How to Use a Tactical Mil Reticle

Rifle marksmen use the reticle of a mil-dot telescopic sight to estimate the range to their target and make minor adjustments to their aim. The crosshairs on the reticle of a tactical mil-dot scope are marked with small dots. The dots are spaced so that at a range of 1,000 meters, the distance between them subtends an arc of one angular milliradian (or "mil") -- 1/6400 of the arc of a complete circle. If you know the approximate size of your target, you can use the tactical mil-dot reticle in your riflescope to estimate the range.

Instructions

    • 1

      Make sure your telescopic sight is set to its mil-dot calibrated magnification. Variable-power scopes have one specific magnification setting for use with the mil-dot reticle, which is noted in the manufacturer's documentation. This isn't a concern with fixed-magnification scopes.

    • 2

      Look through your scope and lay the center of the reticle's crosshairs at the bottom edge of the target. Count the number of mil dots along the vertical axis of the reticle between the bottom edge and the top of the target. If the top of the target falls between two dots, estimate the fractional distance between the two dots. For example, if the top of a one-meter target falls halfway between the third and fourth dots, your count is 3.5 dots.

    • 3

      Estimate the range to the target using the formula:

      Range to target = (target height in meters x 1,000) / mil-dot count.

      Applying the calculation to the previous example yields a range to target of 285.7 meters:

      (1 meter x 1,000) / 3.5 = 285.7 meters