Fancy reticles and rainbow cartridges

[03A2]

Anybody doing this?
Specifically, anyone using the fancy drop compensating reticles that suggest you can hit something at 600 yards with a .270 tried hitting deer at 275 yards with their 45-70?
It seems to me, that a man who can shoot accurately at 600 yards probably doesn't need aiming dots in his scope (high-power shooters got by without them for years) but a man whose limit is 200-300 yards due to skill or terrain and liked shooting something a little different could profit with these reticles on something like a .35 remington.
I don't shoot at game over ~300 yards and at this present time "the rifle" is a 30-06, I don't need bullet compensation reticles to hit a elk at 300 yards with an '06.  
However, I can see how it would be fun, with a rangefinder and a lot of range time to make your grandpas 30-30 a 300 yard game rifle.
So, is there enough drop in the lowest hash mark of whatever you're shooting to allow for a hit at 300 yards with a buffalo rifle?
Thanks for your ideas

[PowPow]

For any given load, those marks match up with some particular yardage, not necessarily even 100's.
For the physics geeks like myself, its just part of the fun to figure what those ranges are.
I bought a Leupold 2-7 with a LR recticle. The book said that said the marks match up with a 150 gr 30-06 at 2,3,4,500 yds.
The math for my 180 gr 30-06 worked out to 1,2,3,400 yards. I will probably never use the 400.

[eye shot]

Yes you would have plenty of drop using the last hash mark.

[williamlayton]

For years there were not one shot one kill marksmen---unless real lucky.
The new tecnology helps to take the Kentucky windage guessing out of the equasion.
Now, if you are proficent with your equipment, and have a Boone & Crockett buck in your area at, say, 800 yards---I would have to take the shot.
Blessings

[sscoyote]

For any given load, those marks match up with some particular yardage, not necessarily even 100's.
For the physics geeks like myself, its just part of the fun to figure what those ranges are.
I bought a Leupold 2-7 with a LR recticle. The book said that said the marks match up with a 150 gr 30-06 at 2,3,4,500 yds.
The math for my 180 gr 30-06 worked out to 1,2,3,400 yards. I will probably never use the 400.

Absolutely!! Matching trajectory to reticle subtension is some of the most fun one can have with a gun/optic. Here's an example--

I was hunting coyotes years ago with a buddy's kid. He brought along his Marlin 22 RF to play with. We were walking back to the truck when i asked to look at the rig. He had a Harris bipod on it and a 3-9x Simmons. At 9x it looked like the plex reticle subtended about 6 MOA to post tips. I told the kid that if he cranked the optic down to 3x it should be 3x that or ~18 MOA, and that oughtta' get him to about 300 yds. or so. So we decided to test it as we walked through a prairie dog town. He got setup on a PD mound and i lasered a couple dogs at 290-something. So he sends one. I'm spotting with my binocs and he hit just short (no wind to contend with). He elevated slightly and nailed the PD 2nd shot, and he rolled off the back of his mound. He scrambled back up on the rim and hesitated as is typical for them. Kid sends another 1 and nails him again, nowdead off the back ofthe mound. Couple seconds later PD #2 crawls out the hole chattering at Bill, his dead brother. The kid sends another couple and nails this dog too, killing it as well. I actually couldn't believe it as we were walking up to the mound, but sure enuf they were there. He may very well have killed those 2 dogs without knowing how to manipulate reticle subtension in a variable-powered scope, but I'm sure it contributed to his success.

[bilmac]

I have used the system described by SS for quite a while. It works very well in prairie dog towns where they will sit and give you a few ranging shots. The catch 21 with the idea is that to shoot farther you have to turn down the power. The rifles I use for PDs all have the ranges the crosshairs are sighted for and where the lower post hits at various powers marked with a little piece of tape somewhere on the scope. I shoot too many rifles and my brain is getting too old to remember all my experimental load doping.

I think the scopes 03 is talking about are the new ones that have dots on the retical that are supposed to match up with given ranges for particular cartridges. In a situation where the critter is likely to give you only one shot, and you aren't going to be able to see your bullets impact, it all comes down to range estimation.

I understand that a lot of our eastern hunters shoot from the same stand every year. I think that if I did that I would have me a range card for the stand. I'd go out in the summer and figure out where I need to hold to hit at various landmarks from the stand. Draw it all up on a little card. Old infantrymans trick.

[PowPow]

...eastern hunters shoot from the same stand every year. I think that if I did that I would have me a range card for the stand. I'd go out in the summer and figure out where I need to hold to hit at various landmarks from the stand. Draw it all up on a little card...

Its hot outside in the summer and there are bugs. I just use the ruler feature on Google Earth while sitting in the den.

[moorepower]

It is alot easier for a high power shooter that is shooting a given range, than guessing the range without a range finder. When shooting service rifle, I have a log with how many clicks for a given distance, and light conditions. With my Burris plex, I simply shoot the center cross hair at 200 yds. and move down to the second at 300 yds. For my 7mmSAUM it is dead on at the second cross hair. My biggest problem is range estimation. Of coarse reading the wind is harder!

[sscoyote]

03, 3 doors have been opened for me when it comes to big game and varmint shooting over the years. The 1st was fast and flat to 400-500 yds. when lucky, then it was reloading which i really started about the same time (that's 2 doors). Now behind the 3rd door many years later was a complete understanding of 1st and 2nd focal plane reticles for both downrange zeroing as well as rangefinding (turrets too actually)--applications as well as limitations; and the inversely proportional nature of reticle subtension vs. magnification with 2nd focal plane reticles.

Here're 2 good places to study this stuff--

www.ottllc.com/specialtypistols/sp20.pdf

and the Burris Tech notes on their website (i think it's still there). Although the info is for their Ball. Plex and Ball. MD reticles it really pertains to all 2nd FP multi-stadia reticles, including the simplest of all ballistic and rangefinding reticles--the simple plex reticle.

[hunt4570]

For years there were not one shot one kill marksmen---unless real lucky.
The new tecnology helps to take the Kentucky windage guessing out of the equasion.
Now, if you are proficent with your equipment, and have a Boone & Crockett buck in your area at, say, 800 yards---I would have to take the shot.
Blessings

  There have ALWAYS been one shot marksmen...just maybe not the first shot!!

[Catfish]

I know 2 guys with balstic raticals on 22-284`s. As long as they are shooting 80 gr. Sierra bullets at 3,450 fps. they lazer and shoot. Personally I play areong to much and have to many wildcat to put that much money on every gun. I perfer to just work up a drop and windage chart and dial in my scope. I do use mil-dots for drift though. I hunt coyotes and groundhog, when I can find them, and the limit to what I will shoot is the longest range I can get a good guess at the range.

[diggler1833]

This is about as fancy as I've got and I have found it to be more than useful so far.  The trajectory doens't matter quite as much when you have shot it and know your come-ups whether holding over or dialing in.  I prefer to dial-in elevation, and hold-over for wind.  FFP is the way to go for estimating distance through the reticle or holding-over for your shots, but if you practice enough and know what power your scope has to be on to hold over for a SFP reticle you can still make it work.

[emsemt911]

I like the plain jane reticles.
I do not have a single fancy one on a hunting rifle because I have had
family members forget and use the wrong aiming point.
I just like to be old fasion even though I an not old yet.

lol
 

[emsemt911]

forgot to mention,
I carry a ballistic chart and a range finder on all hunts.