Rapid Z, Nightforce Velocity, etc.

Yes, they are better for windage than "plain" BDC's, however you are still holding in air at anything other than whole distances. Most take these scopes, go to a bench and then proceed to shoot them at targets that are exactly 300, 400, 500, or 600 yards. This does not show you the deficiencies, or attributes of any of them. I'll try to take some pictures through a NF Velocity 600 for reference.

Think about this- if I posted a one inch dot at 100 yards, had you run 100 yards and back under time while I dialed your scope to hit where 470 yards should be (in air) and where a 12 mph half value wind would be (in air) would you really believe that using the reticle as such is the best way to hit that dot...?

This goes along with what Carl posted. Re- Horus Reticles. It is important to note that we have Horus reticles in every new military sniper optic because the issued Leupold scopes didn't adjust correctly.


In any case the is what it looks like-

[Linked Image]


It is the ultimate Christmas tree reticle. Every military sniper knows it and the vast majority use only the reticle instead of dialing. However, given the same drill as above NO ONE chooses to hold to hit that 1 inch dot. Not to get into the psychological and physiological aspects of shooting ( they are important), but intuitively (visually) we understand that the middle is the middle and under stress we WANT to put those crosshairs on the target.