LR Duplex reticle

[Phantom Hunter]

Do the LR Duplex reticles from Leupold work or are they more of a gimmick to sell new scopes? Has anyone tried them and liked them? Would like to hear from anyone who has tried one.

Phantom Hunter

 

[Jeffpg]

There are no gimmicks put out by Leupold, friend. The products they produce work as advertised.

The LR Duplex reticle you speak of is basically, for most calibers, a 200 yard-zero reticle that allows holdover for 300, 400 and 500 yards. Follow Leupolds instructions on the use of the scope/reticle as this may and will likely vary somewhat depending on your caliber/load. You have to actually put it to practice on the range to learn the specifics and gain confidence in how well it works, but that's the fun part. I actually have 2 scopes with this reticle that I haven't yet used, but I have extensively used the B&C and Varmint Hunter reticles is several different scopes and they work great. I also look forward to using the 2 new CDS models I recently got.

Getcha one, and good luck!

 

[Phantom Hunter]

Jeff,

How does the LR reticle work if, for instance I shoot a 160 gr 2900fps 7MM load vs the 150 gr at 3010 fps listed on Leupold's chart? What happens if you get a shot at 60 yards do you still need the scope set at 9x where it was sighted in? Still not sure how well I would like this system for all-round hunting. No store in town carries them, so I haven't been able to put my hands on one to give it a good look.

Phantom Hunter

 

[Jeffpg]

Phantom,

I'm afraid you are overcomplicating it a bit. It isn't quite as critical as you imagine. At 60 yards, you could turn the whole rig upside down and still make your kill... seriously, nothing much matters until you get past 300 yards or more on any relatively flat shooting cartridge.

Save yourself a lot of time and stress by calling this number :
503-526-1400. A Leupold product specialist will be glad to field any and all questions you may have about their goods. They are knowledgable and very helpful fellows and can do more over the phone for you in 5 minutes than I can here in 5 days.
Let us know what you learn.

The reticles are really quite simple in their design and use. They are also pretty versatile in that you can vary your zero and the power settings for different results. But don't worry too much about the system disrupting your hunting/shooting pleasure... If you want, you can just forget those funny little dots on the bottom of the reticle and use it just like any other scope until you decide to make use of the holdover dots. I believe you will then learn that the reticle is not only useful in the field, but fun to play with as you learn exactly what it can do for you.

 

[Phantom Hunter]

Thanks. I was planning to call Leupold next week. Will try to post up what I learn.

Phantom Hunter

 

[BPKHunter]

Phantom,

In the past three years I have converted from standard duplex reticles to either a dial and shoot system or various forms of Ballistic Reticles such as leupolds LR Duplex. We now use them on 7mm Mag, 280, 270, 25-06, and 30-06. My velocities range from a low of 2600 to high of 3200. My reticles work out even farther to 600/650 using the same 200 zero Leupold's does. For reference we use 1 zeiss and 3 Burris. I also reload so we utilize 2-3 bullet in each caliber. The point of all this info is that, from a hunting perspective, with all of these combinations, I have been able to be +/- 2" of my target elevation all the way to my farthest yardage line with some simple bench work. Actually I trust the system enough now to do most of the work on the computer. The leupold system is very simplified, especially compared to my Zeiss, Rapid-Z, so it should be very simple but effective. 2" is not much and most hunters can not hold steadier than that anyway, not over 200 yds.

 

[Phantom Hunter]

Called Leupold this morning and discussed the LR reticle with the tech. Basically what I learned was if you shoot a caliber/load combination that is not on one of their list you will have to use a different magnification to make the dots work. Exactly what that magnification is takes a lot of range work. When I asked what happens if you are all zeroed in at 200 to use the dots and get a shot at 60 yards he said it wouldn't work. I'm guessing he means the dots, as you should be able to hit the target at 60. After asking lots of questions I decided that the LR reticle is not for me as my loads are not on their list and would require me to use a different magnification. I have never really had any trouble making shots out to 400 yds +/-, so the old duplex reticle works well for me. With a cheat sheet made from lots of range time I belive I could make shots a little further and that all I really should do. Thanks for all the advice.

Phantom Hunter

 

[ElmerFudd]

I would think your normal zero of 200-300 yards, or whatever you do, would use the center crosshair till you are far out enough to worry about holdover, as always...

Rather than think about it as changing power to get even 100 yard zero increments, I would use range time to see where the dots are zerod at for my setup at highest power (what you likely use for long shots). You aren't likely to get field shots on the exact 100 yard range increments anyway. The extra aiming points just give you a consistent known points for interpolation and where to hold for long shots at several distances, rather than just using the average size of the target/game for holdover like you would do with regular duplex/crosshairs.

 

[400bull]

Phantum Hunter,

I think you are making the LR recital more complicated then it really is. The LR recital on the Leupold VX=II and I believe all LR recitals are designed to be used on the highest magnification. In my case this is at a 9X. You sight your rifle in at 200 yards (some may work better at 100). Anything between 0 and 250 yards put the cross hairs on the vitals and squeeze the trigger. If your target is at 300 yards put your first hash mark on the vitals and squeeze the trigger, 400 yards put the second hash mark on the vitals and squeeze the trigger. With my set up on my 300 WSM the only time that I am dead on is at yards. All other ranges I am +/- 3 inches out to 500 yards. Ether way that's close enough ware I feel confident that I can hit any large game in the vitals out to 500 yards.

I once seen an Excel spread sheet floating around were you could enter in you ballistic information and the spread sheet would give you your exact sight in for each hash mark on the LR recital. This was a great spread sheet because it would calculate your ballistic information for several brands of scopes, Bushnell, Buris, Nikon, and Leupold were all on the spread sheet. I'll see if I can dig up the information and send it to you.

400bull

 

[Foreman4x4]

Yep, making it sound a lot harder than it really is. IMO, the LR duplex is the best thing Leupold has going as far as a ranging reticle goes, far better than the cluttered B/C reticle, but I prefer an elevation turret to either. Either way, you need to shoot and know YOUR rifle and not count on someone else's information/data.

 

[oregonmuley]

No kidding the LR dotz are easy and work great once you get them dialed in for your rifle/load. Not sure why the OP even asked what you do at 60 yards???? Its a LONG RANGE reticle - at 60 you don't use the dotz, not the intent of them at all.

 

[BPKHunter]

As stated in my previous response, I have used numerous chamberings and numerous loads from high velocity and high BC flat shooting rounds to much slower rounds and I am always +/- 2" from where I am aiming. So, what you should take from this is even you should be able to utilize this system without having to mess with your magnification. You will need to keep it on the same magnification to keep it consistent over 200 yds.

So, if you want to shoot quicker and without relying on a chart, then get the any ballistic reticle you want and use it. FYI, I have looked at most of these Zeiss, Nikon, Leupold, Burris... and most are set for a typical 400 bc bullet going around 2800 fps = or about your typical 165 grain 30-06 or 130 gr 270, basically your most popular big game rounds. Again, I have used 600 bc bullets at 3050 fps and it works all the way to 600 yards. I don't change the power setting, I simply look at my drop data and match it, or what I would recommend is basically getting as close as you can on your 2 fartherst aim points(400,500 yds) and you will not be more than 2" off at 200 and 300 yards. The margin of error works better than estimating off one fixed reticle aim point like on a duplex reticle