Rifle Scopes Reticle size vs zoom range ffp

408w · Sunday at 9:10 AM

When looking for a ffp scope and not being able to put hands on them is there a way to tell how useful the reticle will be on various zoom ranges?

Let me try and explain better.

Will a Reticle thickness of .1 appear the same in a 3-15x scope and a 5-25x scope at say 8x?
Same reticle in both scopes. Just different zoom range.

supercorndogs · Sunday at 9:27 AM

It might not appear the same size because of many other factors but it should cover the same amount of target.

Baron23 · Sunday at 10:18 AM

408w said:
When looking for a ffp scope and not being able to put hands on them is there a way to tell how useful the reticle will be on various zoom ranges?

Let me try and explain better.

Will a Reticle thickness of .1 appear the same in a 3-15x scope and a 5-25x scope at say 8x?
Same reticle in both scopes. Just different zoom range.

Many companies will show on their website the reticle at max and min magnification.

stanley_white · Sunday at 10:24 AM

408w said:
When looking for a ffp scope and not being able to put hands on them is there a way to tell how useful the reticle will be on various zoom ranges?

Let me try and explain better.

Will a Reticle thickness of .1 appear the same in a 3-15x scope and a 5-25x scope at say 8x?
Same reticle in both scopes. Just different zoom range.

For the magnification ranges that they share, 5-17x, the reticles in my U.S. Optics FDN scopes in 3.2-17x and 5-25x are exactly the same.

I suspect the same would be true in the Leupold MK5 series though in those I only own the 5-25.

Regarding a .1 MRAD thick reticle, the only one I know of is the Leupold MK5 Illuminated TMR. For that reticle, which I own, I would not want to go above 25x because the thickness would become distracting.

I hope that helps.

-Stan

spife7980 · Sunday at 11:14 AM

408w said:
Will a Reticle thickness of .1 appear the same in a 3-15x scope and a 5-25x scope at say 8x?

.1 mil is always .1 mil.
In a front focal the reticle is always what it says it is.
“Appear” is a whole other bag of worms based on what your eyes resolve but it will be the same area in each.

For above 18x .03 thick is nice and a .04 is pretty bold.
For below 18x a .04 is nice and a .05 is nicer.
The more zoomed out you are, the thicker it will need to be for your eye to pick it up.

Emerson0311 · Sunday at 12:56 PM

I think the concern with thin reticles at low magnification is over blown, especially with illumination available at very low price points. I was recently using a Gen 3 Razor at 6X without the reticle illumination turned on. Surprisingly no issue seeing the reticle on target as I changed positions on the clock.

supercorndogs · Sunday at 2:34 PM

I shoot under 10x probably way more than most people probably.

stanley_white · Sunday at 3:10 PM

Emerson0311 said:
I think the concern with thin reticles at low magnification is over blown, especially with illumination available at very low price points. I was recently using a Gen 3 Razor at 6X without the reticle illumination turned on. Surprisingly no issue seeing the reticle on target as I changed positions on the clock.

What were the conditions of your 6x shooting sans illumination?

-Stan

408w · Sunday at 4:55 PM

408w said:
When looking for a ffp scope and not being able to put hands on them is there a way to tell how useful the reticle will be on various zoom ranges?

Let me try and explain better.

Will a Reticle thickness of .1 appear the same in a 3-15x scope and a 5-25x scope at say 8x?
Same reticle in both scopes. Just different zoom range.

Let me try this again.
7-35 nightforce atacr moar reticle
4-16 nightforce atacr moar reticle
Both FFP
Will the reticle look the same through both scopes at 8x.
If not then why……?

SRPowah · Sunday at 5:14 PM

408w said:
Let me try this again.
7-35 nightforce atacr moar reticle
4-16 nightforce atacr moar reticle
Both FFP
Will the reticle look the same through both scopes at 8x.
If not then why……?

The reticle will cover the same amount of the target. The whole sight picture might look different to your brain due to optical design differences between the 4-16 and 7-35.

Functionally any shot you could make with one would be easily made with the other.

stanley_white · Sunday at 5:24 PM

408w said:
Let me try this again.
7-35 nightforce atacr moar reticle
4-16 nightforce atacr moar reticle
Both FFP
Will the reticle look the same through both scopes at 8x.
If not then why……?

Before I made my second FDN purchase from USO, I had the same question, which USO answered, and I found to be correct, thus my response above.

I suggest you ask Nightforce.

-Stan

Emerson0311 · Sunday at 10:49 PM

stanley_white said:
What were the conditions of your 6x shooting sans illumination?

-Stan

Just a late afternoon. Sunny.

beetroot · Sunday at 11:09 PM

Short answer is yes a .1mil line looks the same in all scopes at the same magnification as it's the same size in all scopes.

The long answer is just because the main line thickness it the same in two scopes, doesn't mean that the reticle in general looks the same.
Spacing and thickness of harsh marks makes a big difference to overall visibility.

A good example is the centre cross in the SCR2 reticle, all though the line thickness is thinner than most centre dots, the cross shape is overall larger so easier to pick up at lower magnification, but then at higher magnification the thin line thickness means you still get a nice precise aiming point.

The EBR-7c is also a good example, the thicker .5mil hashes on the horizontal makes the reticle appear thicker than it actually is.

beetroot · Sunday at 11:10 PM

408w said:
Let me try this again.
7-35 nightforce atacr moar reticle
4-16 nightforce atacr moar reticle
Both FFP
Will the reticle look the same through both scopes at 8x.
If not then why……?

Yes it will look the same.

DFOOSKING · 2025-05-26T10:35:46-0400

From what I've seen from various in house manufacturers videos. They put the scope in a device that kinda acts like a collometer (boresight tool).....and with it they look for flaws in glass itself, resolution, and if the reticle subtends true. With little effort on their part, an inspector could catch variances in reticle subtention being off.

From just a practical standpoint, if reticles varied...there would be consequences when it comes time to measure misses and target dimensions. Which would probably be picked up quickly by the most anal of us shooters.

So yes, it better look the same. That's the whole point. I have seen where image quality downrange (beyond the reticle) suffers on some scopes. But that's a different thing altogether.

And you can have two individual shooters each say a thing is either right or wrong.....human perception. How their eyes resolve what they see. I'm not a eye doctor. Don't ask me what you see and expect me to necessarily put a true answer to what you percieve through your Mk1 eyeball. Lol.

That is part of what you pay for......for the scope to be tested and proven true at the factory so we don't have to debate it.

Burdy · 2025-05-26T16:04:27-0400

408w said:
Let me try this again.
7-35 nightforce atacr moar reticle
4-16 nightforce atacr moar reticle
Both FFP
Will the reticle look the same through both scopes at 8x.
If not then why……?

No.

beetroot · 2025-05-26T19:41:23-0400

Burdy said:
No.

You are correct, but that's because NF changes some of the reticle thickness depending on which scope the reticle is put into.

For the OP:
On the other hand the EBR-7c reticle isn't adjusted to suit different magnification, so will look the same in all Vortex scopes.

Burdy · 2025-05-26T20:10:23-0400

beetroot said:
You are correct, but that's because NF changes some of the reticle thickness depending on which scope the reticle is put into.

For the OP:
On the other hand the EBR-7c reticle isn't adjusted to suit different magnification, so will look the same in all Vortex scopes.

Gotcha. I have a 4-16 ATACR Mil-XT and a 4-32 NX8 with the same reticle. The 4-16 resolves the reticle to be larger in appearance at the same mag settings. At 4, 10 or 16 power, the ATACR 4-16 reticle is easier to see. When I used to have only the 2.5-20 and 4-32 NX8, I remember those to be different as well.

Same thing on my Khales K16 and K18 at 1, 3 and 6x, both with the 3GR reticle...which I get it, it's SFP, but at 1x one presents larger than the other.

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