Just read John Barsness' Optics column in the November Rifle magazine. He toured the Leupold factory and mentions that crosshair reticles are made by hand under a microscope with platinum wire, while more complex reticles, such as their Boone & Crockett reticle, are etched on glass.
At least now I know there's a different process for making trajectory compensating reticles (at least in the case of Leupolds). I'd have guessed that manipulating wires by hand under a microscope would lead to a costlier process than etching glass. Still not sure if the price difference in different reticles on the same Leupold scope is a function of manufacturing costs, or the "premium factor".
I'm still a little unclear: is the platinum wire used in a standard, "plex" reticle, or is it just in very fine, target crosshairs? Are all other reticles etched on the glass, or do cheap scopes use a cheaper process (I'm picturing some guy with a fine point marker drawing crosshairs on lenses).
Hmmm . . . I seem to be the only guy responding to my initial question. Still, I can't argue with the brilliant logic of the previous posts
