This blesbok fell to a shot from 300 yards. The author was using a Zeiss Diarange scope and Rapid-Z reticle system.

During the last forty years as a hunter, with thirty of those spent as a shooting/hunting editor and writer, I can say that I’ve had the opportunity to use just about all of the various ranging reticles that have become available. That includes the original Bushnell BDC, or bullet-drop-compensator system, introduced nearly thirty years ago.

I can honestly say that, for the most part, these gizmos never impressed me enough to adopt them on my own hunting rifles. Many were very complicated, and for a guy who availed himself of both algebra and geometry tutors to get a passing grade in high school math, the way they worked completely baffled me. Frankly, I really don’t care how they work. Just let me zero my rifle for a given load’s trajectory at a specific range, then turn me loose to simply hold the descending crosshairs at a specific target distance and make the shot. I’m happy to say that’s exactly how the Zeiss Rapid-Z reticle system works.

I got the chance to try the Rapid-Z first-hand this past summer on a plains-game hunt at Harry Claassens excellent Mata Mata camp (harrysafaris.co.za) in the South African Kalahari. I’ve been hunting with Harry for more years than I care to remember, and knew that we would have great opportunities for long-range shots at various antelope in the Kalahari’s fairly open savannah terrain.

I was using a Savage rifle chambered in .270 Winchester and topped with a Zeiss Diarange scope with Rapid-Z reticle. After zeroing the rifle at 200 yards with the primary crosshair, the Rapid-Z reticle system was supposed to automatically adjust the descending reticles for proper holdover at 300, 400, 500, 600, 700 and 800 yards. All I had to know was the range to target and then select the proper crosshair.

The chance to try this presented itself on our second day of the trip, when late in the afternoon we came across a small group of blesbok feeding among the camel thorn trees 300 yards away, blissfully unaware of our presence.

One of the bucks was exceptional, his ringed, chocolate-colored horns stretching to the seventeen-inch mark. Taking a steady rest, I centered his shoulder with the second crosshair from the top and carefully crunched the trigger. Whop! The Federal Trophy Bonded bullet plowed its way through bone and tissue, and down he went.

Was I impressed? You bet. This new holdover system from Zeiss really does work--you owe it to yourself to give it a try. The Rapid-Z ranging reticle system is available on both the economical Conquest and the more pricey Victory line of Zeiss riflescopes. Used in concert with a rangefinder, the Rapid-Z system takes a lot of guesswork out of long shots and helps hunters become more accurate rifle shooters, ensuring fewer lost trophies.