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Rifle Scopes Open Center reticle vs Solid Center reticles

ThunderRun

ThunderRun

Private
Minuteman
Apr 19, 2018
75
34
What's your preference? Open Center or Solid center reticles?

Answer the Survey HERE

The photos below depict open center (with floating dot/cross, etc) vs solid center reticles. Ignore the difference in subtension design and values, this is only concerning the main cross section of the reticle.

Thanks for the input!
Solid Center.png
Open Center.png
 
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No difference. In my neck of the woods the wind is always blowing which means the horizontal line is used much much more often. That in my opinion is where a man should be looking as part of his decision making when selecting a reticle. Much more so then the center.

If I had to be critical of a reticle center, the dot is my least favorite especially on scopes like the Vortex where it is so damn small. But like I said, it is the rest of the reticle that matters.

this is coming from a hunter and a relatively high volume recreational shooter.
 
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Depending on your use..... I can say that there really isnt a ton of difference in the center style for myself.

I've had thick solid reticles, thin solids, open, the cross like the Athlon reticle, small floating dots, big floating dots (.075 mil Gen3XR), and tiny floating dots (.02 in the S&B LRR)

I thought that I NEEDED a floating dot or closed center. Shot a match with the LRR (the dot is so small that unless you're on 25x, its hardly detectable) and didn't really feel hindered since there's not really an "aiming point" on steel anyway.

Worry about the rest of the reticle.

*For benchrest, group shooting, fclass, other disciplines, you may care or have a preference*
 
I like all of them. There are reticles like the G3 that are solid but still very thin in the center. Not sure which I like better, they mostly have their pros and cons like everything else. I like a small dot best for very small targets. I like to dial wind for small targets. Too small of a dot annoys me a little sometimes because I like to shoot at lower powers. Some of them are pretty hard to see at 10x or lower.
 
I have allways preferred a floating dot for precise spot or group shooting like is found in the MP-8 reticle.
Other than that the Bushnell G2-3 reticle is my favorite at the moment.
Haven't used any of the Vortex grid reticle designs yet but I think if I did it would end up costing me some money as they seem to blend my two preferred aspects of what I want in an ideal reticle.
 
flat range precision stuff, super fine or floating dot/cross

quick shot or woods hunting old school solid
 
Personally I don't like the solid line as much as the floating crosshair. I have the APRS MIL in my Cronus and like how the floating cross draws my eye to the target. I prefer that, or a good size dot like the TT Gen 3 XR (I dont have the floating dot model) for quick acquisition.
 
still love my free floating dot . but the floating cross (bottom right ) is my pic of the two you posted .
 
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I like either with maybe a preference for the dot. I don't like a solid center much anymore.

.05 mil is about the perfect size dot, maybe .06. For example the dot in the Midas TAC 4-16 is too small even at 16x.

I can't remember what thickness the + center is in the Ares BTR but I liked the thinner one in the Cronus. I do like the reticle thickness other than the "+" for holdovers in the Ares more because I usually dial down the mag some for holdovers and need to see the reticle hash's well.

Bring out more all .2 mil reticles, especially in the TAC line!
 
ThunderRun said:
Wow. Open center (with dot, or cross) is at about 80% in favor. That's quite the margin so far.
Click to expand...
i dont think its a fair survey for 'open center'

open center is ebr-2c

floating dot ebr-7c or milC milxt skmr3 mpct2 etc

floating cross not super common outside athlon and some older NF stuff

full crosshair not common. ebr-2d i can think of
 
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b6graham said:
i dont think its a fair survey for 'open center'

open center is ebr-2c

floating dot ebr-7c or milC milxt skmr3 mpct2 etc

floating cross not super common outside athlon and some older NF stuff

full crosshair not common. ebr-2d i can think of
Click to expand...
Yes, I tried to clarify by stating floating dot, cross, etc in the original post. As well as including picture to illustrate what I was surveying. Hopefully that helps.
 
Yeah but I prefer a floating cross to a continuous cross hair and I prefer a continuous cross hair over a floating dot and I would prefer a floating dot over a true open center.

So depending on how one interprets the muddied questions options to chose from the resulting answers can be just as muddied. Its 4 different things trying to get pigeon holed into only 2 options.
 
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spife7980 said:
Yeah but I prefer a floating cross to a continuous cross hair and I prefer a continuous cross hair over a floating dot and I would prefer a floating dot over a true open center.

So depending on how one interprets the muddied questions options to chose from the resulting answers can be just as muddied. Its 4 different things trying to get pigeon holed into only 2 options.
Click to expand...
this is not incorrect. I hate a floating f crosshair, and love a floating dot.
Floating dot >open center>floating crosshair>continuous crosshair
 
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my preference is a true open center like the ebr-2c. I have a floating cross scope (athlon ares btr) which is certainly ok, but slightly prefer the open center.
 
I'm getting ready to purchase a Cronus and can't decide if I want the dot or cross and it's driving me nuts. I've used a friend's with the cross and like it, but I don't have a dot in hand to look through. My eyes are starting to fail me up close so I fear that the dot won't work since I'll be around 10-12x most of the time.
 
I have found each to be good in certain cases. One of the best scopes that I have ever owned (please don't laugh) was an SWFA 10X42 mil/mil. It was clear and the solid center cross hairs were just the perfect thickness and sharpness. I still shoot that scope on a .223. Of course that was a fixed power and everything merged in one spot, but I also like floating dots depending on the size and my application. I like the small dots for paper and large dots for steel and fast target acquisition. The only floating cross that I own is on a3-9 tactical Burris on an AR and it is medium sized and I love it. I like them all in their place and find it hard to rate them out of context.
 
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