ACOG (5.56 Chevron BDC Reticle)

ACOG Optics are the best all around option for combat optics available to CJTF in the humble opinion of Jansen. They offer an operator the ability to engage in close, medium and long range shooting thanks to its BDC (Bullet Drop Compensating) and Range Finding reticle. One thing to be aware of when using the ACOG BDC reticle however, is that almost all ACOG's within our arsenal are setup for 5.56 so the BDC marks will not work for you. 

While the Bullet Drop/Range Lines on the ACOG are relatively self explanatory the range finding ability of the ACOG is often unknown to most people.

Each line and element to the ACOG Chevron BDC is specifically sized and scaled for a reason. At 300 meters the base of the chevron will roughly the same width as a humans shoulders. At 400m, 500m, 600m, 700m and 800m this remains true. Each corresponding line should be approximately the width of a human shoulder to shoulder at each range, this allows you to quickly get a range and pick your hold on a target rapidly without needing to take the time to range the target some other way.

Additionally the optic used in the examples below (M150 RCO) has 3 different colors/shades on the reticle. It starts at bright red, then fades to a darker red and eventually to black; this is a representation of the muzzle velocity decrease of M855A1 over the marked distances. From 100m to 400m M855A1 lose very little power and velocity, however at 500m to 600m it will begin to lose a large amount of its energy until around 600+ Meters where it will lose a large majority of its energy. This is also represented by the fact that the two unmarked lines are only 100 meter's (700m and 800m) more than the previous lines however the gaps between the lines are significantly larger due to the rapid ballistic drop that the round will experience. This will roughly stay the same for most variations of 5.56x45 however there will be slight variations in drop and velocities.