Vortex BDC reticle range card

Hi
I have one of the lower price Vortex 6x24 -30mm tube scopes on a Savage 12FV in 6.5 Creedmoor and it has the BDC reticle. I know the subtension are "estimates" when shooting at 200 to 400 yards or so. They are close but not as precise as I hoped for. I now know a different reticle would have been a better choice but is what I now have. I was hoping to learn from this group if there are any suggestions in making a simple range card for this scope reticle type?
Appreciate your help and feedback.
KYhunter

In my (opinion), the problem is your choice of the word (precise).
Nothing will be precise, at least all the time, meaning every time you use it.
Varying conditions such as a change in altitude, or temperature, even leaving a round in a hot chamber for a few minit’s before firing it can cause your chart to be at least slightly off.
That said, the best way to find out the information you want is to shoot the gun at various targets and make your own chart based on your results.
Consider that as recent as the early 80s, there were no scopes like the many available today having the ability to dial.
Other than a very few target scopes like Unertle and a few others.
There were a few companies offering custom reticles usually designed around your specific cartridge and gun.
So if you moved the scope to a different gun was it now useless?
Not really, but it did/does take some effort by way of shooting to get the information.
I have a scope set up with a multi dot reticle with dots from 100 out to 1000 yds for a 7 Rem Mag.
I later moved the same scope to a wildcat 300 Weatherby necked down to 7mm with over 300 FPS more velocity than the 7 Rem using the same bullet.
Testing at various distances proved that i had gained a dot, meaning that what had been 500 was now a 600 yd dot.
Fact is that all charts should be confirmed for accuracy by actual shooting, and none will ever always be precise.

My advice.
Put a dot on a big piece of paper.
At 100yds shoot each line in the scope.
Go measure the distance between impacts on paper.
Then back to 100yds confirm center is zero.
Walk back shoot it every 100yds with the center hair on your zero dot. Look how far the groups are out from zero.
Then use your math to determine at what range those line mean to your ballistic drop.

Print and stick on your stock.


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I don't have a Vortex but I have a great and useful solution for a "range card". I matched my load to the BDC on my Nikon (Spot-on.com) and wrote the info on a bit of paper I then sprayed with chart waterproofing spray and then cemented inside the scope cover. Fast and easy to use. I have drift figures on the edges for a 10 mph crosswind as well.

To paraphrase Tuco: "When it's time to shoot . . . shoot. Don't play cards".

Attachment 6660

I use Strelok and download a copy of the reticle with an example shot setup. I use paint to type in the dope numbers for my non-BDC scopes. Of course this ranging has to be vetted out with real world shooting...

Attachment 6661Attachment 6662

Remember one thing, if it wasent for the dialing of scopes, there wouldn’t be much long range shooting and especially long range hunting taking place.
Other methods can work, and sometimes work well, but dialing is still far and away the best method.
For one thing it’s less complicated with less things to remember, other than to look at your chart and dial in the clicks.
For hunting, nothing is more important than seeing hits. Otherwise it’s like driving without headlights, and best to just stop before something bad happens.
The hash marks are best used for holdover corrections following a shot. Simply hold the hit location on the target and shoot again right now.
As for using the reticle for ranging, it can work better on paper targets than it does in the real world when hunting.
Also remember that the very best target shooters rely on sighter shots, not data, and if you can get away with doing that while hunting, you should also.

Thanks for all the positive feedback. I hope to try several of the suggestions and see which seems to work for my specific Vortex BDC reticle. There are a lot of very smart people on this site. Again appreciate the feedback. KYHUNTER