Understanding Milliradians (Mils)

J

J E Custom

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2004
Messages
10,718
Location
Texas
Here is another very good video that could help understand Mils and what type of Scope you would
want to buy for your type of hunting.

It may sound complicated, But a good understanding will help. With today's laser range finders that use ballistic calculators built in It is not necessary to make ranging and adjustments using the Mil Dot, but a good understanding is invaluable In my opinion.



Enjoy

J E CUSTOM
 
That video is about Mil ranging, which nobody with a laser rangefinder is gonna do. It is a good legacy skill to have though. I'm also afraid it is one of the things that scares people off from using Mils. They think they have to be proficient at the Mil ranging formula to use Mils.

The thing that screws everyone up when learning Mils is trying to convert Mils to some known linear distance, like feet and yards.

When the light goes on and shooters learn that they actually have a ruler 6 inches in front of thier face and they don't need to do any conversions, they never go back.

Simply write or memorize your drops in Mils, learn your wind holds in Mils...use the ruler (reticle) provided for adjustments. Simple as that.

In the same manner, IMO most of the Moa crowd fail to use Moa correctly. Again, absolutely zero need to convert anything to any linear distance. The ruler is 6 inches in front of your nose. If the reticle says you missed by 2 Moa, then make a 2 Moa adjustment using the ruler.
 
Dog Rocket said:
That video is about Mil ranging, which nobody with a laser rangefinder is gonna do. It is a good legacy skill to have though. I'm also afraid it is one of the things that scares people off from using Mils. They think they have to be proficient at the Mil ranging formula to use Mils.

The thing that screws everyone up when learning Mils is trying to convert Mils to some known linear distance, like feet and yards.

When the light goes on and shooters learn that they actually have a ruler 6 inches in front of thier face and they don't need to do any conversions, they never go back.

Simply write or memorize your drops in Mils, learn your wind holds in Mils...use the ruler (reticle) provided for adjustments. Simple as that.

In the same manner, IMO most of the Moa crowd fail to use Moa correctly. Again, absolutely zero need to convert anything to any linear distance. The ruler is 6 inches in front of your nose. If the reticle says you missed by 2 Moa, then make a 2 Moa adjustment using the ruler.
Click to expand...


Many years ago before the advent of good laser range finders, I used Mil dot scopes
with great success. Now that we have the good laser ranger finders, there is no need, unless you cant afford any thing but the scope. If that is the case, the mill dot is still a good option but you must learn the best way to use it.

When I used the mill dot scopes, I did not do much ranging with them because as you said, it was complicated and took to much time to come up with a shooting solution. I range tested where each dot was for that rifle and used them for fast holdovers and windage without any adjustments.

It was not as accurate as having the exact distance, and adjusting the reticle but it was good and fast and with ranging skills, very accurate.

But it is still something a long range shooter should comprehend.

J E CUSTOM
 
I learned mildot ranging, shooting 308 at long range, with the Mildot Master, slow but accurate. Today I'm all about the mil/mil ffp or sfp, with an accurate range finder and a Kestrel or GeoBallistics.
Tenth mils are just faster and more exacting for me, I use metric daily.
Whichever you prefer, train with it!
 
For hunting I calculate ahead of time how many mils or moa's there are at various distances for the animal I'm hunting. It's a nice double check if you're using a Laser Range Finder and aren't sure if the reading you're getting is from trees or rocks instead of the animal.
 
Pete Callamaras said:
I am still working this out because I have a Mildot scope with MOA turrets. The referenced video is extremely useful!!!!
Click to expand...
I have a couple old Leupy Mk4's that are that way.

Easiest thing to do is dial elevation in Moa of course, but learn your wind in Mils to use your reticle for holds.

When you think about it, the two have nothing to do with each other in most circumstances. (Unless you are dialing wind, then there are issues. But if you are taking time to dial, the wind isn't waiting around for you is it?)
 
skipglo said:
Use one or the other would be my advice...to easy under pressure to forget which is which and you have to have both charts with you
Click to expand...
Why would you have both? You would have your drops in Moa and your wind in Mils.

A number is a number, the fact they come from different scales is irrelevant. More importantly, the wind hold matches the reticle then.

It's a crappy set up for sure, that's why they aren't made that way anymore. But it can work, it just takes a willingness to learn both systems.

For my yardage come up I dial 34 instead of 10. Nothing to it.

For wind, I hold 2 instead of a 7. One number as easy as another.
 
Dog Rocket said:
Why would you have both? You would have your drops in Moa and your wind in Mils.

A number is a number, the fact they come from different scales is irrelevant. More importantly, the wind hold matches the reticle then.

It's a crappy set up for sure, that's why they aren't made that way anymore. But it can work, it just takes a willingness to learn both systems.

For my yardage come up I dial 34 instead of 10. Nothing to it.

For wind, I hold 2 instead of a 7. One number as easy as another.
Click to expand...
Yup....until you mix em up...lol
 
Warning! This thread is more than 5 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Recent Posts

Top