By Glen Wunderlich
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association
Modern telescopic sights for archery and firearms have many features that can help hunters shoot better. Aiming points – be they circles, crosshairs, or dots – on the vertical or horizontal axis of a scope’s reticle, can aid in longer shots; however, they must be understood relative to any arrow’s or bullets’ trajectory.
In one instance recently, one hunter in Alaska missed a black bear at relatively short range with a high-power rifle. When we communicated what he thought had transpired in mere seconds before the shot, it was clear to me that his quick shot may not have been a clean miss like he figured. In fact, I concluded that one of two possibilities existed: Either he hit his mark or he flinched and the bullet landed in Russia. In any event, he took a look around the scene of the bear’s exit, and determined he had missed. He went home empty-handed.
In another recent example of misunderstanding the flight of a bullet, an experienced hunter didn’t realize that his scoped .22 rimfire would hit the bull’s eye at 25 yards but punched the target a bit high at 40 yards. It seemed counter-intuitive to him. However, it made perfect sense after a brief discussion.
Now, let’s get back to the fancy scopes with all the bells and whistles. Scopes with graduations on the reticle have the advantage of giving shooters aiming points for longer shots, if a shooter uses them properly. They will also allow a shooter a means to compensate for wind speed by choosing the proper aiming point along the horizontal axis of the reticle. Most people know this, but do they really understand how their personal bow or firearm will perform relative to what they expect?
Without field testing, nobody can use the range-finding aspects of their optic to make accurate shots when tested afield, unless they are lucky. Unfortunately, “unlucky” outcomes are often the result.
Those marks on the reticle are engineered to coincide with specific bullets or arrows at a given velocity; there is no “one size fits all.” The answer comes in the form of practice afield. It’s not that computer-generated charts and graphs won’t help, but we can’t assume our personal gear will match them unless tested.
Here’s what I do with any reticle’s design that incorporates these increments on the glass. Once I get the firearm or bow precisely on target at a typical maximum range I will hunt, I begin the experiment to understand where that projectile will impact the target at close range and farther away by actual shooting.
Since any range-finding scope’s reticle has increments pre-set to match a specific projectile at a specific velocity, chances are your personal ammo or arrow will not match these parameters. Using a chronograph to measure velocity is a great aid and matching your results will give predictable effects.
However, testing afield can produce the same results without a chronograph. Doing so will also determine if advertised velocities match your equipment (and typically they do not). Plus, even if you use a single-aiming-point optic such as a red dot or conventional scope with only one set of crosshairs, it’s best to dial it in at your chosen maximum distance and then to make note (either, mentally or better yet with a cheat sheet) of where the projectile impacts the targets at various ranges both long and short.
If you are after confidence afield, it’ll take some time, but confidence is gained through actual knowledge of your equipment.
