Which Reticle is best?

M

murphy

Guest
My new second hand 220Swift arrives next week and if it turns out to be a shooter, I am going to buy a 6.5 to 20x40 Leupold scope sight to replace the 4 to 12 Bushnell. Rifle will mostly be used for target shooting and a few crows and rabbits out to about 250yds. Can some kind person please tell me which is the best reticle, fine x hair, or x hair with dot? Believe it or not the dot costs an extra 50 bucks! Reguards Murphy.
 
murphy said:
My new second hand 220Swift arrives next week and if it turns out to be a shooter, I am going to buy a 6.5 to 20x40 Leupold scope sight to replace the 4 to 12 Bushnell. Rifle will mostly be used for target shooting and a few crows and rabbits out to about 250yds. Can some kind person please tell me which is the best reticle, fine x hair, or x hair with dot? Believe it or not the dot costs an extra 50 bucks! Reguards Murphy.
Click to expand...

It is a matter of preference. If one was that much better it would be the only one made. I would prefer the thin cross hairs for targets and the hair with the dot for running rabbits. In the end, the rabbit won't know the difference anyway and you will still have the $50 in your pocket.:)

Just my thoughts.

Concho Bill
 
FWIW I have a T36 in both 1/8" dot and FX. Even for static target shooting, I am coming to like the FX better. If I was trying to get on a rabbit or a crow, I think the dot might be just another piece of lint on the lens.
 
Why Leupold ?

I shoot Bushnell elite 4200 and their new elite 6500 2.5x16x50MM its "Bad to the Bone" Had no problem locating a running coyote in the Nevada Sage brush. I installed a big hole in his neck at 104 yards. They make a 4.5x30x50MM for same price as the Leupold you want.
 
Yeah, mate, why Leupold? ?

Unless its for the extra magnification.
Can I have that rubbish 4-12 that you have been saddled with ? Please.
 
To all my forum friends on new scope purchase.

Was not going to throw the Bushnell 4x12AO out with the trash as it will fit very nicely on one of my other rifles. Am just trying to build as much refinement into this Swift project as I can afford and will certainly have a look a the top of the range Bushnells as Worker suggests. Maybe my expectations are a bit high, but I would really like this rifle to be able to better 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100yds. I have a cheap 308 sporter with a very unrefined scope ,that does it with four different bullet weights, so I think a varmint rifle should do just as well, or maybe I just got lucky. Reguards to all Murphy.:D
 
Crosshairs

Murphy speaking in general terms, Fine X works great on target shooting and Pdogs, to coyotes in the open, and good light, The target dot would be just about the same except that at 200 yards and beyond it will tend to cover more of the target which will make it a little more difficult to group. Heavy cross is the more acceptable reticle here for shooting antelopes and deer in brush or low light as you can see them alot better in those conditions. Other than that its all up to preference. I have all 3. My target/Pdog rifle is a Nikon with target turrets and Fine X, My coyote and general vermin rifle has Target turrets and a 1/8 dot. My deer and antelope rifle I use a heavy X. They all do the job very well, and were chosen for the purpose the rifles were intended for. Again its all up to the individual.

Good luck, Enjoy your new Swift, I sure do enjoy mine.
And Sorry you live in a place where the restrictions on gun ownership are so heavy.
 
Thanks for the advice.

Many thanks boys for all the help,pick the rifle up tomorrow at 11am Australian eastern sea board time. This is not a political forum, so all I will say is make sure your NRA membership is payed up and be forever vigilant. All the best Murphy.:cool:
 
Murphy: Best of luck with the new Swift Rifle!
I shoot 5 Varmint weight Rifles in caliber 220 Swift and of those 5 there are 4 Leupold 6.5x20x40mm scopes mounted up on them.
All of my Swift Rifles have scopes with Du-Plex type reticles in them.
I use them for long range Prairie Dogs, Rock Chucks, Coyotes and the occassional bit of Antelope Hunting.
The Swift is an amazing and versatile cartridge.
If you are going to be shooting at any running game such as rabbits or dingos (sp?) or doing any night spotlight type Hunting then I would for sure go with the fine Du-Plex reticle that Leupold offers - just like JohnS recommended.
I have some good 220 Swift loads for 55 gr. and 52 gr. bullets when you are ready for them.
Again best of luck with the new Swift!
And yes I am in the process of upgrading my Endowment membership in the N.R.A to Patron member even as we speak.
Long live the N.R.A.!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
Best reticle for varmints

Murphy,
All my long range varmint rigs have a fine duplex reticle. With a 200 yd. zero you can use the arrow of the bottom post to put you on at 300 yds. and the arrow or point of the top post to put you on from 100 to 150 yds. without fiddling with your turrets. In short, the thin duplex acts as a built in range finder and if you use the crosshairs to frame your target. The thin crosshair intersection also makes the scope an acceptable scope for target shooting.
Chino69
 
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I have a Leupold with the varmint hunter reticle and I love it. It has windage and elevation markers built right in and is calibrated for 220 swift and 22-250 ballistics. If you take some time and pratice with it you wont have to guess for hold over or windage at different yardages.
 
I would go with a three post German reticle. For target shooting. If it's not a mil-dot I'm not sure what the upper vertical does but get in the way.

Leupold makes good scopes but there are a lot of good scopes out there. If Leupold doesn't offer a three post, look elsewhere. If you're so inclined.

JMO. I hate the upper vertical. :)
 
Picked up the Swift yesterday

Joy upon joys! Picked up my Ruger 77 MK2 yesterday,brought it home and examined it from top to bottom. Apart from a few tiny marks on the stock, rifle looks pristine. Examined the throat area, visually with a strong light and by feel with a cleaning rod and patch and if there is any throat erosion present I can't find it. Rifle seems to have some freebore as length of a loaded round with 60g Hornady spire hollow point touching lands is 72.9mm. Action has that look about it of never having been removed from stock[screw heads perfect], trigger is fine as is with about a 2 1/2 pound break. Today I intend to epoxy bed the action and tomorrow if the wind is not blowing, maybe get down to some serious testing. If the rifle shows some promise then I will get a new scope though the existing one looks nice and clear as is. Life is good Murphy.
 
Murphy: I am feeling your excitement all the way over here in the Rocky Mountains of Montana!
It seems - and I hate to make generalizations, but I will in this instance - that American mass made factory Rifles anymore all have long throats!
I don't know why but I have noticed this trend for the last 16+ years now.
Again I don't know why but I often get excellent accuracy even with these long throated factory Rifles.
The last Ruger 77 MK2 I bought (2 years ago) was in caliber 223 Remington and it had a rather long throat, but it shoots very well. I am happy with it - and I hope you will be happy with your Swift.
Can't wait to hear how your Swift shoots.
I have a Ruger 77 V in caliber 220 Swift but it was made 32 years ago - it shoots fair to good.
Its average grouping (5 shots at 100 yards) measures right around .750".
I love this Rifle and have harvested all manner of Varmints, a Deer and an Antelope with it!
I am sure I have close to 3,000 rounds down its tube so far. Accuracy wise it shoots virtually the same today as it did 32 years ago! I am expecting its accuracy (mediocre as it is) to fall of any season now.
This Rifle though, was a special edition Ruger that was made in the bi-centennial (1976) of our nations birth (1776) so I won't be rebarreling it.
The barrel has a special engraving (stamping?) that designates it as "Made in the 200th Year Of Our Liberty" - some folks refer to these marked arms as liberty models. They have a moderate collectors appeal.
Instead when it finally becomes shot out I will retire it and leave it for my progeny (children, decendants) as an example of a fine and useful Varmint Rifle from the mid 20th century.
I am sure your new Ruger 77 MK2 Swift will shoot better than this old Ruger 77 Swift of mine does.
Again best of luck with your new Rifle.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
The Skittish Horse.

To Varmint Guy and others. Yesterday I prepared the Swift but my wife won't let me shoot it yet as she has this horse that she is minding for a friend. Our own horses couldn't care less about my private rifle range but evidently this one is special, so I have to wait till it goes home. That better be soon or boy is it going to get an education. Will keep you posted Murphy.
 
I have a 10X GoldRing Leupold on my Varmint barrel Rem 700. It has the real fine crosshairs.

I'm not a hunter, or a varmint shooter, but I couldn't imagine a dot to be very helpful. The down side might be having to contend with more
"wobblies" than with a dot, i.e. "chasing the crosshairs".

Personally, I like one of the German reticles. The horizontal crosshair with a solid post at the vertical position in the bottom half only. That way, your view has more freedom. A small loan from the world bank and you could probably get it in the Zeiss or Schmidt & Bender of your choice.
 
Duplex

Fine target crosshairs or target dot will get lost in the brush as soon as you stop moving.

al
 
Which reticle is best?

As a silhouette shooter, I have a lot of target scopes with 3/8 to 5/8" dot reticles and some of these have made their way onto several very accurate custom varmint rifles. Using these larger dots in the field on prairie dogs and ground squirrels has shown that there are advantages to a larger dot. The large dot is a lot easier to see in varying light conditions than the target dot and FCH reticles. Once you realize that the bullet will hit in the center of the dot, it is no problem shooting tiny groups or long range varmints. I really don't care if the dot covers most of the critter, if I do my part, it is just as dead. The final issue is that as my eyes are not as sharp as they used to be, the large dot prevents straining to see the reticle during a long day in the varmint field.
 
Riflemeister: Are my figures correct with your 5/8" dot covering up 5/8" at 100 yards and then covering up 20/8" (or 2.5") at 400 yards?
Some of the Varmints I Hunt are barely 2.5" wide to begin with.
My main concern is this, can you easily Hunt smaller Varmints at moderately long ranges, say 350 to 450 yards with that large a dot reticle?
At those type ranges I assume one would hold the dot "over" the target and allow for trajectory to make a hit. It seems to me that indeed you would have to guess where the exact center of that larger dot would be as opposed to the more well defined "exact" center of a Du-Plex of fine crosshair.
How about on running Varmints (like Jack rabbits, Coyote and Fox) that are at closer ranges - I assume the large dot works well there?
I have a couple of fine dot type reticles (1/8") and use them on Colony Varmints but have never used a dot reticle as large as 5/8".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
 
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