Favorite Reticle for Hunting

Interested to hear about which reticle style you prefer for hunting and why. I've looked thru scopes in store and leaning toward duplex again or the German #4 but open to other suggestions based on real-world hunting experience. BDC interesting but don't do any long range shooting so don't think that's needed. Let me know what you think.

Fine duplex. If you are a sight in 1.5” high at 100 kind of hunter, you’ll ever need anything besides a duplex reticle to shoot animals at 300 or less. My main hunting scope is a fine duplex, and I had to find it. A lot of scope companies are going to busy reticles even in hunting rifles.

IMO, reticle style depends a lot of magnification of the scope. A fine duplex is great for general use. But if you run a heavy duplex reticle on a high power scope, the reticle covers up a lot of area. Any reticle you like for general use will work fine. I always like some kind of reticle with mils or moa (yes, moa!), so I can use the reticle as a ruler and measure out bullet impacts when at the range for wind or elevation holds. But that's just me. A standard duplex will work fine for basic hunting.

Sold off all the preset BDC scopes, and never got into the Mils as I don't shoot enough at longer than 300 yards to need the obvious advantage they offer. Moved back to a standard thickness DuPlex with the last batch of scopes acquired in the last 3 years.

The Horrors of it All for the LR Crowd is that I still hunt using a MPBR setup, usually zeroed at 200 yards +/- a scootch depending on caliber, bullet weight and MV's, according to what the 'puter tells me on the program I use.

Old Habits Die Hard with 50+ years of muscle memory to overcome.
When/If I start losing critters from miss's or poor hits with no recovery's, I'll think about Mils, but not yet. FWIW I'd still just as soon as use a telephone with a springy hard line wall cord to get better reception and assured of being able to make sure the call got through without worrying about if I am within reach of a cell phone tower.

Lived at Texoma for 11 years having to go stand on the porch at home to get good to average reception from one of the 3 Cell towers less than 2 miles from me.

Ron

I used to have a night force nxs in 15x that had a np-2dd reticle that I used for hunting. Loved that thing and never should have gotten rid of it.

I really like the German #4 on the Zeiss Conquest. Stands out bold and can easily be used after "dark thirty" to find center of reticle. The center part is fine enough for accurate sight in and aiming. I have a Minox with a #4, and it is nothing more than a duplex with the top thick post missing. It offers no advantage to the duplex IMO.

SS Mil-Quad is my favorite for hunting.

Just the basics, .5 Mil hash, and a 1.0 Mil diamond. It's fast to aquire.

Meopta's #4

Swarovski 4W, clean 4plex with uncluttered wind holds

Depends on the rifle and its intended application. A Mil based reticle for the 308 and 260, MOA based for the 22 Nosler and Nightforce MOAR-T for the 300 RUM.

I prefer Leupold's B&C Reticle. My personal limit for big game is 400 yards with good conditions. The B&C reticle gives me some quick reference points for holds at different distances within my range at max scope power (12x is my highest.) I sight in at 200 yards, then verify and practice out to 400. I have a little cheat sheet on the inside of my ocular scope caps of each rifle.

Duplex or #4

Moar T is nice as is illum fine duplex

German #4

I have a Bushnell Elite 3500 4-16x40 DOA on my 300 Sendero and have shot two muledeer using the 400 yd stadia line so it's accurate. I just bought a 300 xbolt and put a Nikon Prostaff 4.5-18x40 BDC on it. I haven't shot it yet but I'm impressed with the clarity of the glass. Hoping it will perform like my Bushnell.

Duplex is good for general hunting. For timber, a #4 works really well. I've used a Mil-Quad last year and like it. I think it provides versatility. You can use the mil markings, ignore them and on low power in timber the Mil-Quad looks like an upside down #4.

I really appreciate all the feedback guys! This is great stuff and very helpful.

I really like the Vortex EBR-2C or the GenII XR reticles. They are both a simple "Christmas tree" style reticle that allows me to hold for wind and elevation for quite a ways out there and not have to touch the turrets. They are not for everyone, but they work well for my tastes. I also run the Horus H58 in a Leupold Mk6 3-18 on my 22cm, but its pretty busy, and for a fur rifle, I think it is probably a bit much. I bought it to try, and if I don't like it, it will go on down the road.

Not a fan of the BDC or B&C style reticles when the subtensions don't actually equate to a standard or meaningful holdover. I also found that the FFP scopes with christmas trees can be real tough at first and last light.

My muzzleloader, slug gun and .22s all have standard duplex reticles.

My main two hunting rifles have TMOA reticles from Leupold. They have standard subtensions (as long as youre at max magnification and if not the math is easy). They are also heavy enough to see in any legal shooting light conditions.

My .338wm has a firedot duplex bc it gets the nod in the timber out west and when it is darker that dot is really nice to have.

After using quite a few reticles in various light situations, I think my choice today would be the Leupold Varmint Hunter reticle with CDS and an illuminated dot with varied intensity. I think the VX5 would give me the CDS and illuminated dot, but I don’t think the VH reticle is a possibility.

The illuminated dot for low light (I really want that), CDS for pasture hunting with plenty of time, and the VH reticle for pasture hunting with little or no time.

But what I want and what i’ll spend money on are two different things. I’m doing fine with what I have. But, boy howdy, that illuminated dot with variable intensity would sure be nice.

Leupolds firedot duplex. Had in in many VX-Rs and now a VX-6 HD. I’m hoping the turrets hold up to make this a true dual purpose scope.

SS mil quad is second. Shot it in a friends 3-15 yesterday, although not their top glass I was instantly at home when I looked through the reticle.

S&B H2CMR reticle.

Have had LOTS of BDC's and got tired of having to remember the different presets for each caliber and bullet/MV options. Went back to tried and true DuPlex medium's for anything regularly hunted at under 300/350 yards. Might finally go to German #4's for under 200 yards stuff in heavy brush.

IMO if I wanted to shoot regularly at longer ranges I'd get into FFP MilDots with both feet....IMO it is simply silly not to, but I am not there, and never will be again in this lifetime.
Ron

Red dot

Next time you come out Ron, give me ten minutes. I'll hand you RH rifle, Mil scope, and my ammo. No turret cranking, just holding, and you'll ring steel to 500 yards in a minute or so.

I have a vortex that has that and love it. Turn it up during the day and as sunsets can lower it.