Tip 1:
Define The Issue.
The reticle is the crosshair device in a rifle scope that aids in aiming a firearm. When properly adjusted, the point where the thin lines intersect will provide a repeatable point of bullet impact. English naturalist Robert Hooke invented the reticle in the 1700s, and used it in microscopes and telescopes. The word reticle is from the Latin word meaning “net,” and describes a wide variety of lines, grids, or aiming devices inside an optical instrument.

Tip 2:
Bad Hair Day?
Early reticles were made of hair, and spider silk has also been used. Many modern scopes use wire, which has a consistent diameter and can be flattened to create various widths. Wire is tough, durable, and opaque. Other scopes use crosshairs etched into a glass element. Etching can create floating reticle elements, with circles and dots being common.

Tip 3:
Hunting For a Perfect Reticle.
The classic reticle is two thin lines, one horizontal and one vertical, that meet exactly in the middle. This reticle is great for aiming at high contrast targets set against plain, light colored backgrounds, like targets at the range. A target dot reticle has a larger dot in the center.

However, the thin lines are hard to see against dark, complex, or chaotic backgrounds, such as normal hunting terrain. This lead to Leupold introducing the ‘Duplex’ reticle in the 1960s, which has thick lines most of the way to the center that are easy to locate quickly, and then fine lines at the center. Overall the Duplex is the most popular reticle for most hunting.

Tip 4:
Let There by Light.
Reticles can be illuminated for use in low light. They can be battery powered, lit by radioactive tritium and fiber optics (Trijicon scopes), or charged by a flashlight (the Bushnell Firefly scope). The light generated in illuminated scopes is surprisingly dim, but to me, surprisingly wonderful to use.

Tip 5:
First, Find What You Need.
The variety of reticle types is dizzying, but first determine what you need for your hunting. In reality any reticle will work, but if most of your hunting is of one type, get a reticle designed for that specific purpose. A partial listing of Leupold reticles include Fine, Wide, and Heavy Duplex; CPC (a variation of the Duplex that uses tapered crosshairs); Crosshair; Mil Dot; Post and Duplex; Target Dot; Turkey Plex; Dot; German #1 and #4; Tactical Military Reticle (TMR); Illuminated Circle; and the Special Purpose Reticle. If that isn’t enough, they will make you a custom reticle, matched to any factory or handload ammunition, with holdover points for long-range shooting.

Tip 6:
Mil-Dot Mathematics.
The ‘Mil’ in the Mil-Dot reticle refers to ‘milliradian,’ not ‘military.’ However, they are widely used by the military, and they are very effective in estimating range or adjusting the impact point when shooting at long ranges. The Mil-Dot reticle can also be used to compensate for bullet drop and wind drift, but there is a steep learning curve, and you need to be able to do mathematical calculations in the field, or be able to construct a cheat sheet grid in advance. (Here is part of the Trijicon instructions: “Once the scope is set to high magnification, the easiest way to range a target is to take the height (or width) of the target in yards or meters multiplied by 1000, then divide by the height (or width) of the target in Mils to determine the range to target.  Of course the measurements can be taken in inches.”

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