I put a Lucid 6-24x scope on the JP SCR11 precision rifle. The scope has a well-considered bullet drop compensating reticle and so works well for precision shooting. My sole complaint with it was the abrasive feel of the turret knurling. That just got fixed.
The machined ridges have been replaced with rubber insets, equally non-slip but much easier on gloves or fingers.
The optics and the controls remain the same as before.
The scope is sharp, bright, has no visible distortion and has a very generous eyebox even at 24x.
The good news is that you have a correspondence between the reticle in MOA and the Nobs in 1/8MOA. The bad news 1/8 of MOA is just useless for something different than Benchrest and a lot of math. And at least there are not a lot of rifle on the market where the precision is around 1/8 of MOA. Use 1/4 of a MOA .
If i take a my Sniper Rifle in GP11 (is close to the .308 win in terms of ballistic), at 900m i need at ICAO conditions 115 clicks in 1/10 mills, in 1/8 of MOA it is 316 Clicks. Now imagine you must switch quickly between a target at 400m and 1’000m. You can forget it with so much clicks.
The other point is the drop compensation. It functions only under one pressure and T° combination. If i shoot at 1’600m in the winter at -25 C° i will be way off the target if the bullet drop compensation is for the desert at 25° and 200m over sea. Its another gimik for sport shooters in constant environment. Another point is that under pressure the shooter has tendency to use the center cross, i have seen this very often. Shooters where bullets are hitting the ground close to them have these tendency 🙂
Isn’t the point of BDC reticle not having to make click adjustments under stress? As for 1/8MOA clicks, I think that it’s the same as 1/3 stop camera adjustments. Gives you the ability to fine-tune when time is available. Cruder and quicker methods (such as aperture/shutter priority or reticle offset) would be used under stress. I am not even sure if this is positioned as a combat scope rather than a sport/varmint hunting model.
In theory the BDC is conceived to make a quick shoot.
But there are a lot of flaws in the concept. First of all the reticle must be in the first focal plane, otherwise you can use it only with one magnification which negate the purpose of variable magnification. In the case of the Lucid its impossible to know from the company web site if it’s first or second plane.
The next thing is you must know precisely the distance and need as usual a laser telemeter, this is against any speed.
The next problem is wind.
Saying you have a 8 m/s wind at 500m. You will hit 1m on the side. Its impossible if you are on the 500m mark on the scope to make a holding correction, because you will have no references. That mean you mus correct in 1/8 MOA for 55 clicks.
At the end nothing is quick if you want to hit.
Finally this is valid in clinical conditions with constant wind and no stress. If i put you under pressure you will do what you do 99% of the time, aiming without knowing it at the center cross. We tested it extensively and consistently people are aiming under stress not on the BDC holding bars, but on the center.
In fact BDC was useful for a illiterate moujik carrying a Dragunov with no way to precisely get the distance. In this case it enhance a little bit hi hitting capacities. But for a alphabetized shooter who has a laser telemeter or is able to calculate distances with the mildot, who hat ballistic tables and a wind meter its just bullshit.
If you want a quick and dirty way to hit half man targets between 0-600m , use Sniping 4 generation. Rifle zeroed at 450m. Two aiming point for close target and far away target. Two aiming points if the wind is low or strong. If you miss you shoot in rapid fire 6 shoots in the idea to double the dispersion and to cover a square of 2x2m. With this method you have a hit probability of 80% and its idiot and stress proof. I need 1 day to bring anybody to consistently hit a half man target at 600m in prone position with the SIG550 or any AR15/M4.
The next point is pressure and temperature, it begins to be relevant up 400m. This mean BDC are only usable in different environment up to 400m. Past this distance the influence of pressure variation and temperature variation are to important on the ballistic pass.
On possibility is to have the turret marked in Yards or meter. You will have the same limitation than with the BDC, but you aim on the center of the cross and you don’t have the focal plane problem. In addition you can change the marking on the turret quit easily if you move for example to mountains. But in this case you must have quit big click intervals so you have the whole range in one turn. Typically 1/2 MOA would do the job.
Concerning the fine tuning. First of all if you consider sniping everything must go quickly it’s nothing for people living at 2 bpm. The target and the wind will not wait for you. You must be able between the time where the spotter give you the target and clicks to shoot in a few seconds and to reload immediately waiting for the next order. If you have 300 turns to do, its way to long and the error are programmed.
One other point is, fine tuning is nice, but you need a weapon and a shooter where its useful, otherwise you will wander around the center of the target. Typically a sniping rifle like the Sako TRG42 has a REAL dispersion (Weapon+skilled shooter) of 0.5 1/10 of mills. That is reality forget about what the manufacture say and what so called 5 shoots dispersion shows you . This mean at 1’000m you will have 100% of your shoot in a 50x50cm square and 60% of the shoots in a 25x25cm square. If your clicks are 1/8MOA its just useless in regard of the dispersion, in fact what will happen, is that you try to correct with clicks errors which are inherent to the dispersion of the weapon and the shooter.
1/8 of a MOA is only useful for an benchrester
If you want to know the real dispersion of your weapon shoot around 50-100 rounds in a target at the same time at 2-300m. This give you the real number. Than you can extrapolate to other distances, but don’t forget dispersion is not proportional to distance but to flight time.
What rings are those? QD latching types?