Which Luepold Reticle

[carny]

I just ordered two vx5hd 3-15x44 scopes. One has the htmr reticle and the other is the impact 29. I'm going to keep one and sell the other to a friend. Which would you choose and why?

I can see pros and cons for each but can't decide. I honestly haven't shot enough to really be used to moa or mrad so I don't think that will be a big issue either way. My only experience is sighting in scopes which are moa but I've never adjusted anything for elevation or windage while shooting.

I'll be mounting it on a tikka t3x superlite 300 win mag and using it for hunting.

Thanks!

 

[sp6x6]

Im a mil guy so. I like the htmr less clutter.I favor the original tmr,with its open center

 

[FEENIX]

I just ordered two vx5hd 3-15x44 scopes. One has the htmr reticle and the other is the impact 29. I'm going to keep one and sell the other to a friend. Which would you choose and why?

I can see pros and cons for each but can't decide. I honestly haven't shot enough to really be used to moa or mrad so I don't think that will be a big issue either way. My only experience is sighting in scopes which are moa but I've never adjusted anything for elevation or windage while shooting.

I'll be mounting it on a tikka t3x superlite 300 win mag and using it for hunting.

Thanks!

Welcome to LRH, and enjoy!

I have no problem with either one, but this boils down to personal preference. As @sp6x6 noted, the impact 29 might be too busy/clutter for most. My preference between the two is the HTMR also. If you pick the simpler HTMR reticle, would your friend buy the one with an impact 29 reticle?

 

[SDPlinker]

You may find this video helpful!
It is a personal preference, Milliradians vs Minutes of angle, first vs second focal. I personally prefer the TMR in first focal, but have others as well. If I could start over I would do mils and first focal on everything. If you find a preference stick with it as it is difficult to switch back and forth. For me anyway! Most hunters I know use MOA, others use Mils, folks who were in the military mostly use Mils as that is what is learned. Good luck on whatever your choice, and welcome!

 

[DoneNOut]

HTMR for less clutter considering you cant utilize the reticle stadia unless at max power (15x).

I went with HTMR because I dial elevation, or use my CDS turret, and hold wind. I'd only use the mil hashes for wind at distance where I could effectively use 15X. That's gonna need to be a long shot 600yds and farther. Inside that I know my target dimensions and wind effects and hold into the wind for that drift correction.

Easy way to calculate how many inches per mil click at various distances is to multiply the target distance in yards by .36. So, at 600yds 6x.36 = 2.16" per click. (1 mil at 100yds = 3.6" movement. 10 clicks per mil so each click .36" at 100yds. (I just round it even at 2" per click and add as many clicks as needed)

In short, I use the HTMR like a duplex reticle with the CDS turret for elevation correction until 15X is useable for wind holds.

Clear as mud?

 

[FEENIX]

HTMR for less clutter considering you cant utilize the reticle stadia unless at max power (15x).

An FFP advantage over SFP for end-users to consider.

 

[DoneNOut]

Carny,

I read your post again. In consideration of your shooting experience, I am going to assume you aren't hand loading. So, you will need to find the ammo your gun likes best. This can be more difficult these days, but consider buying 4-5 boxes of various ammo and chronograph the speeds. Use a weather app on your phone to record the conditions in which you are shooting. When you find the best performing ammo send that to Leupold for the free custom turret. This way when you range the target/animal you just dial that yardage on the scope. The CDS will be in yards. Easy match up. You will need to be most accurate recording the barometric pressure and true ballistic coefficient of the chosen bullet. Best way to find the true BC is reference Applied Ballistics book information.

 

[Hugnot]

I am a Leupold scope fan.

The Leupold site indicates both HTMR & Impact 29 reticles are available on the RFP or second focal plane vx5hd 3-15x44 scopes. Without any hesitation I would select the mil rad type reticle. MOA reticles are available on hunting & tactical scopes because many shooters refuse to change, are unable to see any advantages to or understand the mil rad system and are repelled by anything suggesting metric (strange & foreign) - Leupold is a for profit organization. Mil dot reticles have been used for military applications for years and now mil rad optics are exclusively used. I can see the advantages of the multi dot Christmas tree type reticle but in this case it is a MOA type reticle. All those dots are just fine but be sure you are using the correct one (clutter?)

A max 15X, 2nd FP scope would work out just fine for mil-rad reticle use when set at the max 15X for intended mil rad stadia type measurements. 15X is not a huge magnification and the field of view is reasonable. At lower magnifications, like 3X, on the rear FP scope, for short range use (less than 200 yards) the reticle appears unchanged and stadia features would not be needed. I think 1st FP scopes are OK for scopes with over 20X magnification but for lower magnifications used for hunting close up like 3-4X these scope suck because the reticles shrink to such a degree as to be difficult to see. This situation is addressed by "illuminated" reticles, meaning batteries, additional costs, and increased potential failure.

The Leupold RFP or second focal plane VX5HD 3-15x44 scope, seems perfect for hunting, including small rodents, at sensible ranges.

Welcome to the forum - great place to shake down good info.

 

[willtim]

Look up Joseph von Benedicts Backcountry Hunting podcast. Listen to the episode "Rifle scopes for backcountry hunting."