Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Leupold B&C Reticle?

What is the experience out there with the Leupold B&C reticle? I am considering getting a 3.5-10 VX3 with the B&C reticle for my .300 Win Mag. In looking at the specs I wonder how precise the hash marks would be since they lump a variety of cartridges together for each setting. For example a 150 grain 30-06 is in the same group as the 180 grain .300 Win Mag and .300 Weatherby. Ballistics tables show about 4 inches difference in trajectory at 400 yards between the 150 30-06 and 180 .300 Win Mag loads.

How well does this work in practice? Are the 300 and 400 yard hash marks going to be fairly precise for a .300 Win mag? I am most interested in the 400 yard hash mark since at 300 yards you can just hold a few inches high if you have a 200 yard zero. I'm not likely to shoot much beyond 400 yards.

I have one on my 300 win mag and it works well with 180gr bullets.
However I like the Zeiss Rapid Z much better.

I use JBM ballistics to check point of impact at 300 and 400 yards to get an idea of the appropriate zero range. The 1st bar is roughly 2.2MOA low and the second is 4.8MOA low. It is the zero distance than can manipulate the reticle and allow two different rifles to both have the 300 and 400yd bars be really close. For instance, I use the Leupold reticles with two different rifles shooting at roughly 2,850fps, but the 160AB in my 7mmSAUM is much sleeker than the 200BT from my 338WM. As a result, the 338 must be zeroed at a slightly greater distance for the 300/400 bars to line up with point of impact. If memory serves, the SAUM is right around 2" high at 100yds, while the 338WM impacts a bit higher at that distance. Both hit the 300yd and 400yd gongs with their appropriate aiming points.

Plugging in the following into JBM trajectory online:

180gr Nosler Partition
3,000fps MV
1.5" sight height
Standard atmosphere

I play with the zero distance to see if I get close to 4.8MOA of indicated drop at 400yds, which should match up with the B&C. A 250 or 225yd zero show less than 4.8MOA of drop, but a 215yd zero has 4.8MOA exactly at 400yds. Using the same 215yd zero, the indicated drop at 300yds is 2.0MOA, which is really close to the 2.2MOA Leupold uses for the 300yd hash bar. The 0.2MOA difference at that range is around a half inch. No big deal. It also tells me that the impact should be 1.9" high at 100yds to get that 215yd zero. So I get my rifle zeroed where my groups are centered up at roughly 2" high at 100yds and then start shooting at 300 and 400 yards to verify the impacts. It should be pretty close, and I'd fine tune it a few clicks if necessary to get the 400yd bar hitting correctly. Those couple of clicks will matter very little at 100-300yd distances but are more important at greater distance. I've seen this procedure work on many hunting rifles my family shoots. Pretty easy once you've done it before.

Thanks! Sounds like it should be fairly easy to make it work. I am familiar with the JBM calculator.

I used one for awhile, until I got rid of most of my variable scopes for fixed powers. I liked it. But I took a different approach.

While I don't recall the exact ranges I derived for each wire, the big point is that I didn't use their numbers nor their technique of aligning the arrows on the power ring. On mine, a 2.5x8, I simply twisted the power ring right to the 8 power stop, used that to do all shooting with the extra wires. The rifle, a 300 Win Mag, was zero'ed for 260 yards w/ 180 gr handloads, and I used the wires to go from there (in zeros at longer ranges), vice zeroing at 200 yards.

All that said, I find I like the 6x36 w/ LRD just as well, maybe better.

You can also just sight in at 400 yards and zero the 400 yard hash mark. Then shoot at 200 with the center duplex and you should be within a couple inches. Plenty precise enough for deer hunting.

I have a couple VX3 2.5-8x36 with B&C reticles and just leave them on 8x 99% of the time(so the hash marks match up).

Good info! Do you know if those are the same numbers for the LRD that Leupy offers?

My idea of the perfect scope is a VX3, 4.5-14X40 LR, with the custom shop installing a LRD reticle. Wouldn't that be sweet?

Yes, exactly the same for 300 and 400yd, also 7.8 for 500yd, same for both. The B&C has the additional short hash for 450yd.

The dots cover alot imo.
I have the b&c in a 3.5-10x40 on my 280ai.
A 140 ttsx is leaving the barrel at about 3150.
I am sighted in at 300, and hit the gong near center out to 600.
At 700, use the thick to thin as you aiming point, but look at where the lowest wire is, and move the thick to thin there.
Like mine alot. Not complicated, and I have it on 10x.

I ended up getting a VX-3 3.5-10x 40mm with the B&C reticle. When zeroed at 200 yards with 180 grain bullets in a .300 Win Mag it seems to be dead on at 300 yards using the hold point for that distance. Haven't been able to shoot it at 400 yards yet but so far I am pleased with the scope and reticle.