Long Range ShootingRifle ScopesSniper Rifles

Zero Compromise MPCT3 Reticle Detailed Explanation

By now you’ve probably seen and heard a lot about the new ZCO reticle called the MPCT3.  This new reticle has many small details that may go unnoticed until the reticle is being used.  Because we’ve talked to numerous shooters around the world who are curious about the MPCT3, we’ve noticed a trend that most of these shooters hadn’t realized some of the smaller details in the reticle.  We’ll describe these details and explain the advantages of them.  As we all know, it is often the small details that set one thing apart from another, and the MPCT3 is no different in that regard.  The many small details found in the MPCT3 ultimately lead to enhanced speed and efficiency for target engagement, which was one of the design goals when we started this new reticle.

1. We increased the open area around the central floating dot ever so slightly from our already popular MPCT1 and MPCT2.  We still include a 0.2 mil reference hash around the floating dot for absolutely zero doubt to the shooter where this point is.  The increased space around the floating dot provides a better view of the target for spotting impacts and calling a correction.

2. Looking at the primary horizontal crosshair, the upper half of the horizontal lines have a single upward facing tick mark at the 0.5 mil points.  This provides for an amazingly fast hold point that is easily found for rapid engagement.  Along the bottom half, we have 0.2 mil indications for a higher level of precise hold capability to engage small targets.  Within the first mil, the lower indications draw your eye toward the center.  Moving out to the left and right from the one mil point, the 0.4 and 0.6 mil marks are slightly longer than the 0.2 and 0.8 mil.  The increased length helps your eye find these hold points faster and more efficiently, especially with the aid of the 0.5 mil mark on top.  

3. Moving to the vertical primary crosshair, the 0.4 and 0.6 mil marks are longer here as well and extend to both sides of the crosshair giving it a visually balanced appearance.  Again, the increased length helps your eye find these hold points faster and more efficiently instead of having to count lines.  The vertical crosshair extends up to 2.0 mils from the central floating dot, thereby providing additional hold-under points if desired.  A 0.1 mil ranging scale is provided from 1.0 to 2.0 mil where it is near the center FOV should it be needed.  The bottom of the Fatal Funnel is positioned at 3.0 mil up from center as an additional reference point.

4. Most notable of the MPCT3 is the use of open circles at the whole mil points throughout the entire reticle.  These open circles provide four distinct advantages:

            a. They provide cohesion of the whole mil points throughout the reticle instead of hashes on the primary crosshair and then different sized dots in the tree portion.  This cohesion enhances your brain’s neural pathways so finding the whole mil points is seamless when transitioning from the primary crosshair to the tree.  Increased efficiency is the result.

            b. The open circles stand out better than just using fatter dots when looking at targets with a shaded or cluttered background.  Their increased size makes them easier to distinguish in these scenarios meaning less time spent identifying the correct hold point.

            c. When an increased field of view is desired and the scope is at a lower magnification setting, the open circles still give the reticle functional usability.  This makes the MPCT3 at its best at the mid to higher magnifications but still has higher capability in the tree portion while at lower magnification settings than other reticles of this variety.

            d. Finally, the open circles allow you to still see “through” the dots very easily as they do not obstruct very much of the target or background at all, making spotting impacts or observation still easily done even though this is a “tree” reticle.

5. Moving down below the primary crosshair, we have included a single open circle in each lower quadrant at the one mil down and one mil left and right.  This single whole mil value open circle provides an easy reference for holding elevation and wind in that region but obscures very little of the target.  

6. Moving to two mils down, we provide a wind hold capability of two mils left and right but with small dots spaced at 0.2 mil apart.  The eye can easily cross reference the primary vertical above and below the two-mil value for an elevation hold but a wind hold is much more precise with the included dots starting here.

7.  The whole dot-matrix grid starts at three mils down from center.  It extends to three mils of wind hold and includes both elevation and wind hold dots at 0.2 mil spacing.  The whole grid starts here to provide the utmost precision for holding both elevation and windage when the wind is blowing pretty hard.

8. A 0.1 mil scale for ranging targets in the vertical orientation is located between the 4.0 and 5.0 mil points.  

9. Moving down the primary vertical crosshair, mil numbering is labeled at 4, 8, and 12 mils.  Many other tree style reticles that include numbers along the vertical only number every fifth mil.  Often times the eye loses track of which mil has been counted requiring the user to recount and be sure of their hold as they moved down the vertical crosshair.  Numbering every four mils corrects this problem as it is easier for the human eye to keep track of in this location.  These numbers are positioned in the corner of the whole mil value thereby keeping the 0.2 mil wind hold dot clearly visible and precise.  Also, the numbers are reduced in size to obscure much less of the target area but are still easily readable.

10.  Moving down to six mils of elevation, the dot-matrix extends out to four mils of wind hold capability.  We provide a wind HOLD reference at 3.0 mils to again keep the shooter on track when needing to hold this much wind.  The hold numbers are labeled as 3L and 3R denoting a 3.0 mil HOLD to the right or left of the target.  These labels help to reduce shooter error by making a clear reference of a wind hold value, reducing counting of mils, and thus making things more efficient for the shooter.

11. Finally, the entire dot-matrix grid is specifically sized to handle a 308 Winchester shooting the ubiquitous 175 SMK at 2650 fps in a 20-mph wind while under standard atmospheric conditions.  Nearly every other modern-day cartridge will stay within these ballistic parameters under widely different atmospheric conditions.  This means the grid is only as big as absolutely necessary, keeping the lower half of the field of view as open as possible and not have anything extra. 

Nick Gebhardt – Zero Compromise Optics

Owner of Sniper's Hide, Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, Aliens, & UFOs
Is there a good break down explanation like this (or video) of the "Fatal Funnel" thing? Thanks.

Original explanation where I got my understanding from

1592322190143.png

If the target is 12" wide this would equal 700 yards.
If the target is 18" wide it would equal 1,000 yards.

If you use the dashed line down the middle instead of the full width between the two outside scales then the scales becomes for 6" and 9" targets instead of 12 & 18 (because youre only using half of it)


So this is a 12" wide target, its 400 yards away.
1592322359960.png



This is an 18" wide target, its 500 yards away.
1592322415044.png



This is a 6" wide target, its 600 yards away.
1592322450613.png


This is a 9" wide target, its 800 yards away.
1592322528825.png
 
Last edited:
View attachment 7352683
If the target is 12" wide this would equal 700 yards.
If the target is 18" wide it would equal 1,000 yards.

If you use the dashed line down the middle instead of the full width between the two outside scales then the scales becomes for 6" and 9" targets instead of 12 & 18 (because youre only using half of it)


So this is a 12" target, its 400 yards away.
View attachment 7352684


This is an 18" target, its 500 yards away.
View attachment 7352685


This is a 6" target, its 600 yards away.
View attachment 7352686

This is a 9" wide target, its 800 yards away.
View attachment 7352687

Well done sir, super simple explanation. I remember when the MPCT3 came out I had a mental block on this but this hasty explanation above is on point.

The number one thing I've had to remember is to ensure the moment the lines are "touched" by the target, that is the rough distance. Keeping the rifle steady enough to measure that has been a training goal for me.
 
Well done sir, super simple explanation. I remember when the MPCT3 came out I had a mental block on this but this hasty explanation above is on point.

The number one thing I've had to remember is to ensure the moment the lines are "touched" by the target, that is the rough distance. Keeping the rifle steady enough to measure that has been a training goal for me.

Keep in mind ranging reticles like this should be used in targets large enough to absorb the error.

Ranging something like a 6” circle @ unknown distance past say 600 yds with reticle is a bit unrealistic.

Point is, if you’re finding yourself attempting to range something you need to keep extremely still, it’s either too small/far away to be realistic, or you’re being too picky. If being too picky, get a quicker range and send it. You’ll find you still hit the target.
 
Keep in mind ranging reticles like this should be used in targets large enough to absorb the error.

Ranging something like a 6” circle @ unknown distance past say 600 yds with reticle is a bit unrealistic.

Point is, if you’re finding yourself attempting to range something you need to keep extremely still, it’s either too small/far away to be realistic, or you’re being too picky. If being too picky, get a quicker range and send it. You’ll find you still hit the target.

Good call out. I think the last part is what I am hanging up on: being too picky.
 
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@lowlight Thank you for posting. I'm hoping this answers most questions about the reticle.
Interesting, the big circles are still drawing my eye all over the place. I think this is one of those "seeing is believing" situations, I understand the concept but am having difficulty thinking how this will make acquiring target with the christmas tree "quicker" or convince my neural pathways :D. My buddy just bought 3 new ZCO's but none of them are the MPCT3, hopefully I can get the opportunity to look through one at some point because I'm really curious how my eyes/brain will interpret everything when looking through the scope, there have been other reticles that I did not think I would like but when I saw it through the scope (vs. just pics on the interweb) I actually enjoyed using it; I can see how the MPCT3 may be a pleasant surprise in that regard. I do like how you're investigating what can make a reticle better or more usable for given situations, you have piqued my curiosity with the MPCT3 with this thorough explanation, thank you Nick.
 
So happy to see more images that are clean.
I have been waiting for more from ZCO
This works for MY brain. A few things I would tweak but this is my favorite reticle in tier1 scopes now. Cant wait to get behind 1 !!!

Again though.. flip your controls please. Pretty please. But before I buy a few of these or dont do it
 
Original explanation where I got my understanding from

View attachment 7352683
If the target is 12" wide this would equal 700 yards.
If the target is 18" wide it would equal 1,000 yards.

If you use the dashed line down the middle instead of the full width between the two outside scales then the scales becomes for 6" and 9" targets instead of 12 & 18 (because youre only using half of it)


So this is a 12" wide target, its 400 yards away.
View attachment 7352684


This is an 18" wide target, its 500 yards away.
View attachment 7352685


This is a 6" wide target, its 600 yards away.
View attachment 7352686

This is a 9" wide target, its 800 yards away.
View attachment 7352687
Professor spife to the rescue!

Atacr is a tier or two below ZCO.

Regardless of mechanicals the glass in all the NF’s I’ve been behind left me thinking “ yea, that’s nice glass” whereas looking through a ZCO was “ holy crap Batman!”
 
Professor spife to the rescue!



Regardless of mechanicals the glass in all the NF’s I’ve been behind left me thinking “ yea, that’s nice glass” whereas looking through a ZCO was “ holy crap Batman!”

NF makes good optics. But a good portion of the price they command comes from the .mil fanboys over the years.

They are fairly average in my book (comparatively speaking).
 
NF makes good optics. But a good portion of the price they command comes from the .mil fanboys over the years.

They are fairly average in my book (comparatively speaking).
Yea.
I hardly consider them a value but the are certainly good scopes.
Side by side it tough to see a difference from my Cronus.

The ZCO took a giant shit on my Cronus
It’s like looking through a Kowa Prominar which I have a lot of experience with.
 
I am a bit of a NF fanboy at this point simply because I like the overall package they offer in the 4-16 ATACR, but I would easily rate them below the Kahles and S&B US i had for glass quality. The only reason I don't have a ZCO is the same reason I no longer have my S&B US: I can't justify the extra $1k+ for my current use case.

One will definitely be in my future after I graduate.
 
Ok but is ZCO just the cats meow on the controlled firing line or is it battle / service proven and as durable/reliable as the ATACR? Such a new company doesn’t have the same service proven history...or does it.

Who do you think was the major influence at Nightforce that is responsible for a lot of that reputation?
 
Original explanation where I got my understanding from

View attachment 7352683
If the target is 12" wide this would equal 700 yards.
If the target is 18" wide it would equal 1,000 yards.

If you use the dashed line down the middle instead of the full width between the two outside scales then the scales becomes for 6" and 9" targets instead of 12 & 18 (because youre only using half of it)


So this is a 12" wide target, its 400 yards away.
View attachment 7352684


This is an 18" wide target, its 500 yards away.
View attachment 7352685


This is a 6" wide target, its 600 yards away.
View attachment 7352686

This is a 9" wide target, its 800 yards away.
View attachment 7352687

Wow, that's really useful....and easy
 
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Yet you found the time to type 13 words you didn’t need to.
Bruh. You didn’t have to do him dirty like that 😂😂

after seeing spife’s drawing of how the fatal funnel works, it definitely makes a lot more sense. Plus I like the gridded bottom half better than on the mpct2. Not to say the 2 is bad by any stretch, but the 3 seems better to my eyes.

@gebhardt02 when are you guys gonna start offering reticles to s&b so we can swap them out in our 5-25’s 🤔
 
I've never understood why correcting off wind dots is superior to correcting off normal sub-tensions.

Then again, it seems like every time I have disagreed with Todd Hodnette over the last fifteen or so years I eventually figure out that I'm wrong and he's right...

Probably the same reason someone would need the Fatal Fallopians instead of just using sub tensions.