If you are using a BDC reticle as a crutch you are probably shooting beyond your ability unless you are a trained sniper.

Snipers don't typically use BDC reticles. Mil-dots and variations thereof continue to rule in the sniper world. BDC reticles correct (sort of, and based on GENERAL ammunition data) for drop only. They don't correct for wind, for spin drift, density altitude, or any number of other factors necessary to facilitate a first-round hit. And they certainly won't help you make a quick correction if that first round is a miss.

For most of us, hunting shots are going to be 300 yards or less, and most common cartridges today are pretty capable of handling the situation in that case without much more than "Kentucky windage."

I love when they use the word "sniper"... :woot:

BDC is just another tool to help you. That said most big game rifles are sighted in so even a 300 yard shot has minimal drop and a BDC is not really needed. The problem is all the other factors that have to be factored in beyond 300 yards so relying on the the BDC to account for all them won't work. Go for the BDC but practice how to shoot with the wind. I talked to a kid that purchased a cheaper optic that had a BDC. He thought that if he sighted in at 100 yards, he could now shoot to 600 yards because his scope showed he could. ;)
My only reply was to practice with paper plates at 400 yards and see how you do first.

I really like the Nikon scopes with BDCs on shotguns and muzzleloaders...though you have to actually figure out on the range where the dots are actually at...

My Winchester 94 wears only iron sights...

My other two rifles (Savage 7mm RM and a Savage 270) are both equipped with mil-dot scopes zeroed at 200 yards (range/drop compensation is on an index card under the stock cartridge carrier) --

A rangefinder is also a real necessity for long range shooting...

ALL OF THAT SAID, my last two antlered bucks were taken at 70 yards or less...my longest shot in the past five years was last year...200 yards with a shotgun/slug

BDC and Mil-dot reticles are completely unnecessary for the vast majority of hunting rigs at the vast majority of hunting distances. Most popular chamberings ranging from 243 Win to the magnums when sighted a couple high at a 100 will put you solidly in the kill out to 250-275 yards. For that rare opportunity (for most folks) when the critter is slightly beyond that, hold upper third or on top of back. I personally prefer a clean looking plex type reticle.

Wayspr said it better than I did in my earlier post but that's what I meant.

Use a flat shooting round, sight in correctly to take max advantage of your chosen round, and in 99.9% of real world situations you are in good shape. No gimmicks or gadgets needed.

Let me rephrase it;

BDC reticles work good for me !

I think that many sportsman have gone away from the premise of MPBR and zero hold-over, or rather, have raised their standards for hunting accuracy, and have reduced/tightened their metrics for determining MPBR.

(For those that are not familiar with the acronym, MPBR = Maximum Point Blank Range: the maximum range that a shooter is able to hold dead center of a given target size, and never rise above the top nor fall below the bottom of the target across that entire flight).

For example: Consider a typical whitetail hunting rifle cartridge, say a .30-06. A .30-06 with a relatively low drag bullet (BC = 0.495) and reasonable muzzle velocity (2950fps).

Case 1: Consider that I assign I want to hit a whitetail buck in the lungs, assuming approximately 6" tall for my target. MPBR for that load on a 6" target is 292yrds, with a 250yrd zero.

Case 2: Consider that I want to hit that same buck in the heart rather than just lungs, reducing my target size to approx. 4". Now my MPBR has reduced to 250yrds, with a 214yrd zero.

Case 3: Further, consider that I've decided that I want to take that rifle coyote hunting, and only want to make heart shots, assigning that the vertical cross section of a coyote heart is 2.5" tall. My MPBR has now reduced to 212yrds with a 182yrd zero. Headshots with a 1" margin for error on a coyote would drop me down to 161yrds with a 142yrd zero.

Moral of the story, as hunters strive for better and better accuracy of their bullet placement on game, we've reduced our ability to 'hold dead on'.

Personally, I'd NEVER take a shot on a game animal if I knew I had a 6" margin for error, therefore I'd never use Case 1.

I 100% agree with the premise that shooters should have some sort of reticle aid to make quick adjustments. Dialing in turrets is great, but sometimes, you don't have the luxury of time. My rifles wear Mil-dot scopes so I can adjust quickly using the reticle only.

My contention against BDC scopes isn't about the reticles themselves, but rather based on the reason some people buy them. BDC reticles can give "under-skilled shooters" a false sense of security. Untwitting hunters might not realize that just because the dot says "600yrds" doesn't mean it's actually ON at 600yrds for their rifle/load." If a BDC scope user knows that for HIS LOAD, the 400yrd dot is actually 380yrds and the 600yrd dot is actually 512yrds under the current conditions, then a BDC can be just as useful as any rangefinding reticle.

The overwhelming majority of hunters (not target shooters) have no need for BDC or Mil-dot reticles. Many have them but don't have a clue how to truly use them. The average guy that shoots less than a box of ammo per year probably shouldn't be pulling the trigger at ranges that such a reticle would make a difference anyway. For guys like me that shoot alot but hunt in an area where a long shot stretches to 250 yards with most being under a 100, MPBR is very useful info.