I put this topic off for a long time, mostly because I was never going to cover it. There are so many articles already covering it, but there are certain aspects I see no one talking about, so I’ll cover them now. Mils vs. MOA; which is better? Which to choose?
When I was learning to use Mils and MOA, the hardest part for me was to think in Mils and MOA and not inches. This was a concept I couldn’t understand for a while until I let go of everything I knew and just did what I was being taught: that I would no longer be using inches and a formula to convert to mils and MOA.
Minute of Angle and Milliradian
Let’s first look at what Mil and MOA are.
An MOA or minute of angle is an
angular measurement.
A MOA is 1/60th of a degree, and there 360 degrees in a circle. If you divided a circle into 360 even pie pieces and took one piece and divided it in to 60 even pieces, you would have 1 MOA. At 100 yards, 1 MOA = 1.047 inches.
1 MOA is a different size at different distances (because it’s angular). For example, 5.235″ at 500 yards is still just 1 MOA.
1 Milliradian (or mil) is also an angular measurement. It is defined as
1/1,000 of the radius, or 1 cm at 1000 cm (100 meters). Because it’s 1/1000, it can be any measurement you choose to use. It’s 1 inch at 1000 inches or 1 foot at 1000 feet.
MOA and Mils are not inches, centimeters or feet. They are angular measurements, so you have to think in an angular measurement. The difference between the two are the same differences between inches or cm, in that they’re just different. One is not necessarily better than the other when it comes to shooting. You won’t shoot better because you have one over the other.
In my opinion, I like Mils better for three reason. The first is simply because it’s what I started with. The next two reasons are why I prefer and recommend Mils over MOA, but don’t hear anyone really talking about, so I wanted to focus on them.
Memorizing your dope is easier with Mils than MOA because it’s smaller numbers. Let’s compare a drop table in MOA and Mils. This is for my 6.5 creedmoor.
Mils
200 - .4
300 - 1.1
400 - 1.8
500 - 2.8
600 - 3.8
700 - 4.9
800 - 6.1
900 - 7.5
1000 - 9
MOA
200 - 1.25
300 - 3.5
400 - 6.5
500 - 9.5
600 - 13.25
700 - 17
800 - 21.25
900 - 25.75
1000 - 31.25
For me, it’s a lot easier to remember single and double digit numbers than it is triple and quadruple digit numbers. If i need to make a quick shot, I don’t want to mix up numbers. There are so many things I need to remember and focus on, having smaller numbers is just easier.
The last, and biggest reason I like Mils is because of quick drop. Quick drop is something that I thought I had discovered and spent a lot on time on. I googled and asked around and there was nothing I could find on it. I didn’t even give it a name. Only when I upgraded my kestrel and was learning about why I had spent so much, did I figure out this simple formula had already been discovered and had a name. Quick drop. It’s a simple formula (or I should say number) that you subtract from the distance you are shooting at that gives you your dope. In my opinion, Mils are more simple to use and have better benefits. To learn more about quick drop, check out my DOPE Formula blog.
https://theoverwatch.wixsite.com/theoverwatch/post/dope-formula
Tracking with MOA
A lot of good budget scopes will have a chemical or laser etched reticle. This means that the reticle itself is highly accurate. The distance between MOA hash marks are true MOA. 1.047 inches at 100 yards. But, if you look at the turret, it will say something like 1 click = .25 MOA (what we want) or 1 click = 1/4 inch (what we don’t want). This means you have a built in error already. Let’s do a simple math equation.
1 MOA is 1.047 at 100 yards.
1.047 / 4 = .26175 or .26 not .25 (1/4 inch)
This means for every click, you have a .01175 error. At 1,000 yards, you need to come up 31.25 MOA or 125 clicks.
.01175 x 125 = 14.68 inches
This means the scope will have over a 1 MOA mathematical error built into it at 1,000 yards. This doesn’t include the likely 1 - 3% mechanical error that most scopes will have.
So how do you hit a 1 MOA target at 1,000 yards with this error?
Understanding the error helps. Read your manual to see if your adjustments are .25 or .26. Also, truing your software will help. Most ballistic programs like Strelok Pro will allow you to adjust your MOA from .25 to .26. (Make sure your reticle and turrets are true MOA. You may have a true MOA reticle and SMOA turrets.)
Do a tall target/Tracking test.
Other options are to buy better equipment, or just go with MILS.
I did call Nightforce and talked to them about this issue. They said that all of their MOA scopes are true MOA on every Nightforce scope. Vortex looks to be true MOA as well.
I did some research on BSA scopes. A lot of their scopes are Mil dot reticles with MOA turrets but, with 1 click = 1/4 inch at 100 yards. That is what you don’t want!
Misinformation
You will see a lot of people say something along the lines of “If you think in inches get MOA, if you think in meters get Mils”. This is not true what so ever. I use Mils with inches and yards very easily. Inches is simply the converted vertical measurement between point of aim and point of impact. No one should be making a correction in inches and converting it to MOA or Mils. Your reticle is literally a ruler. You should be using it for corrections. If you’re using you reticle to determine distance, you can use 27.77 with a Mil reticle to get your distance in yards.
I do prefer Mils, but it is up to your personal preference. Pick one, learn it in and out, and go shoot.
The Overwatch
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