How many here use a Mill Dot Recticle in your scope to judge range?

[DALESCARPENTRY]

How many here use a Mill Dot Recticle in your scope to judge range? I really don't have the extra cash to buy a range finder so I bought a scope last week with Mill Dots to judge range. I bought a Vortex Viper 6.5x20x44 scope. I will some day when I can afford it buy a Bushnell arch 1200 but until then I am going to have to make due with this system. The math really is not all that hard. If you know the height of your target in inches you would multiply that times 27.77. Then devide that by the number of Mills read. I am going to buy one of those Milldot Masters next week to help me with this so I don't have to carry a caculator in the field. For those that don't know what that is it is a slide rule type thing. It greatly speeds up the process because them Groundhogs are not going to hang around all day waiting for you to come up with a shooting solution. Of those that respond here about using a Mill Dot system for judging range I would also like to know if you use the Milldot Master. I made up a drop chart today for my 22-250 that I can tape to the side of my stock. I also went to the range today and everything checks out to the 300 yard mark. My drop chart goes out to 600 yards so I would bet it won't be exact out that far but I bet it gets me a lot closer than just trying to guess hold over. When I say I made up a drop chart what I did was run my info through a exterior ballistics program. You tell it what your zero is, caliber, Balistic coeficent, well hell it is just easier to give you this link and it is a good one to save to your favorites.
http://biggameinfo.com/BalCalc.aspx
This program gives you how many clicks up you need to go for the range you are shooting at. The thing is that Groundhog is going to die of old age if you have to count every click. I figure mine in MOA. For example I am shooting Winchester USA ammo that is 45 grain bullet at a MV of 4,000 FPS. I run it through that program and with a 200 yard zero at 575 yards with my scope that has 1/4" addjustments it says I have to come up 47 clicks. My scope is devided by MOA 4 clicks = 1 MOA at 100 yards. Well When I made up my drop chart I did not write down 47 clicks up because that would take all day counting clicks. I devided 47 by 4 and it comes out to 11.75 witch =11.3 clicks. So all I have to do is dial in 11 minutes and 3 clicks. I hope you guys follow this for those that are new to this like I am. I know it can be hard to understand. I am just trying to put it as simple as I can. So I have rambled enough and this is my system so far and I am only a few into this. So this is a learning thing for me also. If any of you guys that have more experince than me see any mistakes in anything I have written please correct me because I do not want to learn it the wrong way. Take Care Dale

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[DALESCARPENTRY]

I don't know why my picture did not post in the last post but I am going to try again. Here is my new rig. Take care Dale

 

[DALESCARPENTRY]

If someone knows how to post more than one picture per post please fill me in. Thanks Dale.

 

[DALESCARPENTRY]

Here is another. Thanks Dale

 

[DALESCARPENTRY]

Sorry for all the posts. Last one I am just a little proud of my new rig. Dale

 

[300rum]

hi dale,
you are heading in the right direction.
far now you are right about moa instead clicks, mildot master... and ranging with mildot.
you will be fine, but not precise up to 800yrd, due to variation an deersize. not all of them are 18in in shoulder, and you can miss very easy.
this is more like a backup in case of rangefinder failure.
i used alot the mildotmster, and is very handy tool to work with.

 

[docv_73]

A couple of things here...

I use a mildot, almost exclusively, and a mildot master, and they are great. The calculator is more accurate if you start shooting deer over 800, or prarie dogs over 500 yards, you will need the extra precision of the calculator for first round hits, but the mildot calculator is really nice, and has several features beside distance that it does for you.

You said your ballistic program told you to adjust 47 clicks, then you divided that by 4 to get 11.75? Why the division? Look to make sure, but your program is probably set up for 1/4 MOA adjustments, but has a spot you can change that. Most have the ability to change scope height and MOA adjustments of your scope.

Also, be sure you check you mildot setting. If the mildot reticle is etched on the front glass, it will be accurate, as correct mildots at any zoom setting, but the downside is the reticle also zooms (gets thicker/heavier) as you zoom in. If it is not etched on the glass, there is ONE power setting - usually 10x, but not always - that the mildots are the correct measurement. Anything else and they will not be accurate. The further from that setting, the more off it will be. If it is 10, and your set at 20, it will about two mills differnt at 100 yards. The dial will sometimes have a mark on it, at the correct setting, but read your instructions to be sure, because it is not always marked correctly - as with one of my son's scopes).

Also, stop thinking in clicks and start thinking in MOA, or you will lose your mind as you stretch your distances.

And keep in mind your drop chart from the computer will not be accurate if atmospheric conditions change. A 20 degree temp drop (from 70 degrees the day you zero to 50 degrees the day you hunt) will cause about 1 MOA bullet drop. Elevation, temp, humidity, they all goof with that drop chart. When you are at the range, keep good notes on the conditions, so as you keep shooting the rifle over time, you will learn what effect these things have on your rifle/load combo.

Finally, do some research before getting a range finder. The distances you mention are not reachable by most rangefinders on deer sized targets, and not even close on prarie dogs. Before spending the money, save up for one that will reach the distance you want, on the target you want. I think there might be an article about that very thing on this website.

 

[Eaglet]

Re: How many here use a Mill Dot Reticle in your scope to judge range?

One needs to get good at it before you can really start accomplishing something.

It's easier to miss than most people think it is. That's just because of the nature of the system in which you are guessing

the size of the target.

The calculations on the right is telling us of a deer measuring 17 inches at exactly 700 yards. It shows that the reading should be 0.67 Mils.

Next one to the left, shows that our hunter in his excitement read 0.75 Mils, which is very easy to do, and called the deer to be 18".

Our hunter will be making adjustments to shoot at 667 yards when our deer is at 700 yards away.

What happens? Even a 300 RUM with 210 high BC bullet will miss that deer by almost a couple of inches.

The point being made is we would need lots of practice. Reason why I use a range finder.

If you want to play with those values, you can freely download a small application linked for at the bottom of my
signature.

 

[DALESCARPENTRY]

For the Mill Dot system to work on my scope you must have the power set at 14. The reason for the devision is so I can addjust my elevation in terms of MOA rather than counting all them clicks. If it says come up 47 clicks and I devide it by 4 and come up with 11.75 that translates to 11 minutes and 3 clicks. It is much faster for me to dial in 11 minutes and 3 clicks on my scope than to just count 47 clicks. I think we are on the same page you just may have mis understood me. Thanks and take care Dale

 

[fr3db3ar]

I have shooter ready and suck @ anything over about 800 yards....even with a know target size.

However. I love the mil dot for hold over. Currently I can shoot out to 600 yards with pretty good accuracy from my 223 without adjusting anything. I've taken it out to 400 and tested it......so I'm guessing it's good for the longer distances I have marked........may be a while before I find a measured 600 to test it.

 

[Miller Outdoors]

I looked into learning the ins and outs of ranging with the dots, but lost interest in its complexity and opted for the Busgnell Legend 1200.

 

[happylilcuss]

I do I try to stay very profecciant at it. That way when batteris go dead and lasers dont work I can still come up with a fireing solutuon.