Re: Focal Planes: is the FFP worth it for mil dot?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">We've held on to the Imperial measurement systm as well when metric is better in every way.</div></div>
Begin standard screed:
There is nothing "metric" about mils. Both milliradians and MOA are measurements of angle which have <span style="font-weight: bold">nothing</span> whatsoever to do with any system of linear measure.
There are two times Pi radians in a circle, and a milliradian is simply one-thousands of a radian. One milliradian is an angle which subtends an arc whose length is 1/1000th of the distance from the vertex.
In other words, one milliradian subtends an arc whose length is:
1 yard at 1000 yards.
1 meter at 1000 meters.
1 mile at 1000 miles.
1 league at 1000 leagues.
1 fathom at 1000 fathoms.
1 inch at 1000 inches.
1 foot at 1000 feet.
1 lightyear at 1000 lightyears.
1 attoparsec at 1000 attoparsecs.
3.6 inches at 3600 inches (100 yards).
Claiming that there is something "metric" about milliradians is just a demonstration of innumeracy.
It has nothing to do with any English or Metric system of linear measure.
For more on the mildot reticle, see:
<
http://www.excaliburenterprises.com/scopes/mil-dot.html>
It makes life easier to have a scope which adjusts in the same system the reticle is graduated in - whether that's MOA, IPHY, or mils is a matter of taste and practice.
And, if you want to know how to calculate how much to hold over or under, see:
Calculating Holdovers and Holdunders
/end standard screed
Man, I'm glad I have that stored in a file so I don't have to keep re-writing it!