I'm not a fan of BDC reticles as there are too many variables involved. Like cartridge choice, what magnification the rifle is on and so forth.
I sight-in all my rifles to hit 2" to 2.5" high at 100 yards. I've killed deer out to 310 yards with no problem whatsoever. That is my maximum effective range in reality.
The truth is, 99.9% of the deer I've killed in my lifetime have been under this distance anyway.
It's not that complicated, but I can see that hunting deer in the Southeast with maximum shots being 300 yds wouldn't require a BDC.
The BDC variables involved are all controlled by you. What that means is that it is highly flexible and customizable. That isn't a bad thing.
I set mine up to use the highest power setting. If I have a long shot, I also want all the magnification. Otherwise, it stays on a lower power. I use the companies' app and program the bullet, BC, velocity, and typical atmospherics where I will hunt. I sight the scope in based upon how the lower hashmarks line up for distance. You can still sight in a BDC reticle exactly how you sight in now, but then you'll also have other aim-points below the crosshairs to account for drop at distance. Like you said, if you never have longer shots, it really doesn't serve a purpose.
In my tests and in actual hunting, I've found the BDC to be accurate and simple, once I have set it up and then ranged the shot. As I said in an earlier post, the longest shot I've taken on an animal with one was at 440 yds, and the bullet impacted about an inch to the right of where I was aiming on the elk. It was across a canyon, and the early morning air was dead-still for me. I didn't have to reference my chart, because I knew where the approximate 400 and 450 hashmarks were, and there was no wind. Simple.
In that same group of elk, my brother also shot his, just before I shot mine, also using a BDC set up for what he was shooting. I've seen him take shots past 550 with the same reticle to good effect on animals. After shooting quite a bit at 300, 500, and 600 yds, in diverse places, I am not comfortable shooting at animals past about about 500 unless there is no wind. It's all about confidence, I have confidence that BDC's account for drop just fine when set up properly.
