Obsidian Defense

Dots, Mil-dots,Christmas trees and BDC’s

Just brought your first AR15,bolt gun,Bullpup etc, now you need to get glass for that bad boy. Where do you start? Hopefully this quick reference may help.Let’s get some shorthand /Acronyms out the way

1 MOA/minute of angle/1.047/1 inch at 100yards

1 MIL/Milradian/3.6 inches at 100 yards

First focal Plane Scopes- All measurements/mils/moa in scope/reticle are true to size through all magnification ranges

Second focal plane Scooes- All measurements/moa/mils inside of scope/reticle are only true at maximum magnification

Magnification-
Red dots-no magnification
Adjustable Lpvo-1-4x magnification 1-6X magnification 1-8x magnification 1-10x magnification
High power 4-16x,3-18x,4-27x,5-25x,6-36x

Reticles, scopes,guns all have a purpose and should be chosen based on that not what the latest YouTuber or Instagram gun person uses , you have to pay for yours, they probably didn’t . There is some cross over and it is possible to have multiple sighting systems on one gun.(IE 45° /piggyback red dot mounts/Peq15/LA5/Dbal etc)

Red dot-contact distance -150+ yards,yes you can get hits out to 300 plus with irons/simple red dots . Red dots have no magnification which can make seeing smaller/targets at distance kinda difficult as well as Positive identifying threats. They are normally constructed with dots that vary from 1-7 moa dot size, meaning the dot will cover 1 to 7 inches at 100 yards and cover more of target as distance increases.(Vortex Sparc, Aimpoint Pro/T2,Holosun 503, Sig Romeo)

Standard duplex reticle- most of all the older/cost effective scopes on your big box/package rifles will have a simple standard cross hair. This is a good point to talk about this term called “Holds” . Let’s say you had a standard duplex and you were zeroed to have your bullets to hit point of aim /point of impact at 100 yards, since you don’t have any other point or hash mark of reference, you see a deer at estimated 280 yards, your hold would bring the crosshairs instead of being held center/behind shoulder to a holding closer top of the deers back same relation to front to rear. That is to compensate for bullet drop, make sense?

Moving to another reticle choice is a mildot reticle. 100yrd-1K+ .Mil-Dot reticles are constructed like a standard duplex but the difference is the reticle has 4 small .25 milradian dots that helps with ranging. The distance from center dot to center dot is measured as 1 mil/3.6 inches. Image/Formula from 8541 tactical has a great ranging formula to give distance based on information/size of target. Variations- Leupold TMR, MIL-R SHV F1

Next reticle is a Bullet Drop Compensation reticle(BDC) Distance 25-600 yards . Now those holds we spoke about previously, well they are already built into these reticle. These are normally built to apply to specific bullet profiles. Luckily 5.56 and 308 have similar flight paths but that’s only out to about 500 then it changes , BDCs are designed close enough once you have a solid zero to get you first rounds hits on moderate size target ,shooter dependent (you must confirm your zero then confirm your bdc matches to the Ammo and distance you are shooting, don’t assume) You may be shooting a 69gr BTHP when the reticle is constructed for 55 fmj, at 100 yards it maybe off 1-2 inches at any direction, you are talking maybe 6 inches or more at 500. Instead of a mildots , yardage holds are represented by Hashmarks/Stadia lines, those are the point of Hold that allow for compensation of drop and some wind. Examples: Vortex dead hold BDC, PA ACSS, Trijicon Acog TA 01,TA31,RCOs, Razor 1-6 JM 1 reticle

The last reticle that comes into play is the Horus Tremor 2-5/Vortex EBR 2-10/Horus H37 ,57,58,59 reticles also formally know as the “Christmas Tree” reticles. Now I know for a fact they look busy as hell, I said the same thing. They are honestly a lot more intuitive and very useful when used appropriately. The large majority of them have holds for wind as well as leads for moving targets/“movers” also to give a distance formula as standard mil dot have, they also allow for more smaller adjustments, more precise aimpoint point instead of holding into dead air. With all of the Christmas tree reticles are not exactly the same ,the premise for most of the reticles are similar, quick ranging and faster follow up shots on correction. Some measurements are not exactly the same. Some stadia lines may represent .2 mils , bigger stadia lines may represent .5 mil , dots may represent 2,4,6 mil wind holds. That gives you an incredible amount of useful information if you can apply it appropriately. Having a great gun,great reticles, great Ammo means s**t if you have no formal training on applying them, casual fi****ms users, long range hunters/prairie dogs/Prs competition shooters , Law enforcement/Military all should to get good training to push bullets to intermediate to extreme ranges if that’s your interest . Finding a good instructor cuts your learning curve down substantially in comparison to being self taught. Regardless of the information written by me or anyone else, please vet your information and test it yourself, not every application or shooter requires a 300 win mag , 6mm creed ,6.5 Creed, 6.5-284, etc with 4.5-27 ,6-36 magnification scope when you never shoot past 100yds at your local range. Identify your Purpose,Mission, then identify your gear that matches.Hope it helps, Be safe and keep firing.

Now is the time for Black gun owners to come together and start buying in bulk to exercise their new economic power in the fi****ms industry. Imagine an Afro-Centric purchasing company specifically built to maximize discounts, purchasing power, and leverage for African American gun owners.

• Imagine the economic leverage in buying ammo of 1,0000 orders at the same time and day

• Instead of just one person buying rifles, we could have 500 orders at the same time

• Imagine the savings we can get buying in real "bulk" on any and all items

• I believe now is the time with a renaissance of the African American consciousness taking place

It is simple….there is "strength in numbers."

Philip Smith
President & Founder
National African American Gun Association

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training.usconcealedcarry.com