Learning about mil dot MOA

G

g Bo

New member
I currently own two rock rivers with two different scopes on each one. One has the nikon BDC and the other has a burris 536. I like them both and have killed many coyotes over the past year but with that said...

I've decided to get a tikka lite 243 with a vortex scope viper 6x24x50. I've been reading up on them trying to understand how to dial them in or hold over with the dot and lines on the recticles for elivation and windage. I think you can make the decision before you shoot to use the scope like I do with my nikon with the BDC reticles or determine the distance and dial it in?
Another question is as you turn the dials does it adjust in MOA or inches? It is my understanding an MOA is actually 1.05 inches. I'm sure when I get the scope, gun and everything it will all work out and take some trial and error. I also know I can choose different reticles for the scope and I am wondering which one would be prudent for me? I don't want to make a decision and be sorry later about my choice.

Any help would be appreciated but please keep it as simple as you can and describe it best you can in simple terms if possible. And be easy on me for my ignorance
Thanks
 
The difference between IPHY (Inch Per Hundred Yards) and MOA (Minute Of Angle) is small enough that most guys ignore it.

There's a disadvantage when using a Mil-Dot reticle with MOA or IPHY adjustments - you have to think about range and hold in terms of inches/minutes and Milliradians at the same time if you're planning to dial come-ups. The advantage of a mil-dot reticle, besides ranging capabilities, is to let you hold over without dialing, so until you get a long ways downtown, you won't have to worry about it.

One way to go, which I do not tend to follow myself, is to get a mil-mil scope. That way your dial calibrations are .1 mil (0.36") instead of 1/4MOA or 1/4IPHY (0.25"). It sacrifices a little granularity - as you lose 0.11" per click of control - but frankly, none of us shoot that well to notice. Then you just stay in mils for everything and be happy.

I live in inches, then convert to minutes or mils in my head. I run numbers all day every day, and I've been shooting mil-dots with 1/4IPHY adjustments since I was a kid, so it's quick for me. My wife didn't like adopting that methodology, but she came around to it.
 
Please don't take this wrong, but that is a lot of scope to put on a coyote rig if you go with a 6-24x. I have used that same scope calling cause it was what I had in hand at the moment, but it seems like I need lower magnification much more often than the high magnification. Again, I don't mean to come off wrong, just sharing an experience. For prairie dog shooting I really like that scope (the glass could be better, but the features are nice), but it is way too much for my style of calling and coyote shooting.
 
there are some good sites on u-tube that are put on by some ex-military shooters that explain moa very well.
 
"Learning about mil dot MOA". Welcome to the world of angular mathematics and it's application for the shooting sports. Researching the systems is kinda' like the enlightenment shooters gain from reloading compared to shooting factory cartridges. There're a lot of concepts to study if you really want to learn about them and their applications especially for field shooting. Most like the KISS principle of FFP/MOA/MOA, or FFP/Mil/Mil. Some work and become proficient with what they have (like Varminterror above, it sounds like), and there a very few of us (probably him also) that like to research what stuff is capable of doing. I have found there are two basic concepts with reticles and turrets for the shooting I've done--

1) The mil-ranging formula defines all reticle-ranging and downrange zeroing math using any 2 points at one distance relative to any 2 points at another distance.

2) Reticle subtension is ~inversely proportional to magnification in second focal plane optics (SFP).

Here's some utubes I did on some of the concepts awhile back--





Good luck with it all and have fun with it if you really want to "get into it."
 


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