What Is MRAD on a Scope? – Full Analysis, Tips & More

There are alot of questions about scopes. One of them being,

What is MRAD on a Scope?

Well, you don’t have to worry.

We have the answer to your question.

Defining MRAD

Milliradians are used to measure angles. There are 6,280 milli-radians in a circle. Each milliradian is 57.3 degrees.

MRAD riflescopes are typically offered in the traditional Mildot or Christmas Tree style reticles. They are designed to offer precision and speed with holdpoints along both the horizontal and Vertical crosshairs to aid in measurement of target or hold over compensation.

The thing to remember is that each click with a MRAD rifle scope is equal to 1/10 of a miliradian. This is equivalent to approximately 3.6″ at 100 yards, meaning that the MRAD adjustment ultimately offers a larger value per click then MOA. The benefit of MRAD adjustment, especially when shooting long-range, is that you won’t have to dial the turret as much, making long-range adjustments faster with less rotation. This is, in part, why MRAD riflescopes is the preferred choice of military snipers.

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Defining MOA

Minute of angle stands for how much your bullets spread out when fired at a certain distance. A minute of angle is basically how much your bullets are spread out on a target at a certain distance. If after a day of shooting your group sizes average 1 inch, then you shoot about 1/2 inch center to center each time you fire.

A 1 MOA group size is approximately 1/2″ from center to center. This means that if you shoot at 100 yards, your groups should be about 1/2″ wide.

MOA vs MRAD

MOA rifle scopes refer to the angle of view measured in minutes of angle. This means that you’re looking at an object 1 minute of angle away from your eye.

MRAD stands for Mil Radians. This means how far away a target appears to be based on the magnification power of the scope. For example, a 5X50mm scope will make objects appear five times closer than they actually are. A typical hunting scope has a MRAD range of about 25-30 mils.

MOA vs MRAD Rifle Scope Turrets

A.50 caliber bullet travels about 2,200 feet per second. At 100 yards, this equals 1/2 mile. If you’re shooting at a target 10 miles away, you’ll need to adjust your sights by 1/2 mile. That’s why it’s important to be accurate when aiming at long distances.

In most MOA scopes, each click is approximately.25 inches at 100 yards, and MRAD is approximately.36 inches at 100 yards, but the MOA adjustment is finer than the MRAD.

A milliradian (MRAD) scope allows you to dial up to 200,300,400 yards with each click of the turret. An MOA (minute-of-angle) scope allows you to do this with clicks of the turret at 100 yards. Each click of the turret on a MRAD scope is equal in effect to.36 inches at 100 yards, while each click of the turret of an MOA scope is equal to 1 inch at 100 yards.

When comparing the two, there is about 3.44 minutes in each milliradian when measuring angles. You’ll find MOAR riflescopes a popular choice because many of us don’t shoot long range. Minutes of Angle provides shooters with a finer degree at closer ranges (300yards or less). On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you are interested shooting longer ranges, MRADS are preferred. That’s because we are able to make larger adjustments faster, hence the 3.64 inches MRAD value versus MOA value.

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Long Range Rifle

We normally zero our long range rifle at 100 yards because the short distance reduces environmental and wind effect. Once zeroed we loosen two hex head screws in each of the turrets. For elevation we set the zero to the index mark, and push the turret cap downward until it stops, then tighten the hex head screws. This allows us resetting to zero by simply turning down the turret until it stops, without having to look at the turret’s index mark. To set the windage turret to zero, we set the zero to index mark, and push down the turret cap until the cap edge align with the index mark, and tighten the hex head screws, this allows us to reset to the zero by simply turning down until it stops, without looking at the turret’s index marks.

The Vortex Razor HD Gen II scopes use a slightly different zeroing mechanism than other riflescopes. To zero this riflescope we removed the turret caps and loosened three hex screws in each turret cover. Then we zeroed the riflescope by turning the adjustment knobs until the reticle was centered. Once we were satisfied with the zero, we tightened the three hex screws and replaced the turret caps.

We use the MRAD reticle because it gives us a quick estimation of range. We need to know the size of the target before estimating range.

We must measure with our reticles to 0.1mil accuracies to get good range estimations. Being off by 0,1 mil at 1000 yards means a range estimation error of 142 yards.

Ranging Formula

The size of a whitetail deer is typically 18 inches from back-belly to belly. This means that this particular deer is 313 yards long.

A rifle shot is measured by the distance between the center of the bullet and the point where it hits the target. This distance is called the range. The range is calculated by multiplying the length of the barrel (in inches) by the speed of the bullet (in feet per second). For example, if the barrel is 12″ long and the bullet travels at 500 fps, then the range is 12 x.5 6″.

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How Does MRAD Apply to Shooting?

MRAD-style scopes help soldiers measure distances and compensate for changes in distance. They are best used in tactical situations.

This video shows how an MRAD Scope looks when zeroing in on a rifle.

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Illuminated Miliradian Reticle

This gun allows you to measure distances and compensate for bullet drop. The reticle is divided into 5 miliradians, each with smaller hash marks. The upper end of the reticle is marked in.1 miliradian increments.

This light bulb has an ON/OFF switch. It uses a CR2032 battery. It should last about 360 hours on medium intensity.

Conclusion

We hope that your question has been answered and that you have a better insight of the topic.

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