Post & Cross Hair Reticle?

[Advocate]

Why doesn't anyone offer a post & cross-hair reticle like those available in the 5''s & 60's?   Personally I find the post & cross-hair to be superior for brush use and close range applications.  Yet no one offers them any more.  I've had to resort to buying old, vintage fixed power  P & CH scopes (when I can find them) and wonder why this very useful combination has fallen into such disfavor.  

A Redfield fixed power 2 and 3/4 power Post & Cross-Hair  scope bought used  off EBAY  is really cool on a friend's M-94 Trapper in .44 Mag.  It's fast and easy to see. It provides a much simpler and much less cluttered view that the duplex cross hairs which are in vogue and more clarity and contrast than the regular cross-hairs formerly in use.  

Does anyone know if retro-fitting of Cross-hair scopes to Post and Cross-Hair is done by anyone out there?  

Does anyone else share my affinity for the old Post & Cross-Hair reticle?

[Zachary]

Advocate,

Perhaps I'm dating myself (on the younger side as I born in 1970), but I am not familiar with these types of posts to which you are referring that were used in the 50's and 60's.  What were they like?

Zachary

[TheOpticZone]

Advocate,

I am not familiar with the post & crosshair reticle of the 50's & 60's. (before my time :grin: ) But Leupold does make a Post & Duplex. They offer is in:

Var-X III:
3.5-10x50
1.75-6Xx32

VX-II:
3-9x40

M8:
4x33
6x36
6x42

You can check out the reticle at http://www.leupold.com/products/products_highlights.asp
Hopefully the link works, if not just go to leupold and then product.

[Robert]

You turn the eyepeice and it goes from a thin line to a trangular point that is wide at the bottom.  Real clear in low light.

[Advocate]

The Post and cross-hair  reticle consisted of a very thick vertical "post" and  a regular  horizontal cross-wire.   The post was also called a "tapered post" since in most examples of this reticle it was thicker at the bottom and narrowed toward the top.  The vertical tapered post only came up about half way in the scope.  Some manufacturers offered a tapered post without a  horizontal cross-wire. This provided a sight picture very similar to a peep sight.  If you browse some old shooting catalogs and gun books (try some of Jack O'Connor's books) you will see examples of the post & cross hair.  

In the 70's the  now ubiquitous "duplex" reticle  seemed to replace all of the others.   The duplex consists of  vertical and horizontal  cross hairs with thick bases that narrow where they intersect in middle of the scope's field of view.

When gun shows were still  allowed in California I  watched for  vintage Post & Cross-hair type scopes (the only type available since this reticle was discontinued)  and acquired a couple that way.     Now you see them on EBAY and they seem to go for a premium over scopes with  other reticles.  The Weaver K2.5 & K3 and Redfield Bear Cub 2 and 3/4 X are particulalry desirable.  The Leupold 3x is also highly coveted, when available, but to my knowledge  was never offered with the Post & Cross-Hair reticle.

A 2.5-3x scope with a post & cross-hair reticle is great on a lever action or any other brush gun.   I think it would be terrific on a dangerous game rifle. Very fast target acquistion  is possible and it contrasts very nicely with  most back grounds against which you'll be hunting and shooting.  Also, the  tapered post only comes up half way in the scope's field and the top  part of the field is entirely unobstructed.  Rather different from conventional reticules.

[lilabner]

I've got an old 50s model Weaver K4 with thick post and coarse crosshair. It is deadly for timber shooting-faster than any other type of sight. The weak point is long range shooting, because the post blocks out the sight picture when you try to hold over. I understand they made some scopes with an inverted post (coming down from the top instead of up from the bottom) and that would work better if you had a long shot requiring holdover.

[Robert]

This one has thin crosshairs, and you turn a ring near the eyepeice and the bottom line becomes a tapered heavy post.  Saw it in one of the local shops for 25, I bet he would go 20 bucks on it.

[Advocate]

Robert:  I think you saw a Bushnell scope with the feature they called the "Command Post." This provided the option of switching from regular cross-hairs to a post and cross hair by the turn of a ring at the rear of the scope.   This is a great feature that I did not fully appreciate at the time or I would have gotten at least one of them for posterity.  If you can get that scope for $25.00 or anything near that, snap it up.  If you could tell me the name and address of the gun shop, I'd love to call them and make a deal on that scope. Thanks.

[Robert]

I went yesterday and got it for 20.00.  I hadnt noticed before, but it IS a Scopechief/Command Post. 1.5 - 4.5 x 20 compact.  Looks like a compact pistol scope.  Now I just need too figure out the right thing to use it for.

[Robert]

Does anyone know anything about the strength of this  Bushnell/ Command Post?  I was wondering if it would hold up to the recoil on a Savage combination 20 gauge/22Mag.