Mil Dot Reticle

Although it was developed for snipers, the mil in mil dot reticle does not stand for military. It is short for a unit of measure known as a Milliradian (who may or may not have been a Roman Emperor).

If you look along the lines of a plain reticle, you'll see small dots placed at precise distances from one another. These tiny dots allow you to measure angle downrange while looking through the scope. The mil unit of angular measurement is used because a mil is smaller than a degree of an angle. Just so you know, there are 6,400 mils (as opposed to 360 degrees) in a full circle.