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Airgun Hunter: Airgun Specific Reticules

Airgun Hunter: Airgun Specific Reticules

Without wanting to appear as though I’m teaching my grandma to suck eggs (no, I don’t know what that means either)! It would be fair to say that virtually all disciplines of rimfire and centrefire rifle shooting have seemingly always had access to scopes with reticules that give the user multiple aim points and/or enabled the shooter to judge range. The most common or best known - being the Mil-Dot, as used and designed by nearly all the world’s militaries.

Poor Cousins

So when you consider, outside the world of scopes designed for Field Target air rifle competition, the airgun shooter (hunter especially) could certainly at one time be classed as the poor cousin. Left to ‘make do’ with scopes with few reticule options and equally as few features when you consider the ‘knobs, dials and twiddly bits’ we now take for granted on today’s modern optics. So when ‘Airgun- specific optics’ (as I often refer to them) began to appear, fitted with incredibly useful ‘airgun range’ oriented reticules, it was little wonder that many were swayed towards them.

However, at risk of sounding ‘superior’, although I champion and use these optics due to the benefits they offer, I still hold fast to the belief that shooters should only gravitate towards them when ready and progress up to them as their level of marksmanship prowess grows. Remember, shooters of all disciplines (myself included) have hunted successfully with both open sights and standard 30/30 Duplex (thick-n-thin) reticule scopes for a great many years!

 

Grid Reference Please

Having said that, in hindsight I now realise that before the first designs of ‘airgun ret’ became available, I’d long since started to look to scopes that offered some type of ‘grid reference view. Which I could use, that would, with practice, give me another aim point or two when the range to the target was further or closer than my set zero.

Rather than having to guesstimate the holdover or hold under required than when using a conventional 30/30 scope I’d be ‘aiming into thin air!’ So immediately the obvious, yet major benefit of any multiaimpoint reticle specifically designed for the 12ft lb air rifle, give us the opportunity to be more precise in our aim.

Incidentally, when I first began hunting with FAC-rated air rifles, I initially used scopes with Mil-Dot reticules because at the time they were the only optics available that offered more aimpoints. However, I’ve now changed them for scopes with airgun-specific reticles and can attest to the fact when tweaked to take into account power level, heavier pellet weight, are just as effective on higher powered air rifles as they are on legal limit ones.

 

The Origins Of

Most airgun-specific reticule designs are generally derived or based on the Mil-Dot. Strange to think then that this system was initially designed as a rangefinding system for modern sniping rifles, with no thought to its holdover potential. However, it’s largely this design that has, albeit very cleverly - been altered to be specifically suited for lower power weapons, in our case the 12ft lb air rifle. This is the very essence of the reticules we now see in what you could term ‘new era’ airgun-specific scopes.

The main difference in the designs of these ‘dot, dash, ‘circle,’ line, dot, dot dashers is their placement of these ‘markings’ on the upper, lower and sides of the crosshairs; some even have ‘markings’ surrounding the position where the crosshairs intersect. The intersection point of course on any design of reticle is used as the shooter’s preferred, or in some more specialised designs, dictated zero. While the dots and/or hash lines positioned on the middle crosshair extending from the intersection point are for helping determine an aim-point if needing to allow for any wind. So at long last we’re not aiming into thin air! Another benefit they offer, which again is evidence as to their true origins - is these reticles can also be used to range a target of known dimensions seeing how many dots subtend it.

 

Calibre Consideration

Many of these new reticules are designed to work in the second focal plane when the magnification is set to a specified level (usually the highest setting). However, this will differ given pellet weight/calibre and there is still some degree of fine-tuning needed on the target range after you’ve read the manual and set the recommended or specified zero.

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However, generally you’ll find the instructions that come with the scope explain the setting and pellet weight quite comprehensively. But although they are correct for the specified pellet weight and calibre, always become accustomed to their use with your chosen set-up. Remember even the height of the scope from the bore line can affect the ‘stats’ stated in the accompanying instructions.

So though many first thought they’d take any skill out of placing a shot, they should mainly be used as guide aim points (good ones at that), until you have mastered the reticule in relation to your own particular combo. Even this can to an extent be made easier, as we now have access to free downloadable software programmes such as Chairgun Pro from Hawke Sports Optics! Crunch the numbers on the computer and you can produce trajectory charts and even discover all manner of in-flight and downrange information for the set up you intend to use. Even if you’re not using a Hawke scope and therefore not one of the company’s own design of reticule this information can be still be valid.

 

Who First?

Arguably the first reticule designs ‘specifically’ for airgun emerged from the specialists Hawke Sports Optics. The now discontinued SR6 and SR12 really did work. However, it wasn’t only the big boys of the time who’d thankfully decided to serve the airgunner in their quest for more accuracy. Now well-established MTC Optics seemed to emerge out of nowhere with their excellent SCB (Small Calibre Ballistic) reticle. Often known as the Christmas tree design due to its shape, and once fully accustomed to its use, it proves a very effective design.

But remember one important factor; if you don’t do your homework then no amount of extra aimpoints will help you shoot more accurately. Both the previously mentioned optics companies have continued developing new reticle designs, all with the aim of helping us achieve a higher level of accuracy. Along the way other small independents have joined the party, such as Lightstream and Falcon Optics to mention just a few. Both launching scopes with their own airgun-specific reticules. But it really does seem like there’s no stopping the big guns mentioned earlier who started the trend.

Hawke Sports Optics now has a vast range of reticule designs. The original SR6 and 12 being superseded now by the SR Pro and AMX designs but they also have many others. The latest MH10 ret design from MTC, as installed in their new Optisan EVX range of optics, is also gaining fans, so well worthy of note.

 

Conclusions

I could go on naming manufacturers and reticule designs but it’s pretty much true to say that all the main players in the production of optics for airgun use have and/or still are developing new patterns, mostly to tempt the customer but also to keep up with each other as well.

So, to come full circle; we really do have a lot to thank the old Mil-Dot for, because it set certain designers on a course that has resulted in the airgun shooter now being spoilt for choice! Such is the variety of reticule designs that are installed in many of today’s popular airgun-specific optics. In fact, no coincidence I feel that the Half-Mil-Dot reticule is now fast becoming a very popular design and seen in many brands of quality glass.

I must make note that although all Half-Mil designs have a true Mil-Dot layout with hash lines in-between the dots to ‘denote’ the ‘half’ way points between them - the appearance will be configured slightly differently depending on the brand. But, for the specialised ‘long ranger’ who has really done their homework, then the extra aim-points this ret offers is un-rivalled!

The rest as they say is history, because since optical manufacturers decided to begin designing airgun-specific reticules to help us shoot more accurately, it’s started a ball rolling that continues to this day. I feel we must now be almost at or at the limit of what can conceivably be further designed that betters the plethora of those that are already available.

One question though – with Rowan Engineering now producing a digital ‘sidewheel’ (DSW) add on that assesses factors that need to be considered when taking a shot and displays them on a screen such as range, elevation, height, wind direction and more – then why do I know at times I’ll still miss a sitter?

 

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