I've found ballistic reticles to be a good tool for shots beyond PBR. If you get the data right, the charts are so close as to make shots to well past 400 a snap. I've only ever been about 1/4 MOA off on shots on animals using a ballistic reticle.
Dialing isn't my thing. I tried it, and for hunting, I don't like it. For one thing, taking my eyes off the animals to dick with my scope dope isn't good.
I totally agree HNS, but my problem is making a reticle line up for something like a 300 RUM blasting a 180 at 3350-3400. I tried to mess around with the 6x36 with dots and everytime I'd end up with a random yardage somewhere that just doesn't work out for me. I think Ballistic reticles are great if they work for you though, and I agree about taking your eyes off the animal but again, for me, if I am shooting past 400 yards, the animal has to stick around long enough for me to get prone anyhow, so zipping my turret to 1 mil while I am getting settled in doesn't take any extra time for me.
I've been randomly lucky in that regard in the field, but I agree with the criticism of the system. With something shooting that flat, I would zero at 300 for sure, but still, a bit of "Kentucky elevation" is always going to be required. I was concerned the first time I had to shoot beyond 400, but it was so easy to "guess" where to put the reticle, and the bullet went right where I wanted. By the fifth time, with three different rifles and three different trajectories, and still having to remember a "chart" of drops and windage, I decided that it works better for me.
I get that dialing is ideal for some, and I can see situations where it would be ideal for me, just not from actual field use.
My dialing (with a repeatable scope) turned into a goatfuck both times (two different rifles) using an MOA dial. No fault of the system, just operator error. The first time, the buck was about 350 when I first saw him and ranged him, so I dialed for that, but by the time I got him back in the scope, he had run a ways, as he had busted us, and was 390 by the time I shot (I figured this out later), then about 410 when I shot again, and he died about 425, finally, after 4 hits, all marginally low. I was having to use Kentucky elevation anyway, as I didn't have time to range him again, and after hitting him with the first shot (poorly, through the brisket, but put bullet and bone fragments into his heart), I couldn't let him just keep on running away.
