Practical Tips on using the Swarovski 4A reticule

lambic

Well-Known Member
Hello gents

Based on advice from people more experienced than I, I have relieved Gregor of 1 his Habicht 8x50 scopes from his ever dwindling stash.

I have never used said reticule.

Are there handy tips or tricks people have learnt, such as range estimation etc? As it is fixed magnification, I hope I there are some tried and tested practical tips...?

Cheers
 
The 4A ret is a thin basic ret there's nothing that you could really use for bullet drop or range estimation
 
Perhaps it's one I owned. I just aimed and shot deer with it for ~10 years. I certainly didn't possess any range finding equipment at the start of those 10 years. I didn't over think what I was doing.

I zeroed the rifle to hit 1 inch high at 100 yds and just kept shooting and practicing.

I'm not sure what else there is to do?

Regards

JCS
 
the only thing i can think of is send it to me for a period of no less than twelve months i will road test it for you then send all my field trial results back to you for your perusal,regards doug, oh ps make sure its wearing its optilok overcoat as we dont want it to be cold out,:tiphat:
 
the only thing i can think of is send it to me for a period of no less than twelve months i will road test it for you then send all my field trial results back to you for your perusal,regards doug, oh ps make sure its wearing its optilok overcoat as we dont want it to be cold out,:tiphat:

Doug makes a good point. If I'd just bought a Swarovski 8 x 50 today, I would be taking some steps to protect the bell. At least I'd have a Butler Creek cover or similar on the bell.

Regards

JCS
 
8x fixed mag 4a reticule should present an average size roe doe chest to backside in between the thicker horizontal bars @ 100yds - fat bar to crosshairs = 200yds - 2xtimes the fat bar space = 50yds etc.

To to be fair though, zero inch high @ 100 and shoot straight at the engine room - if you're a 'necker', get a rangefinder and the Swaro app
 
The 4A ret is a thin basic ret there's nothing that you could really use for bullet drop or range estimation

Yes there is. The distance between the thick horizontal cross hairs should equal 70cm at 100m. Not by conincidence, this is the lngth of a roe. So, if the broadside roe fills that gap, he is 100m from you. If he fills half of the gap, guess what? Yep, he's 200m from you. Similarly for the 7 and 7A - only the gap is 1m not 70m. And that fits the red deer. It's very handy.

-JMS
 
Jeez, what a lot of technical stuff. If your zero is right you should be on or thereabouts at 100 to 250. So as others have said, just take your shot. If you are at a different distance then polish your stalking skills and get closer!! :D
 
I was replying to this and lost my detailed post so this may be shorter!
One of the great advantages of a fixed mag scope with an A4 recticle is being able to judge the distance of an object when you know its approximate size.
I have a Swaro 8 x 56 with A4 recticle bought off Gregor some time back. If you look at the 'Technical data' leaflet that comes with it it will give you the dimensions between the heavy posts (and other points) in inches at 100 yards and cms at 100 metres. As Hereford has pointed out you can then go figure what a roe should look like in your recticle at 100 yards, 150 yards, 200 yards etc...
A big advantage IMO is that it is a sanity check when shooting over large fields / open spaces where distance estimation can be tricky. If you are zeroed an inch high at 100 yards and engine room shooting you are probably good aiming bang on to 200 yards, but you don't want to mistake 230 yards for 180 yards (at least with most deer calibres).
In case you haven't got 'Technical data' leaflet the distance between the two heavy horizontal posts (i.e. the length of the fine line) is 50 inches at 100 yards (with a Swaro A4 recticle on an 8 x 50 or 8 x56 scope). So if your average sized roe is about 33 inches across then it will fill approx two thirds of the distance between the heavy posts at 100 yards half the distance at 150 yards and the whole distance at 67 yards. You need to work out yourself what sight picture you should get given your size of quarry and given distances.
Hope this helps.
 
I have two of them and as mentioned above zero an inch high at 100m.

Ditto, I had two of them. I paid about £400 for them new and got that for them when I traded them in for variables as I started to get into reloading. These scopes hold the record for time spent in my gun cupboard by a fair bit. Very, very good kit. Nothing to fiddle with.

Regards

JCS
 
Not trying to points score, but there is a discrepancy between the figures JMS and I have given you (and not just that I was quoting inches & yards while he was quoting centimeters and metres.
Checked the Swaro Technical sheet and the distance between the central cross and one of the heavy posts is 70cm at 100 metres, but between the two heavy posts it is twice that i.e. 140 cms at 100 metres.
 
Hello gents

Based on advice from people more experienced than I, I have relieved Gregor of 1 his Habicht 8x50 scopes from his ever dwindling stash.

I have never used said reticule.

Are there handy tips or tricks people have learnt, such as range estimation etc? As it is fixed magnification, I hope I there are some tried and tested practical tips...?

Cheers

Have a 4a ret on my Kahles....It is set 20mm high @ 200 yards....

Simple answer is....Practice!!

Depends what you are shooting and the ground?

Sprayer tram lines are close to 30 yards apart depending on how they have it set up.

Google map your ground and walk it a lot as that tree or telegraph pole will be so many yards from somewhere.

I made up a deer front half target out of ply for a mate to dial into @ 200 yards which worked a treat.

For me I would dial it in a inch high at a 100 and keep whacking the target then move out to 150 then 200 until you work out what is what.

Just find you limit then move on when you are ready...

I meant to add, I use quad sticks and zero off them as I use them all the time, save a hour or two in my high seats.

Shooting off a bench is fine but the get a bit heavy around the farm lol

Tim.243
 
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Many thanks gents for the excellent feedback.

My question was a bit vague, but the "1.4m between the thick posts @ 100m" is the main bit I need to remember. Shame it is not a "roe deer" at 100m as mentioned earlier as that would have been perfect to remember. Good luck trying to remember this kind of info for variable zoom scopes!

Will zero an inch high at 100m or zero at 200m, see how it goes.

Shame there is nothing better available than the woeful butler creeks.

Edit: So more like a roe deer at 70m?
 
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Thanks Hereford. Did not know about them. No doubt they will be painfully expensive.

But since the scope is new (for an obsolete model) probably a worthwhile investment.
 
I binned the Butler Creeks for a neoprene cover - cheap and quick and silent to remove.

Yes think roe at 70 metres

Neal
 
Thanks Hereford. Did not know about them. No doubt they will be painfully expensive.

But since the scope is new (for an obsolete model) probably a worthwhile investment.

I paid £62 for my 56 objective - in fact I think they're all around that money regardless of objective size - superbly made though and well worth it as mentioned - pretty sure they're lifetime guarantee against workmanship.

Apologies for 100yd roe mistake - I was pretty sure this was right however I might be getting my A7 & 4a reticules mixed up!
 
I have a 4a in my scopes. If a red hind fits between the two thick bits it's about 100yds. If it does nt reach the middle it's over 200 thus too far. With roe bucks as they are a smaller target, I like them to be across the middle, ok they are closer, but they are smaller.

But out as others have said, zero 1" high at 100 yds, and provided an animal is to the centre then cross hair half way up just behind the shoulder and squeeze. Or as an old stalker told me - using iron sight -" come up the foreleg, half way up and back a ball hair and squeeze. "
 
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