Choosing your rifle's sight, much attention is definitely paid to such design elements as the reticle. Every shooter, hunter, or sniper knows exactly which grid design will be most suitable for specific tasks. But what if the goals are different? If you need different types of sighting grids for different tasks. Suppose environmental conditions change in the process. There's no point in carrying a lot of different scopes while you're hunting. Please choose the one you like and use its functions to the maximum. In this article, we decided to discuss different designs and focus your attention on the German sight-ing grid. But first, let's look at the types of sighting grids and their main differences from the German one. Shall we begin?

Different types of sighting grids

• Original Reticle
• Dot Reticle
• German Reticle
• Duplex Reticle
• BDC Reticle
• MIL Dot Reticle
• Non-illuminated Reticle
• Illuminated Reticle

Let's get to the bottom of the subject. Mildot and BDC sights are popular for long-range and medium-range shooting, while German 4 is widely used for cross-country hunting.

What is German Reticle?

This grid is called "German" regardless of the grid number. The most common and the simplest of these are German # 4 and German # 1. You can see these grids with thick right, bottom, and left (3, 6, and 9 hours) crosses, which narrow down to the center in the original style or with a point in the center. Sometimes they have a 12-hour / top crosshair, and some-times without it. These German grids are often illuminated.

Why is it German reticle popular?

It so happened that the Germans are pedantic, consistent, and at the same time very smart. That is why their weapons-makers and scientists have created a huge number of weapons and related items. There is one more reason - their love for war, but now this is not about that. Therefore, it is not surprising that several reticle variants were developed in Germany during the Second World War.

German # 1 reticle has become quite legendary for its widespread presence in popular culture. Surprisingly, despite these inventions' venerable age, it turned out that rejects are ideally combined with modern personal weapons.

The reticle pattern has proven to be so relevant that modern night vision and thermal vision technology seem to have been created for these reticles. Today the most relevant scopes are German reticle # 1 and German reticle # 4. Their symbiosis with these technologies is simply flawless. The shooter's choice depends solely on several objective nuances: the firing range, the size of the hunting object, and what time of day you will be hunting.

Option number 4 is especially popular today. It differs little from option 1, but it provides more ergonomics for accurate aiming. But, it is not very comfortable when shooting in low light.

German reticle # 1 is ideal for those who love point and shoot fast. But it also has minor drawbacks. So, with its use, it is difficult to aim at small targets. This is not surprising because it was developed, first of all, for use by snipers. Therefore, if your target is squirrels or meadow dogs, choose a different scope—for example, German reticle # 4.

The stunning ergonomics and interchangeability between two almost identical reticles are breathtaking. Their symbiosis with modern weapons is also surprising. But, the most amazing thing is how rejects were ahead of their time, becoming a benchmark.

How to Use a German Reticle?

The grid-type German #4 with an illuminated center dot is perfect for both quick overturnings at the minimum multiplicity and accurate shooting over long distances from a stable position - at maximum. The German grid's advantage is that the lines in the lens are bold and visible. If the battery goes down or needs to move the sight sharply by changing the spotting point, your eye will have time to focus on sharp lines. This way, the sighting is faster. Using this grid in low light conditions or un-lit scopes also gives the shooter an advantage.