Rifle Scopes Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

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kmcdonou

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Nov 3, 2010
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#1
I've done a lot of reading on mil dots as a beginning shooter. At this point, since I have lot to learn, I don't want to use mil dots for the ranging feature. I'll use a laser range finder for that.

I understand I can use a ballistic calculator like Exbal to calculate for any load what the dots on the verticle cross hair will represent in drop/rise at various ranges. Based on that information, if the center of my reticle is sighted in at 100 yards and I have a 300 yard shot, Exbal would tell me what dot below the center of the reticle to aim at the target.

Let's say it is also windy, maybe 10mph. I know the horizontal dots are used for windage. However, if I am centering on one of the lower vertical dots (because I am shooting at 300 yards), how do I accurately move to the left or right to accommodate windage? Do I just have to draw an imaginary line down from the horizontal crosshair (at or between a dot) Exbal tells me to use based on the wind mph?

I can see if you used your turrets to dial either windage or elevation, you can use the dots on either the horizontal or vertical crosshair to accommodate the other.

Is their an effective way to accommodate holdover and windage at the same time in a precise manner, or do I have to do it as described above?

I apologize if I didn't explain this well enough.
 
#2
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

It is obvious by your post that you have a lot to learn, and that's OK.

To answer your question about holding.... YES

You are doing what I refer to as "holding in open space" which as you can imagine is not easy. With practice it can be done very effectively.

Given the situation you explained.. It would be useful do dial your elevation that way you only had to hold horizontal for windage. But sometimes this isnt always possible, in which case you need to hold both... PRACTICE.

One additional thought... Remember that from the center of your reticle to the center of your first mildot is 1 mil. That leaves a lot of space in between. You will find that hold for either windage or elevation rarely workout to a perfect 1 mil hold, get use to to... and welcome to the world of the mildot.
 
#3
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

90% percent of the time or probably more you will dial the elevation for your shot and holding the crosshairs where you want the bullet to hit. If you need to hold wind then you can do it using the horizontal mil dots.
 
#5
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

As mentioned above, easiest way is to dial elevation, and hold for wind.

You said that you use a laser range finder so your calculations for distance are always going to be more accurate than for wind.

When holding for both, my method is to first hold for distnce, then move left or right as needed for wind. As you can see from Chillers example, elevation hold is going to be a larger value than wind.

And practice, I just set up a .22 for just this purpose.
 
#6
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

You will usually want to dial for range, then hold for wind.

Holding for wind is one area where the mil reticle shines. Say you have a 1.2 mil wind and you make a good shot, then the wind velocity drops 25% for a second shot. You just mentally reduce the hold 25% and you're good to go. If you dial for wind and hold on/off for let-ons and offs, then it will be more difficult to envision the amount to hold than if you use the percentages of change on a centered reticle.
 
#7
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

All of your posts were really, really helpful in filling-in some of my gaps in understanding mil dots. I can see where it definitely will take practice "holding in space." Yet, as you all have said, you don't have to start with that. I can simply dial elevation and hold for wind.

The thing I like about mil dots is there is a lot of flexibility on how you use them. Yet, if used at their fullest they provide you freedom from having to use range finder (which can fail when you need it most) and give you the ability to make a very accurate shot.

Thanks again for your help.
 
#9
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

Yeah, I was hoping to find that type of reticle in a fixed power 10x scope of good quality,with the lines and turrets in mils, but I am not having much luck.

From all the reading I've done the best I can come up with is the Super Sniper 10x42 HD. It's about all I want to pay. I just wish someone offered a comparable scope in a xmas tree configuration.
 
#11
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

Christmas tree reticules are nice, I run them on two of my competiton rifles. However, I ran a 3-12 50mm PMII with a standard P3 Mil-Dot for many years. If you want a Christmas tree in a Mil/Mil scope you're going to pay.

Honestly, learning to use what you have is ticket. Plenty of guys use standard Mil-Dot scopes just as effectivly as all the guys using tricked out optics like the Horus reticules. I have said this before and I will say it again: it's not the rifle, it's the guy pulling the trigger.

Get a reliable optic and spend some serious time using it. If you can afford it take a class down at Rifles Only. Jacob and crew will sort you out on holdovers, shooting in the wind, and all kinds of other tricks.

Good luck!
 
#12
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

My advice to the OP is to try to get a scope with matching reticle and turrets, meaning Mil/Mil, and not Mil/MOA to make life easier.

I would also recommend that you look at a Mil Hash, something like a MLR reticle from NF, or Mil Gap from USO. Personally, I find these easier to read down to 1/10th of a mil than the Mil-Dots.
 
#13
Re: Newbie question - mil dots and holdover/windage

i like to dial for elevation and windage, however most of the time by the time you are doing that windspeed has changed. holding off for wind is quicker and gets you in the neighborhood.

with some information such as current wind speed and range, armed with a data card of how much the wind is blowing your shot off at those 2 particular factors, you can make a fairly accurate estimate of where to hold off for that drift with the mildots.

of course it also depends on a first or second focal plane optic and what magnification you are on depending on that optic's focal plane(not to confuse with that for now), some simple math is available for both first or second planed scopes, you just have to know which one you have.

+1 on getting a .22 to get accustomed to the mechanics of it.
 
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