What's your favourite Prairie Dog Scope RETICLE?

[urbanrifleman]

I usually run my power setting on 16x to 18x as a decent compromise for scanning and shooting. Why would I need to move the power settings at all?

Like I said, you can turn down to scan the town. Then turn all the way up once you zero a dog. Zoom in and shoot.

You don't have to compromise.

 

[Mark W]

Like I said, you can turn down to scan the town. Then turn all the way up once you zero a dog. Zoom in and shoot.

You don't have to compromise.

I’m happy!! Don’t want to dial or zoom in and out. All I need is a scope with a reference. It works for me.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I’m happy!! Don’t want to dial or zoom in and out. All I need is a scope with a reference. It works for me.

You asked.

 

[Mark W]

You asked.

I didn’t ask anything....lol. You should read again. I clearly said that I didn’t like ranging and dialing in the prairie dog fields and that I liked the looks of the Leupold VH reticle because I like a scope with reference marks.

Edit: I guess I did ask why I would want to change power settings which I still don’t want to do..lol

 

[GrocMax]

My only complaint of the Vortex HS LR reticle is its too fine for me at under about 12x in a darker background. But as other's have mentioned even the simple christmas tree FFP's can be used very effectively for small critters. I choose not to sit and shoot one direction and dial, but to vary shooting direction a lot, so no clicking works better.

 

[Prose]

The weaver varmint ebx reticle is my favorite. Have been doing it about 20 years and it works for either windage or dialing. Mine is the 4-16.

You get a fine reticle, a dot, and a usable tree all in one. Hard to find though.

 

[markT]

Target dot.
1/4” or 1/8”. (. Depending on your eye balls)
A 3/16” is really the best for me but only have 1 scope / rifle with 3/16”
Leupold can put in pretty much any reticle dot size. If you have a leuplod.

 

[Rich Lee]

I have 2 luopolds with the vhr in 4by14 and one 6by 20 and I love them and I shoot a lot of p dogs.

 

[xring]

The vast majority of my shots have been from 100 to about 450 Yards . My favorite Scope for many decades has been a 16X Leupold with a straight Cross-Hair . Whatever the Reticle Width is , it's perfect for my tired old eyes . I shoot off a stand-up homemade Tripod Rest and use Surveyors Tape ( attached to the Tripod ) as a Wind Guide ..... Wind is a big factor at least 75% of the Time out West in my experience . When I get to three Pdog Widths Windage Hold-off ....I go shopping or take pictures . This in conjunction with a Swaro Laser Rangefinder ( many Brands before the Swaro ) is all that I required . For Long Range shooting off a Bench , I like the Sightron MOA-2 , Nightforce NP-R1 , R2 , LV.5 , Leupold VH , Swaro BRH , IOR MP-8 and X1Xtreme , Weaver EBX , and anything similar . I have not tried all of these at Long Range , so I can't say whether the Reticle Widths all suit my eyes . I think I did try a Weaver ( maybe a 6.5-20x ) with Fine Crosshair and very small Dot which is just too thin for my eyes . I do have a Leupold 20X ( yes , Leupold made a few ) which I always wanted to try but just never got around to it .

 

[LonewolfMcquade]

I like the Leupold Varmint reticle on my 25-06 & 270wsm. Although i do quite well with the Nikon 800 yrd bdc on my 308 also

 

[long40shot]

Leupold TMR or Varmint Hunter

 

[Justin B]

Leupold Varmint reticle but I also like a first focal plane setup as well with mill or MOA marks

 

[KY_Windage]

NF MOAR-T, which is a very fine target reticle. I've never had any trouble seeing it against a dark mound, but if I did I could turn the lights on. I prefer SFP because I hate that ball of twine in the middle of my picture when I am scanning at low power. Out to 300 I leave the turret alone, after that I dial the elevation turret. Windage I just KY it, as it is almost always varying considerably.

The reticle is much easier to see than this photo indicates, but you get the idea:

 

[drover]

Fine Duplex for me - I despise clutter in a scope. Most of my shots are in the 150 - 300 yard range, I have no aspirations to be a long range shooter, I use a 223 with 40 gr Nosler BT and the lack of recoil allows me to spot my hits/misses and the lack of clutter allows me to see things better.

drover

 

[stork]

So when I started prairie dog hunting, I just used whatever I had. Found out pretty quickly that 3 x 9 wasn't enough power, 36X fixed I couldn't find dogs in an alfalfa field, and my 6 x 20 seemed to be the right power for me.

Then I bought my first FFP scope. Happened to be a Vortex Viper HS LR. Found my scope! For the shooting I do, it is perfect. A common shot is 200 yards, 10mph crosswind, and I know I need to hold 3 MOA into the wind. Accuracy is just as good as when there is no wind.

View attachment 1151421

And if I had to do in a pinch, MOAH (much better option than MOA in my opinion).
View attachment 1151425

But I like a reticle that has reference marks I can depend on. Some folks don't like the busy Christmas tree reticle.

Jepp2, you have traveled the same path I have. I would agree with your conclusion 100%. I've been using a 6.5-20 Leupold that Premier put a series of dots along the vertical. Been using that for 20+ years and have had good success with it. However, as anyone who has tried long range shooting in ND knows, the wind occasionally comes up and windage dots are a big plus. The pasture rats don't always stay in a nice line & you wind up swiveling around a lot. I tried cranking a single dot for 1 rat foray, not going to go there again.

I looked on the Vortex website & either my searching technique is poor or they no longer make that configuration. So I'll just have to keep on the lookout for a used one.
Allen

 

[jepp2]

I looked on the Vortex website

You probably looked at it and didn't realize it. Here is the link:
https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-viper-hs-lr-6-24x50-ffp-xlr-moa-riflescope.html

The price can vary quite a bit on OpticsPlanet. I've been luck enough to pick up some for $570.

 

[stork]

Thanks Jepp.

OK, I saw the reticle, after I downloaded the reticle manual. The website had such a poor image I figured it would be like my 8-25 Leo with the varmint reticle. which is fine for short to medium shots, but really lacks for reference points beyond 600. So I went back to my Premier 6.5-20 system & put the 8-25 back in the box in the vault.

I'm going to have to keep an eye on Optics planet for a sale on them. I've got pretty much all Leo's on everything with a Nightforce & Bauch & Lomb thrown in for a bit of variety. What is the difference between the Gen II viper & the HS? I've got 64 yr old eye's & a shooting buddy is really liking the Sightron's for older eye's. I haven't seen any reticle that I've fallen for in their stable that I would like as well as the MOA for pasture rats.

Allen

 

[Mr. Ten-X]

Old school...a fine crosshair and a fine dot.

 

[sw282]

Jepp2's lnformative post with different reticles helped me choose a 'new-to-me' 6.5-20 vxiii with Varmint Hunter reticle. lts a bit busier than fine crosshairs l prefer tho. Now mounted in Warne 30mm rings on a Picatinny rail.. The rail will likely disappear with Burris Z rings and Weaver bases in its place. lt hasn't been to the range yet. Hopefully that will a trip next week will change that..

ps.. THANKS Jepp2!!

 

[searcher]

Fine cross hair with 1 moa dot