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Old 06-28-2012 | 04:45 AM
  #5  
homers brother
Nontypical Buck
 
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: WY
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It's not clear from your original post how you intend to use this optic.

For most hunting applications, a duplex-type reticle is perfectly adequate. If you're hunting at longer ranges, you might gain some utility from a mil-dot or BDC-type reticle, but your efforts will be enhanced most by reliable DOPE and target-type turrets, which I see are an option on this Nikon. If you're shooting at extreme ranges (which I would loosely define as beyond 600 yards), this is not the scope for you.

The mil-dot reticle is best used for "milling" range (using math rather than a laser rangefinder to determine range). If you simply plan to use it to assist with "holdover", I would recommend you reconsider the BDC reticle. Some ballistic apps might give you a reticle hold solution based on a mil-dot reticle, but in my experience, the mil-dot is less precise in that application than some of the newer reticles like Leupold's TMR.

As well, you should also consider that most consumer-oriented optics place the reticle on the Second Focal Plane (SFP). If your scope's reticle remains the same size as you increase magnification, you have a SFP optic. This arrangement makes any measurement or adjustment taken from the reticle reliable only at a particular power setting specified by the manufacturer (often somewhere around 14x). The higher-cost alternative is a First Focal Plane (FFP) optic, where the reticle increases in size as magnification increases. Measurements or adjustments taken from a FFP optic are generally reliable at any level of magnification.

Ultimately though, your use will dictate whether a mil-dot or enhanced mil-dot reticle holds any real utility for you. They can either clutter up your sight picture with dots or subtensions, or significantly enhance your firing solutions.
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