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Rifle Scopes Vortex open center crosshairs

frost1235

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 3, 2018
347
162
Where it snows
I have the EBR-2B reticle and I've been having issues focusing on the reticle when firing.

Going back to the basics, I can shoot single holes with iron sights on a pistol out to 15 yards. When I evaluated my technique, I would mentally determine where I thought the center of the target is, then I would cut the target in half with the iron sights. I'd then just focus on my fundamentals while keeping my sights steady.

That got me thinking, was the open reticle meant to be used as such? (The tip of the bottom crosshair cuts the target in half.) After gleaning the reticle manual, I've noticed that in the section about ranging, the top target is where the top of the tip of the crosshair is.

I'm going to contact Vortex when they open and ask, but has anyone tried this? Considering how they updated their reticles to have a center dot, I feel like they intended for the crosshairs to function like rifle iron sights under high magnification, but got tired of having to explain ior something similar.
 
I shot much better groups with my thick SWFA HD 5-20 crosshair than my PST Gen 2 EBR-2C open center. I didn't particularly care for it either - never heard anyone else express that same feeling til I saw this.

I liked the Steiner/Burris SCR reticle, and the Cronus floating crosshair, but I LOVE my Stryker floating dot more reticle the most by far.
 
I have an EBR-2C. I dont mind the open center, but would prefer a floating dot.

Try and find someone local to you who will let you shoot their rifle with the open center reticle and see if you like it.
 
I have the EBR-2B reticle and I've been having issues focusing on the reticle when firing.

Going back to the basics, I can shoot single holes with iron sights on a pistol out to 15 yards. When I evaluated my technique, I would mentally determine where I thought the center of the target is, then I would cut the target in half with the iron sights. I'd then just focus on my fundamentals while keeping my sights steady.

That got me thinking, was the open reticle meant to be used as such? (The tip of the bottom crosshair cuts the target in half.) After gleaning the reticle manual, I've noticed that in the section about ranging, the top target is where the top of the tip of the crosshair is.

I'm going to contact Vortex when they open and ask, but has anyone tried this? Considering how they updated their reticles to have a center dot, I feel like they intended for the crosshairs to function like rifle iron sights under high magnification, but got tired of having to explain ior something similar.

Center of where crosshairs would intersect is almost always intended as the aiming point. That would be the center of the open center in this example.

The half and whole mil marks are measured from the center of open center to center of hashes.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it however you like as long as yo
 
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Just in case anyone else was wondering, to save time, Vortex did confirm that the open reticles are meant to use the center of the open crosshair as the point of aim.

I have switched to using the bottom cross hair as a guide since the open cross hair messes with me. (Target focus over reticle.) Helps out, but I hope I'll never have to use my upper stadia lines.
 
I never understood the open center idea. I really don't like it.
 
Open center seems a bit weird to me also but I think mostly since I'm just not used to using one. Only advantage I can really see about it would be contrast from the crosshair lines of on a dark background ... like a bullseye target. Against a light background I'd prefer the closed crosshairs or dot if that was the case.
 
I like the open center better than the floating dot personally. If the target has a maked center I will just look for that center in the opening and then I'm good. I find with the floating dot reticles or floating cross that i have a harder time positioning on center as I feel like I keep seeing it off to one side or another. Probably just personal preference honestly.
 
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also like the floating dot still want to try a christmas tree ret one day
 
The center of the scope really isn’t important out past three hundred yards. I can use any but I like the open center best. Full crosshair second. The dot is my least favorite. Most are too damn small unless cranked way up in the mag range.

I dont shoot groups though. If I were a hundred yard paper puncher maybe i would feel differently. I only shoot a group to zero. I let the steel do the talking.
 
I'll update on my end.

I got to play with more than a handful of higher end scopes, center dot included. I definitely benefited with a center dot crosshair, but the biggest difference came from having thinner crosshairs, Open or center dot included.

I found the center dot much easier to do dot drills. But I found that thinner crosshairs allowed me to quarter the target easier when shooting far.

Using a Khales/Razor gen 2, I definitely noticed the difference in glass, but the forgiving eye box really stuck out to me. Having my gen 1 set up for prone and going to a different position lead to me having to re-adjust to find my eye relief again, shedding precious time.
 
Open center seemed odd to me, so I went for the EBR-2D. Added benefit, the PSTG2's with this reticle always seem to be selling for a significant discount.