Rifle Scopes Xmas tree vs traditional reticle

[LostInTranslation]

New to (hopefully) long range shooting...

One question I have is - how desirable is Xmas tree reticle as opposed to a more traditional? My understanding is that the trend is "dial drop, hold wind" which would imply one would not use xmas tree area... No big harm in getting it I guess - other than a bit busier reticle...

To be specific - Burris Xtr III has SCR and SCR2 reticles - one traditional and other xmas tree type.

Thank you

 

[Glassaholic]

Do you intend to compete? Some venues have stages where you are not allowed to dial, but these seem to be fading from what I've heard. Look at a Christmas tree as a backup should your turret fail. I like Christmas tree's that do not obscure the image too much, so basically anything from Hodnet (Horus) would be thrown out right away. My favorite tree reticles are ones that have dots in the tree area instead of solid lines, think SKMR3 vs. MR4. Many more manufacturers are offering dots now so there are quite a few to choose from (just off the top of my head: March FML-TR1, Minox MR4, TT Gen 3XR, Vortex EBR-7c, Nightforce Mil-XT, Burris SCR2, Sig Sauer DEV-L, I'm sure there's more, just can't think of them right now).

For the more traditional non-tree reticles, I would say look into the ones that have .2 mil hash marks vs. the traditional .5 mil hash mark. .5 mil works but if you're truly shooting long range the .2 mil spacing could help you with wind holds vs. "guessing" with the .5 mil reticles.

Keep in mind there is no rule for having or not having a tree, it is really up to the individual to determine what they prefer.

 

[Animal357]

I hated the christmas tree reticle when looking at scope because it was too busy. That was until I actually shot one. All the busyness goes away when you actually shoot it

 

[nhdeadhead]

For shooting paper/steel/targets I perfer the Xmas tree. Sometimes I like to play with the dials and other times it’s fun to practice hold overs. It’s all personal preference though and some of the tree reticles are busier than others but they all serve a purpose so try to match the scope/reticle to your expectation of use