Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics BDC, mildots or Turrets.....?

As above but using a mil based reticle

Zero wind, 3 mils elevation-





10mph full value wind, elevation and 1.1 mil for wind-








These are just simple targets. They have good presentation (ie. you can see them), are painted white against a dark background, and are stationary. The simulated wind is the easiest for most to hit in. But it should be obvious to even the casual observer that one way is going to result in more hits, especially with any wind. Some will try to claim that BDC are "faster", however that is only true at exact ranges (300, 400, etc) and really doesn't play out that way regardless due to wind, target size Etc.

In order of hit rates-

Dialing elevation/holing wind with reticle
Holding using a mil based reticle (or MOA)
Hiding using a BDC reticle


The middle is always the middle, and any deviation from that is a compromise. Wind had to be dealt with and accounted for and we want to eliminate as many variables as possible. Having a "ruler" in the reticle to account for wind can only be an asset. A mil based reticle can easily be setup and used like a BDC.

There are multiple factors that determine speed of hits- distance, target size, shooter position, target movement, wind, shooter fatigue, excitement, heart rate, etc... Long range shooting on animals is not about speed. Those that talk about needing to take rushed shots on animals past 300 yards or so, are also generally the first ones to condemn long range shooting at all.

What I can state unequivocally is that BDC reticles never have higher hit rates than dialing. They can only hope to match it in the easiest of situations. As well due to the aforementioned variables, when actually timed when tired, excited, from less than ideal positions dialing is almost always faster to HIT.