Is there a scientific reason crosshairs are set vertical?

[shawnba67]

My question is I kind of think on As standard crosshair that setting it at a 45 degree angle might work better on small targets. The X would obscure less of the starling or ground squirrel than the + does. Now if you tried to tell me that an aperture sight would work better than a buck horn sight I'd think you were silly. But we all know aperture sights work great due to natural visuall brain stuff. Anyway is there a visual brain stuff reason crosshairs are vertical and not on a 45
( I fully understand that adjustments are made much simpler by setting them vertically that is not the reason I'm looking for, that's marketing not visual brain science)

[frkelly74]

I think you may have answered your own question in stating the fact that adjustments are easier going one direction at a time. You might actually try it by mounting your scope at an angle, you would need a way to get the lines at 45 degrees accurately unless you can eyeball it close enough??

[fouronesix]

With nothing plumb to vertical or horizontal- the X just doesn't "look" right- at least to me. Actually, almost every imaginable type of reticle has been built and tried. But I don't remember ever seeing an X reticle. Even after all the types of reticles that have been tried, it seems most everyone agrees the vertical-horizontal type is the most useful. If the X were practical and in demand surely they would be made and sold to great numbers of people.

And, there is nothing keeping you from mounting a scope with normal vertical-horizontal reticle rotated 45 degrees and going for it. The POI adjustments of course will be different.

One thing I do on dangerous game bolt guns is mount the scope rotated a full 90 degrees to the left. This increases the loading port clearance and only requires using the Up-Down adjustment for Left-Right and vice versa. I've had people look at the set-up and either smirk or point out I mounted the scope wrong

The scope on this 450 Watts is rotated 90 degrees left which gets the turret and cap out of the way. Practical for both obstruction-free loading and ejection.

[DougGuy]

Because elevation, is vertical deviation called up, and down. Windage is side to side. None of the units of reference we use combines both up or sideways into a complex lateral movement, instead it is divided as up/down, or left/right to remove the complexity from it, which it does wonderfully so.

For a rifle scope, it is *imperitive* that the crosshairs be plumbed, because the bore is offset directly underneath the line of sight. This will remove any lateral error one will encounter while shooting or attempting to adjust the sights (crosshairs).

[Ken in Iowa]

The vertical/horizontal arrangement helps you level your gun.

[trails4u]

I think you could get away with it if you knew you would be shooting within 'x' distance, and the rifle was sighted to that distance. Outside of that....any adjustments become 'Kentucky' in windage or elevation. With practice....you could probably make it work. Might actually be fun to try!!

[Garyshome]

DougGuy +1

[shawnba67]

I'm giving it a test run on a 22-250 next range trip. I hade to turn it to gain ejection clearance. If I don't like it I will go a full 90.
I did hold on a dove in a tree about 300yds out and do still feel it obscures less of small non bullseye shaped targets

[Jim_P]

I always thought it was because the wind blows from side to side and gravity makes things go down.

[bangerjim]

You can mount it any way you want. By doing the 45 X, you loose all calibrations and setting capability of the dials. They are made and calibrated for vertical & horizontal, not 45°.

Wind and gravity do factor into the historical design and use of cross hairs as Jim P said above!!!!!!!!

It's your scope....do what you want. I know I cannot stand to have any of my scopes off vertical....even a tad.

[Love Life]

With nothing plumb to vertical or horizontal- the X just doesn't "look" right- at least to me. Actually, almost every imaginable type of reticle has been built and tried. But I don't remember ever seeing an X reticle. Even after all the types of reticles that have been tried, it seems most everyone agrees the vertical-horizontal type is the most useful. If the X were practical and in demand surely they would be made and sold to great numbers of people.

And, there is nothing keeping you from mounting a scope with normal vertical-horizontal reticle rotated 45 degrees and going for it. The POI adjustments of course will be different.

One thing I do on dangerous game bolt guns is mount the scope rotated a full 90 degrees to the left. This increases the loading port clearance and only requires using the Up-Down adjustment for Left-Right and vice versa. I've had people look at the set-up and either smirk or point out I mounted the scope wrong

The scope on this 450 Watts is rotated 90 degrees left which gets the turret and cap out of the way. Practical for both obstruction-free loading and ejection.

I thought I was the only one who did that!

[Maximumbob54]

Two other options I've seen. One was sort of like the Leupold black dot in the center but the cross hairs were very fine instead of the usual duplex and the center of the dot was see through. It looked neat enough but heck if I remember the actual brand. The second is a scope I recently (finally) looked through but is nothing new. Trigicon has one of the bottom post designs which isn't new but it has a colored triangle at the top instead of just the usual black squared off post. I bet if you sighted it in for that specific distance then that's one fast shooting sight. I would buy one but yikes the price...

[sundog]

Who says the intersection of the cross hairs has to be the aim point? More precise aiming can be accomplished by placing the aim point in the cross hair angle of one of the quadrants, most often the upper left. That way the EDGES of the upper verticle and right horizontal cross hairs fix the aim point - the aim point is visible.

[country gent]

SInce most scopes mount the reticle in a tube if the tube was rotated 45* inside the scope and remounted the X would still wove in the normal directions of up down / left right. Rotating the scope adjustments and all to 45" is going to require dual adjustments to zero scope at any range . as adjusting at 45* elevation will induce equal wind change. he X will give no refrence to a level rifle or consistent plane of rifle. I aslso may throw in some optical illusions to affect steadyness. I have a weaver scope that has a 2 min dot in it at 1.5X and it is a very fast shooting set up on the 22 its on. I have a malcomn scope from MVA with a ring for a reticle 4 mins inside 6mins outside. With an appropriate size bullseye its fast and easy to use Its on a CPA Stevens in 40-65 I use for shillouette matches. There are mill dots and Hourrus grid reticles also. While I have seen post reticles Ive never shot one a post from the top down would allow elevation for range with out blocking the target out. Most all duplex reticles work for range finders quite accuratly as the are 6moa between broad points, hence an 18" target Deer from back to belly that fills the broad points is very close to 300yds only fills half its closer to 600yds. Only 1/3rd of it fits 100 yds. WIth the X this would work but be harder to judge. Lever or cant will be harder to see I have seen appetures with an X for globe front sights but suspect they are custom made.

[Doc Highwall]

The cross hairs or reticles can be rotated in the scope and still have the windage and elevation knobs square to the axis of the bore.

With a scope that is going to be used for different distances like in target shooting at both short and long range tracking is very important, Just because the cross hairs are square to the rifle does not mean that the tracking is square. The reticle might not be square to the tracking of the scope adjustments.

Check out this video and you will see what I mean. Look at the 4 minute mark and pay attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41mJ7nK57JQ&list=PLCxAaTPd2ulAIgJGkt-bM2IffUXTfFa18

[Ballistics in Scotland]

There used to be quite a bit of trouble with IQ tests, which were found to work against people brought up in round huts, without right angles or verticals. Poor old Nelson Mandela would have done badly, in his youth, in some visio-special questions. We think in terms of verticals and horizontals, and there are plenty of them in nature - horizon, trees etc. It is also easier to estimate holdover if there is a line running downward through the target.

[Artful]

There used to be quite a bit of trouble with IQ tests, which were found to work against people brought up in round huts, without right angles or verticals. Poor old Nelson Mandela would have done badly, in his youth, in some visio-special questions. We think in terms of verticals and horizontals, and there are plenty of them in nature - horizon, trees etc. It is also easier to estimate holdover if there is a line running downward through the target.

Guess they never had to work themselves out of a corner!

[David2011]

Two other options I've seen. One was sort of like the Leupold black dot in the center but the cross hairs were very fine instead of the usual duplex and the center of the dot was see through. It looked neat enough but heck if I remember the actual brand. The second is a scope I recently (finally) looked through but is nothing new. Trigicon has one of the bottom post designs which isn't new but it has a colored triangle at the top instead of just the usual black squared off post. I bet if you sighted it in for that specific distance then that's one fast shooting sight. I would buy one but yikes the price...

I have a Nikon Buckmaster 6-18x40 that has very fine crosshairs and a small dot. I think they call it their target reticle. The down side is that there is no visual windage or elevation reference. It's either Kentucky or with the knobs.

David

[Patrick56]

I have been using x-pattern ( cross rotated 45 degrees ) targets when zeroing my riflescopes. It is easy to use and gives additional precision compared to cross on cross method. Try it!

[country gent]

Try this also Use a 3" X 3" squre on your target. then bracket the corner of the square in the corner of the crosshairs. Zero so group is in center of square when just shooting groups or working loads. This allows you to see the same aiming point everytime. Another plus is bracketing for corners in for corners of crosshairs allow for 4 groups to be fired on the target before having to go down range. Bench reast targets ahve the score bull and an aiming square both for this technique. Bracketing the corners works well and putting the group away from aiming point dosnt disturb change the sight picture.