Leupold MIL DOT - Leupold Mil Dot Reticle Introduction; Focal Plane Distinction

The Leupold Mil Dot Reticle uses two distinct dot shape variations—round and “football.”
Both styles employ a system based on the subtension of one milliradian (mil) from the
center of one dot to the center of the next. This is also the distance between the crosshairs
and the first dot.
The subtension of 1 mil equals 3.6 inches at 100 yards or 36 inches at 1,000 yards.
In metric units, the correspondence is 1 mil equals 10 centimeters at 100 meters or
1 meter at 1,000 meters. Knowing this subtension and knowing the size of the target
(or a reference object near the target) allows the distance to the target to be estimated
with considerable accuracy.
F IRST V ERSUS S ECOND F OCAL P LANE
In variable-magnification optics, the magnification setting for the use of the mil dot reticle
is determined by whether the reticle is in the first or second focal plane. The easiest way to
determine if the mil dot reticle is in the first focal plane is to view the reticle through the
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