC Unertl optics as well as the retrofit Mil-dot reticles for Leupold. So Chris if you read this please forgive me for plagiarizing you. 


The term or measurement of Mils (or Milliradian) is a trigonometric function used to configure and use the Mil-dot in estimating range. Here are the specifications.


1 Milliradian = 1/1000th of a radian, 1 radian = 2 PI


1 Milliradian = .0573 degrees or 6283 parts of a circle


Earlier this century, the Infantry used “Mils” to correct the trajectory for indirect fire and crew served weapons mainly because Mils were finer than degrees and enabled them to be more accurate. The Infantry divided a circle into 6280 parts or 1/6280th = 1 mil. This was a slight deviation from the truth but was close enough and made it easier for them to compute and work with. Shortly thereafter the Artillery took notice of the system and decided to refine this system even further and rounded the number to a even easier number, 6400 mils to a circle or 1/6400 = 1 mil or 17.8 mils = 1 degree. This system stands today and is widely used in all services.


 When the Army decided to incorporate a range estimation tool into it sniper optics it chose this system and had Leupold make the reticle accordingly. I should clarify this point for those out there not familiar with the Leupold M3 Ultra currently used by the US Army. Many people believe that the Mark IV M3 that they see advertised by various retailers is the same as the optics on the Army M24. Although they are identical in appearance, they are not the same. Specifically the reticles are different, the M3 Ultra uses a etched glass reticle with round or Army mil-dots, whereas the available Mark IV M3’s sport a Premier wire reticle with the USMC oblong dots. I can imagine that there are a few people saying “what is the difference?” about now. Well let me expound and all will become clear (like muddy water).


 Since I have gotten to this point let me cut to the chase and present you with the math that accompanies what I have already said.


ARMY: 360 degrees = 1 circle
   6400 mils = 1 circle, 360
    17.8 mils = 1 degree
   360 degrees divided by 6400 = .0563 multiplied by 60 = 3.375 MOA or
    1 mil = 3.375 moa  





USMC: 360 degrees = 1 circle
   6283 mils = 1 circle
   17.5 mils = 1 degree
   360 degrees divided by 6283 = .0573 multiplied by 60 = 3.438 MOA or
    1 mil = 3.438 moa





 Therefore:
ARMY: 3.375 moa multiplied by 1.047” = 3.53” @ 100 yards
USMC: 3.438 moa multiplied by 1.047” = 3.6” @ 100 yards 


** Note: 1 Minute of Angle = 1.047” @ 100 yards (True) 


While we are distinguishing between Army and USMC reticles, I feel it is prudent to mention another difference. Not only are the mils themselves different but the value of the dots is also different. Army dots while commonly called ¾ mil dots are in reality ¾ moa dots (or .22 mil). This is to say that 1 dot subtends (covers) three quarters of a minute of angle or .75 inch at 100 yards. The USMC dots are ¼ mil dots (or .86 moa) from edge to edge. Each USMC/Premier oblong dot subtends .86” at 100 yards. Now I suppose someone out there is wondering what this is all about and what difference does it make. Well, it makes a greater difference at longer ranges but in the immediate future, it has a great impact on how the optics is used. 


With Army dots, a quarter mil (1/4 mil) is the width of the dot from edge to edge plus the width of the line. As you can see from the diagram the ½ mil, ¾ mil and 1-mil locations are depicted. The commonly missed identified are the ¼ mil and the ¾ mil.   





USMC dots, the measurements are easier to identify and remember.





 I am sure that all of the above is somewhat confusing but, you have to remember that the mil-dot system merely provides aiming reference points and a range estimation tool. Where the actual locations of the ¼, ½, ¾ or 1 mil point are depends on where your starting point is. What I have drawn above gives you the quick reference points. If you are set on using center - center or edge – edge starting points then you will have to find those subsequent points. The bottom line is two fold. One, know what the values are of the reticle you are using. Two, use the same points all of the time. Do not get “wrapped around the axle” about what is best (edge to edge or center to center), just pick which ever one is easiest for you to use. 


Now, what does all of this mean? Well it means that depending on the reticle you are using, you must understand the math associated with it. In some cases you may be using both systems and therefore you must be versatile enough to make the translation. 


One of the problems is that all of the reference material available today does not make the distinction between the two reticles and assumes the reader is knows which system he has (and that there is a difference). The US Army manuals, TC 23-14, FM 23-10, and ST 31-20-4 all use the “round” dots, while the USMC manual FMFM 1-3B uses the oval dots. Civilian reference like John Plaster’s “Ultimate Sniper” which plagiarizes several manuals uses the Army dots as his example. Additionally, optic manufacturers do not always tell you how to use their reticle. Here are some optics and the reticles they use. 


SCOPE


ARMY DOTS


USMC DOTS

Leupold M3 Ultra
X
 
Leupold M1 Ultra 10x
X
 
Leupold 16x Ultra
X
 
Leupold MK 4 series
 
X
Tasco SS (all models)
X
 
Bausch & Lomb Tactical
X
 
Night Force
X
 
Zeiss ZF84
 
X
Unertl
 
X
Hensoldt
 
X
Burris
 
X
Europtik
X
 
McMillian
X
 

Of course, there are several others but this should give you an idea.


Let’s get to the “meat and potatoes” of the issue, which is how to employ a mil-dot reticle. Of course, most shooters know that the mils are used for basically two reasons, to estimate range and to hold for wind. First, we will look at the more important of the two, range estimation. I have read many articles on using this system, everything from reprints of the service manuals to someone’s personal interpretation. Here is what we teach in the Army. First when mil’ing humans the mil will be derived from the crotch to the head, not from feet to head. The reason for this is that the majority of people’s height is derived in the legs not the torso. The common human torso is approximately 1 meter (39”) from crotch to head. Now before I get hate mail about this issue, let me say that for field sniping this measurement will suffice. I usually use either the center of the reticle or one of the heavy posts as a starting point, it is easier to hold and therefore read. Once the starting point is set then look up and read the mil’s. Mil’s need to read to the 10th of a mil (ie. 1.6, 2.3, etc) in order to be accurate, which by the way is the point here ACCURACY. Estimation of range is the hardest skill a sniper can acquire. There are areas where the sniper can “swag” (scientific wild ass guess) something but, range estimation needs to be as accurate as possible. Once you have the mil reading then you plug that into the formula.


1000 = range in meters
mils


A word here about meters verses yards. We normally use meters, however you must be able to calculate the difference. As I have said you can (and should) mil humans from crotch to head but you can also estimate range by mil’ing from shoulder to shoulder and side to side of the head. CAUTION HERE, never use the shoulder to shoulder method on targets past 600 meters and NEVER use the side to side of the head past 400 meters. In reality the side to side should only be used close up or when there is absolutely no other target available. While on that note, let me mention something else. I have read articles where people are talking about mil’ing targets out past 1500 meters. Just let me say that mils are extremely difficult to read on humans past 1000 meters from 10x optics. Higher power optics will increase this range somewhat but mirage and environmental conditions will make readings inconsistent and unreliable (note: the mil-dot reticle must be made to function at the desired power if using a Premier Reticle). The formula for mil’ing from shoulder to shoulder and side to side of the head is as follows;


  500 = range in meters **Shoulder to Shoulder method
mils


250 = range in meters **Side to Side of the head method
mils


Okay, we have discussed using the mil-dot reticle against human targets and at this point it is relevant to mention that the mil-dot reticle can be used to determine range using other items as well. First, you must know the height or length of what you are measuring. As noted above we used the number of 1 meter as a standard and 1000 as a constant. If you are measuring something that is 2 meters (78”) than the constant would be 2000. If the target was say a varmint about 10” high (9.75”) you could use 250 as a constant. You can do the math for anything else you are trying to determine range.


Now onto the next subject, holding off for winds. Like most subjects in sniping, a lot has been written about winds. Normally determining wind speed is the subject of the article and the result is a “dial on” solution. With the mil-dot reticle, you can hold off for the winds in increments of usually ¼ mil. Anything smaller that ¼ is too finite to really deal with. Now I know snipers (usually students, me included) who use things like “light and heavy” ¼, ½, ¾, and 1 mil. For one thing this measurement or aiming point is not definable, two what exactly is a light ¼ mil? It is either ¼ mil or it isn’t. Another thing is that in sniping we generally accept a 2 moa standard for the weapon, shooter and ammunition in existing environmental conditions. That is to say that in any given situation the sniper should be able to hold 2 moa. So, what is the difference between a ¼ and a ½ mil? The answer will come back “a hit or a miss”. While that is true a lot of the times, it usually a function of shooter error rather than a bad hold or call. What I mean is that if the rifle were benched and fired using a ¼ mil hold and then a ½ mil hold the result would not be enough to miss (1/4 mil is 1 inch at 400 yards). Back to the wind holds. Once you have determined the wind speed you can easily convert that to a mil formula and use that as a hold. Of course the best answer is to figure that all out before hand (or just get the chart) and have it available for reference. Before anyone gets too excited, this of course will be dependent on the caliber, bullet weight, velocity, range, wind speed and direction. If you have figured out the minute of angle value for specific winds using your specific weapon/caliber you can convert those figures (best method) into mil hold offs. The last part of this particular aspect is that ALL HOLDS ARE TAKEN FROM THE CENTER OF THE AVAILABLE TARGET. Not from the leading edge or anywhere else. This primarily due to standardization between the shooter and spotter, which I will go into shortly.


Next is using the mil-dot reticle for holding off for elevation changes. Same technique is applied here. Once you have figured out the elevation changes for various distances you can convert them to mils and use the reticle to hold over or under. A word of caution should be given here. As you know the longer the range the more exact the call and hold has to be, so it should be understood that mil hold overs should NOT be use at extended ranges usually exceeding 700 meters. This technique is best used in conjunction with a point blank zero (my previous article) such as 500 meters (or yards). What this will do is allow the sniper to engage targets from approximately 175 meters to approximately 700 meters. Again a note of caution, this is for military snipers who can use it to suppress targets. Obviously, this system is NOT inherently accurate or capable of precision target engagements.


One of the more useful aspects of the mil-dot reticle is that of engaging moving targets. This is done by incorporating leads, which then (just like shooting skeet) are used to engage a target. Without going into the leads themselves, the mil-dots allow the shooter to establish a definable aiming point for which to engage the target. There are several aspects that must be considered here when engaging moving targets. The first is target speed. Typically people will walk, jog, run or sprint. This makes target speed determination extremely difficult, especially if there is a considerable distance involved. Of course, the best answer is to wait until the target is stopped, but if that isn’t an option then leads will have to be used. The second aspect is terrain. If the terrain is uneven, the target will move up and down again making the shot difficult. The next item is masking or vegetation through which you bullet will have to pass. If the team is in a hide with moderate vegetation between them and the target, then tracking and engagement will be extremely difficult. The last aspect is environmentals, namely wind and temperature. If there is substantial wind then the lead will have to either be added to or subtracted from the lead. It is possible to have to hold behind the target in order to hit it. The end all here is that if you are in the business that may require engagement of moving targets of any and all varieties, then you have to practice in like conditions (sounds familiar doesn’t it?).


Finally, this article is ending. The last subject connected with the mil-dot reticle is shooter – spotter dialogue. This is the single most important aspect of sniping. I have seen excellent individual snipers who when teamed together could not function. The team’s dialogue must be understandable to both members, complete, short and concise. If you are a part of unit in which you may have to work with a variety of snipers or spotters then it is extremely important that there is a standardized dialogue within the unit. The basic elements of the dialogue are;


1.      Warning (alerts sniper or spotter to possible action)
2.      Target location (short and methodical)
3.      Target description (short but detailed enough for the other to identify)
4.      Target status (what is the target doing)
5.      Distance determination (a variety of methods, military spotters will issue “mil’s?”
6.      Range confirmation (either confirmation through secondary system or re-milling)
7.      Index (sniper either dials range on or prepares to hold)
8.      Wind call (spotter determines wind speed and direction and tells sniper to either dial it on or to hold)
9.      Fire command (usually this is automatic after the wind call, if the sniper hasn’t fired within 9 seconds the spotter gives hold and recalls wind)


I guess I have said enough about this issue. I hope this benefits someone out there (good guys). As anyone knows who deals with this profession, regardless of the equipment, methods or techniques a sniper must practice and practice often. Most shooters spend all of their training time on a range shooting paper. Although this is needed, snipers must train in all of the other aspects and none are as important as range estimation. Let me close on this note, laser range finders and all of the other whiz bang gadgets are nice but what will you do when the batteries go dead?





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happyhunter
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