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Rifle Scopes Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

pwner500

Private
Minuteman
Apr 9, 2012
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0
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Hello everyone, I just picked up a Savage Mark 2 TR in 22lr, and the scope I got with it was complete junk. I have my mind set on the Nikon Monarch 4-16x42SF scope, and I am stuck between choosing either a Mil Dot or Nikoplex. I will mainly be shooting paper targets from 50-100 yards, and trying to get tight groups, would the nikoplex or the mil dot be better for me? I know mil dot is used for range estimation, but maybe if there is wind would it help? And does the Mildot reticle have a finer crosshair than the nikoplex (duplex)? Well I would love to hear what you guys have to say. Oh and I looked at the BDC reticle for the monarch, and I wasn't a fan. Was too busy for my liking.

Thanks for the help!
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Given the choice of those two I'd get the plex, but before I spent that money on the Nikon I'd put it toward a Weaver T-24 or T-36 with a fine cross hair or a XH dot.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Is there any reason for choosing the plex?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Well I may try hunting eventually, so I want a good all around scope. I won't be doing anything over 150 yards because, well, it is a 22lr rifle. But of the 2 which I listed, what would be more ideal for my scenario?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Not sure what your budget is but the Leupold VX3 6.5-20x40mm EFR Target w/fine duplex is a awesome rimfire scope.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

My budget is around $350, so I like the Nikon because Everyone who seen both say that the monarch is on the same level as the VX3 but for less money.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Here is a good scope for a rimfire well below your budget...

Mueller Optics 8-32x44mm Side Focus Fogproof Target Riflescope

They also have a 8-25x version if you dont want 32x magnification.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

One downfall is it doesnt have mil dot but honestly are you really going to be doing any doping at 50-100m other than kentucky windage?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Mueller Tactical Rifle Scope 8.5-25x 44mm Adjustable Objective Mil-Dot Reticle Matte

There is the one with Mil Dot but again that is a cluttered sight picture for me for a .22lr
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

For trying to see and shoot tiny groups with a rimfire get a target scope. The lines on the scopes you are considering are probably wider than the holes you'll punch at 50, and I know they will be at 100.

Mil dots or hashes are for range estimation and holdoffs but if you are shooting at a round paper target at a known distance you can use the scoring rings and you'll know exactly how far you're holding off, not that you'd ever really want to with a 22lr at 50 yds.

The reason I said the plex is that it will have a thinner center to the reticle.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

I have a mil dot version of this scope on one of my ARs. I think it is a good scope for a .22 lr too. Personally, I'd get the mil dot because it gives you additional flexibility for holds. If I remember correctly, the mils are setup for about 15x, so when the scope it dialed up to 16x, the mils represent about 3". My .22 lr is 3" low at 100 with a 50 yard zero which makes for an easy hold over point. I have plex reticles on my other rifles and if you're not shooting at something graduated, holds are tough
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

And I am not really a fan on the thin line duplex reticle with a circle in the center. I mean you guys are making good points for both the plex or the mil dot.

SmokeyTok, I have been told to spend as much as I can on glass or I would regret it, and I have a budget of $350, so I would rather get the best quality I can get for that, and I saw a Monarch and I really like it and will probably stick to it.

XTR, I thought the mil dot usually has the thinner center because the dots have to be small as well. Is the plex really thinner?

Raider Power, do you think that if I only shoot at 50 yard and 100 yard ranges, that a mil dot would be best? I know it has useful features, but would the dots maybe distract me if I'm just shooting paper and trying to get the tightest groups?

thanks guys!
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Every scope you own should have a mil dot reticle. That is the best place to start. As you upgrade later on in your shooting abitliy and your shooting distances increase, the mil dots will play a big role in being able to hit targets. You need a ranging reticle that can be used to make corrections with.

You may not need it NOW, but you will later and this will keep you from having to buy another scope later on.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

I mean, I guess I will look at the recommended the T24 or T36 or the Mueller because maybe a higher magnification will benefit me... but I wonder if the pretty good glass with about 16 magnification will be as good, if not better than a higher magnification scope with worse glass (for similar prices)... or not? What would be the better thing to go with?

Thanks
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

For the distance you're shooting, 16x is fine. I was shooting at 2000 yds on 17x at moa targets so, high mag is not NEEDED. What are your goals? What is it you untimately want to accomplish?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Goin'Hot, I may keep this as a dedicated scope for my 22lr and the only place I will be shooting for a while goes out to 200 yards max. But I guess that is a good point, for when I begin doing longer shooting. Do the mil dots distract you from shooting a target at all? Also, how thin is the crosshair compared to a duplex reticle? (nikoplex in particular if you know)
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

They won't be a distraction.

My question about your goals is more long term. Is 200 yard shooting all you want to do? Do you plan on getting in to long range shooting?

If you will eventually get in to long range shooting, 500 yard plus, a mil dot scope (or any ranging scope) is needed to be able to make corrections when the target you engage is not hit on the first shot. You use the MD reticle to measure how much of a correction is needed to hit the target on the second hit.

It would be better (in the long run) if you became familiar with the platform sooner than later.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

My ultimate goal for this will be shooting the tightest groups I can. For now, I am going for a NRA light rifle bench qualification at 50 yards, and have to shoot a small target. I may do more things such as the standing qualification, where I think a smaller scope will be far less irritating. What do you think?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Umm I probably won't go farther than 200 because I live in NY and am bound for atleast a few years while poor and still in college before I can go out to a long range area to shoot with a nice 308 rifle or something... which I also don't have. And I know a 22 won't even go 200 yards well, especially if there is wind like there usually is.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Take your 22 out past 200 yardsand you'll have quite a bit of fun. I still like the mil dot because it is a great learning tool and you won't out grow it's usefulness.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

So even for shooting a dime consistently at 50 yards, a mil dot with about 15 or 16 mag should be enough if the glass is pretty good? I'm a fairly new shooter so I don't know much about what is usually used.

And how does a 22lr usually do at 200 yards or even past that? heh
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

You'll be fine shooting a dime with a MD reticle on 16x at 50 yards.

200 yards with a 22 will teach you the wind.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Okay nice, I think you may have just about sold me on that...

Just out of curiosity, what do you shoot and at what ranges?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

I've shot my 300NM 40° Imp out to 2400 yards. Most of the time, it's a 6.5x47L, 260 or 338 Edge out to 1165.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Wow that's insane! What state do you go shooting in?
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Ohio. We have it pretty good here. Between Rayners and Thunder Valley Precision, there isn't much else to want.

Well................. maybe prarie dogs.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

That's awesome. I live about an hour away from NYC so anywhere to go shooting for a day is not really anywhere close... But I guess a Mil Dot will be at the top of my list for now.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

You can always move
wink.gif
and that MD reticle will work in any state.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

True heh... and I guess it sounds pretty good. The 50 yard range around me is surrounded by concrete walls to get rid of wind, but not the 100 or 200 yard targets.

Will mil dots really by that helpful for something as unpredictable and susceptible to the environmental conditions as a 22lr round? Because I know many people use the 338 or 308 rounds for long range and love mildots, but for 22lr it is still a unusual concept, even though it is growing on me. But at a scale such as 22lr, won't a 22lr be too weak and light to be usable at that range? I konw you said it's fun, but I don't know how easily a bit of wind can knock it off course.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Mildots are good for wind holds and/or elevation holds if you’re not dialing your drop, not just ranging. There are guys on here shooting well beyond 200 with 22LR's. While the wind does push it around at 200 yards, the wind is not affecting the bullet as much as a 308 at 1000 yards.

Now to your original Q, the nikoplex vs. mildot. If you want to shoot at little targets the nikoplex will cover a little less, read thinner than the mildot. I have and use both.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

Thanks for the info Niles Coyote.

Do you think that the nikoplex is noticeably thinner than the mil dot?

I figure all I need at the moment is nikoplex, but if I ever want to try out shooting at around 200 yards, will a mil dot be a must have type thing?

For now, I just have a desire to do NRA qualifications at 50 yards, so the most middle circle is 1 cm in diameter, and the next is just a tad over 2 cm...

And since you have both, do you feel that the mil dot feels busier, and can possibly distract the eye a little bit when trying to spot small bullet holes or the rings/center of the target?

The reason I ask is because when I went to my Dick's sporting goods, they mainly had bdc and I didn't like the ones for the Nikon... too busy for me, and I didn't get to see mil dot or nikoplex, which is why I'm asking.

thanks so much!
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

I shoot the "smack the smiley" postal match seen here...

http://smackthesmiley.com/

Its fun and for a good cause. You can shoot either rimfire or centerfire or both as I do.

The smallest target is 10mm, guess that would be 1cm. With the nikoplex I have, 2.5-10 monarch gold, it is small enough I can hold on my .22 holes at 50 yards if I wanted to. The mildot is thicker but not by much. I still have no problem holding on the 1cm target at 50 yards. So it really would not be an issue.

It all boils down to what you get used to. I personally would not want a scope that doesn’t have some type of dot or line system in it, be that mil based or moa based. It just increases the usefulness of the optic. I shot for years using plex reticles and was happy. But now after getting into long range, I am no longer happy with a plain plex reticle.

In my mind a mildot isn't busy... You want busy, look to horrus reticles, that’s busy. But they do what they are designed too. To take someone that has little to no background in the mil system or long range and allow them to make repeatable LR hits with just a little instruction with any caliber or velocity or bullet. The mildot is the same system just the shooter has to do a little more since the grid isn’t there right in his eye's view.

BDC's are great but have a very limited usefulness, the rest is just educated guess work.

A plex is great but once you move away from the center it’s all educated guess work.

At 50 yards it’s not going to matter. But the longer the distance, the more favor you will find in a mildot once you learn to use it. Throw in wind holds and/or multiple targets at different distances to be shot in a single string of fire and the choice becomes clear.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Goin'Hot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Every scope you own should have a mil dot reticle. That is the best place to start. As you upgrade later on in your shooting abitliy and your shooting distances increase, the mil dots will play a big role in being able to hit targets. You need a ranging reticle that can be used to make corrections with.

You may not need it NOW, but you will later and this will keep you from having to buy another scope later on. </div></div>

[sarcasm]Wow, I guess all the guys on the line with me shooting F class and NRA HP should immediately go out and change reticles? Have you noticed all the target scopes with ranging reticles? You only own one scope? That in itself is pretty impressive.[/sarcasm]



I love the information that is available on this site but one thing anyone coming here should understand is that a large portion of the membership here thinks everything eventually leads back to tactical shooting or being snipery. Not everyone shoots that way.

I'll say it again, for a 22LR to shoot paper in practice get a target scope. If you want to go out and try to play vermin ninja and do hold offs on squirrels and rabbits at 50 to 75 yards get a mil dot. Personally in my youth when I squirrel/rabbit/coon hunted I probably killed thousands with a 4x duplex Tasco and 95 percent of the shooting was at 30 yards or less.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: XTR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">[sarcasm]Wow, I guess all the guys on the line with me shooting F class and NRA HP should immediately go out and change reticles? Have you noticed all the target scopes with ranging reticles? You only own one scope? That in itself is pretty impressive.[/sarcasm]

I love the information that is available on this site but one thing anyone coming here should understand is that a large portion of the membership here thinks everything eventually leads back to tactical shooting or being snipery. Not everyone shoots that way.

I'll say it again, for a 22LR to shoot paper in practice get a target scope. If you want to go out and try to play vermin ninja and do hold offs on squirrels and rabbits at 50 to 75 yards get a mil dot. Personally in my youth when I squirrel/rabbit/coon hunted I probably killed thousands with a 4x duplex Tasco and 95 percent of the shooting was at 30 yards or less. </div></div>

This is "snipers hide" where tactical shooting is more common than BR or NRA. <span style="font-weight: bold">Most</span> people that come here eventually gravitate towards tactical shooting which is why I <span style="font-weight: bold">suggested</span> to get a MD scope to start with.

If he didn't want our opinion, he should have started at Accurate Shooter or Benchrest Central.
 
Re: Mil Dot or Nikoplex for 50-100 yard shooting?

I appreciate all of the help and input from you guys. The only place I will have access to is a range for 50-200 yards, and they can be on sandbags or whatever else is desired. A friend of mine who is a RSO is strongly telling me to get a 8-32 scope or something similar, but I do not like the crosshair with center dot. Also, I know a mirage is known to occur when it gets warm when higher mag is used, and I'd rather spend the money on better glass than the higher mag which may be unusable at a certain point.

I have also been told that lower mag with better glass is more clear than worse glass with higher mag, in terms of seeing small details at a distance (esp around 50-200 yards).

I'm just new to shooting, but I do have a general survival mindset which is why I would like to have stuff that I can use both at the range, and in a survival situation if I ever needed to hunt small game (not likely but nothing is certain of what events will occur in the future... or if something such as a coyote problem threatens the safety of anyone).

This is why I think a 4-16 would be great for my current scenario, because it can be used for punching paper (95% light and 15x or 16x mag) would be fairly clear, but if I ever went somewhere where I could legally hunt then I would like to have a scope that I could use for that too.

If anyone could either tell me if I'm thinking and going the right way about this, or am not making sense, let me know because I am a newbie and I don't have much experience. Everything in my mind is from a lot of time browsing forums and talking to people.

thanks again