TDS scope reticles

[Aslan]

Going through the midway catalogue (Christmas is coming), I was lingering in the scope secion and noticed a couple of vendors: Khales & either Zeiss or swarosky offered scopes featuring a TDS reticle.

I've never seen one, never used one. Just curious if anyone here knows much about them....

:devil:

[brass hammer]

not me, but i'm in the market for a new scope/mount for the rem#760 in.243

what 'kind' of price range are you talking about on these T.D.S.




i recall bushnal[s.p] had the Bullet Drop Compinsator [dial top knob,,,i own [2]

[Rich Z]

I think that all three of those brand names are going to be expensive, regardless of the reticle used.

[brass hammer]

i copyied the names 'off the bat'

they are ALL high end optics/glass tubes

not worth the the cash out lay for a cheap rem pump.243


just thought i'd 'make casual/kind /civil/banter'


thanks.

[Rich Z]

Yeah, I hear ya. I have a Swarovski 6x24x50 scope that I pulled off of a Barrett that doesn't have anyplace to live. It's a damned nice scope and needs to have something fitting to sit on top of. Been looking at those FN SPR tactical rifles...... Guaranteed to be able to put 10 shots into 2 inches at 200 yards, ammo and operator having the ability to match the quality of the rifle....

So what does "TDS" mean, anyway? I did a quick scan over at riflescopes.com and couldn't find a clue over there.

[Aslan]

I'm not sure, the reticle has stadia lines (I think that's the correct term) that resemble a christmas tree below the main cross hairs. They get longer the farther from the cross hair they get.

Most likely to accomodate drop and windage at longer distances.

Not looking to buy one, was just curious - wanted to know how they compared to mil dot in usage.

There are so many freaking reticles out there, it's amazing!

One of those, I'm curious and figured I'd ask...

thanks

:devil:

[Rich Z]

Yeah, the Swarovski scope that Barrett sells for their rifles comes with that "Christmas tree" option. And I believe I have a similar reticle on one of my Nightforce scopes as well.

The thing is that they need to be calibrated for a particular projectile at a particular muzzle velocity, or a group of projectiles. Shepherd has a list that each of their scopes will be effective for that give similar trajectories.

I guess anything like that would work effectively if you know your rifle/scope/ammo intimately enough.

Perhaps something overly complicated would be wasted in a high stress situation, however. Just one more thing your mind has to be processing when other higher priority information is trying to get through.

But for some people (me included) the complicated reticles do look rather neat!! :)

[Aslan]

Cool factor aside, I often wondered about some of the options out there...

to me, the more crap in your field of view, the harder it is to simply aim and shoot.

Mil dot seems to be the cleanest, with the least intrusive display of meaningful information

There's one scope, I forget who makes it, that basically has a grid for the bottom half of the sight picture, Way too busy for my tastes...

:devil:

[Rich Z]

This is a couple of the popular reticle choices on the Nightforce scopes:
http://www.armslocker.com/pics/reticle1.jpg

I have the NP-1RR on one, and the NP-R2 on another. Not sure which one I really prefer, though.

[Aslan]

Do you find yourself actually using the range finding circles on the 1RR?

Does the two different styles of reticles ever make you pause and think about it when switching between weapons?

Just wondering what the ergonomics / Psychological impacts are of switching between two very different set ups.

I would think the R2 is probably more natural to use, as it is less intrusive, but still provides a lot of useful data.

:devil:

[Rich Z]

Actually, I don't know. I still haven't shot that model 95 with the 1RR reticle in the scope......

I think there are some drawbacks to having a moderate number of guns. You are not likely to become real familiar with any one of them if you shoot several of them as the mood moves you. Since many complicated reticles are used as informal range finders, they really aren't of much use if you are shooting at known distances.

Getting full use out of a scope reticle like that would certainly require a bunch of practice time with targets at unknown ranges. So yeah, they are just gadgets and doodads that most of us will probably never really need to have in our scopes.

A plain crosshair reticle, laser rangefinder and some practice time figuring out how many clicks elevation are needed for set distances would probably do the same or better for you.

[Aslan]

Which pretty much describes my current situation....plain jane reticles for most of my guns and a laser range finder...

:devil:

[Rich Z]

Well, to put it another way, I wouldn't pay more money for the fancy reticles, but if they come free with the package, heck, why not?