Trapper Luke, congrats on posting a question that elicited so many opinions. I will throw mine in as well, hoping to not step on too many toes.
For a little background, I have a number of Leupold scopes with B&C and duplex reticles. I shoot to 600 yards at paper and I hunt predators, deer and hogs with a variety of calibers.
A B&C reticle is just a fancy duplex with hold over points conveniently marked below the crosshair. It is not a ranging reticle per se; the range to the target should be known so the correct holdover mark can be placed on the target. The Leupold B&C reticle is also marked for wind deflection.
You can read more about how this works by downloading the instruction manuals from the Leupold web site. I would always recommend you read the instructions before you buy to make sure you understand what you are getting into.
In short, Leupold has calibrated the reticle and the scope power ring for two different ballistic sets. You look up your cartridge in a table and then set the scope power to an index marked on the ring. Depending on the ballistics of the cartridge, the holdover marks will correspond to different yardages.
All this sounds pretty cool, so why don't we all buy this reticle? In practice, there are several issues:
[*]Cartridge Ballistics – your load’s ballistics must match one of the two sets listed in the calibration tables. If the ballistics do not fall into the two predefined sets, then expect inaccuracies when using the holdover marks. [*]Scope Power – the scope power must be set to the value corresponding to the Leupold ballistic set. Since the reticle is in the second focal plane, there is only one magnification setting that will work for a given cartridge and range. Also, depending on how the scope’s power ring is marked, it may be difficult to accurately move the ring to the same spot after it is moved.[*]Limited Magnification – the power setting that corresponds to the ballistics may be much less than the scope’s maximum magnification. For example, you may be able to use only 8x of a 10x scope.[*]Extreme Ranges – the last “marker” on the Leupold B&C is the top of the bottom post. I don't find that a sufficiently accurate aiming point at those ranges.[/list]
By now, the “clickers” are saying "we told you so". But everything is not as straightforward as they would have you believe. There are several issues that are encountered with clicking over the same range and wind conditions covered by the B&C.
[*]Cartridge Ballistics – you must memorize your load’s ballistics or carry a ballistics table for predetermined ranges. These are typically taped on the scope or stock or carried in a dope book. Also, a factor must be applied to convert inches of drop to scope clicks (or whatever units your scope's erector system uses).[*]Scope Calibration – the scope adjustments clicks do not always move the reticle as planned. Let’s say you have a ¼” per click @ 100 yds scope adjustment. Twenty clicks should move the impact 5 inches at 100 yards. However, it may be more or less. To determine if this is an issue, there are simple tests to do at the range in order to calibrate the actual amount of movement per click.[*]Hysteresis – the failure of a scope to return to the original point of impact when an adjustment is made and then reversed is hysteresis. For clicking to be effective, the point of impact must change in a predictable manner each time the scope is adjusted. Sloppy erectors make the clicking method difficult for the one-shot hunting situations.[/list]
Just as others have said here and as the Leupold manual emphasizes, you still have the responsibility to put in the range time and expense no matter which "system" you use. With either a B&C or a plain duplex, you need to understand what your equipment will actually do over the range of conditions you are planning to use it.
With that said, I would not call you less of a rifleman if you chose either system, or use both, like I do.