Nikon custom reticle?

[ken sage]

Hey guys, I have a Nikon Monarch 5.5 - 16.5 w/ the Nikoplex reticle mounted on my 221 FB. I used this combo this past year P-doging as my short range rifle (100-200yds). I had no problem at close range but the dogs beyond 200-300 were hidden by the thick reticle. I contacted Nikon for info on a reticle change, but they do not have a custom shop like Leupold. Does anybody know who could change it to a finer crosshair? Thanks, Ken

[Hotshot]

Ken,

That is the only reason I've never tried the Nikon scopes. Way too thick on the reticles.

One of my shooting friends sent three scopes to a company called Lee. He wanted fine cross hairs with reference dots for various distances. At the time Premier only did Leupold scopes, but he wanted that type of reticle and Lee worked on various types. I'm sure they must have a web site. Lee always had ads in Varmint Hunter and Precision Shooting in years past, I haven't noticed lately.

[ken sage]

Thanks Hotshot. I found Lee's website, www.scopedot.com. I'm not sure if a dot reticle is the way to go. Anybody shot pdogs with a dot reticle and if so what size dot would you recommend? Thanks

[Rick in Oregon]

Ken, I've only got one target dot scope, a Leupold 3-9X Compact w/AO mounted on a nice little Browning Low Wall in 22 K-Hornet. It has the 1/8 MOA Leupold dot, and while okay for some shooting, I do not consider it the hot ticket for field use, as without any horizontal reference, canting the rifle is an issue, and for quick shots, the dot is hard to pick up, especially in low light conditions. For popping rodents, there are many much more suitable reticles, especially those with elevation hash marks on the vertical crosshair portion of the reticle. Even a mil-dot reticle is much more field worthy.

Dot reticles are IMHO great for punching paper, but are not really ideally suited for field use. Just my .02 cents worth. This will be the only one I own.

However......I believe Lee will install various dots for different ranges, which is what you really want, along with a crosshair reticle to use them on, assuming the scope you intend to use has a crosshair reticle to start with.

[Hotshot]

When I shoot prairie dogs I'm in good light situation on the open prairie. I love a small dot or fine cross hairs. The reticles with dots or hash marks for various distances are also quite handy on the rare occasion that I miss the first shot, because they make the follow up shot fast and easy to calculate. A 1/4 minute dot only covers 1 inch at 400 yards so it is easy to see on a pd but doesn't cover too much. My new favorite reticle is the Leupold Varmint Hunter. I would trade that Nikon for a 4.5-14 VXIII.

P.S. If you haven't seen me shoot, be charitable in your comments about me not missing. And if you owe me money, just shut up about it.

[ken sage]

Just a quick update:
In reading Lee's site I found this passage: Note 1: Some scopes are not made to come apart. To determine if your scope can have a Lee Dot installed, hold your scope with the light behind you and look into the scope eyepiece, but not through it. Your are looking down in the eyepiece about 2 inches to about where the eyepiece screws on to the body of the scope. You should see the reticle with the crosshairs on it. Look to see if there are 2 or 3 Phillips head screws holding the reticle to the body of the scope. If you see the screws, the reticle is removable. If you do not see the screws, but see a small “notch” on opposite sides of the reticle, it is not removable and we do not do that scope. ---

Of course my scope has the notches not the screws so Hotshot I'll take your advice and get rid of it!

Thanks Hotshot and Rick for your input. Ken