What do you think is the best type of reticle for all around hunting big game for up close and personal to reasonable hunting ranges?
and your reason for picking a specfic reticle

German No. 4. Most people have never tried one. The German reticles--especially the No. 1 and No. 4--are great hunting reticles but have faded away. My grandfather's 1949 vintage Weaver has a German No. 1 in it. He killed everything from elk on down with it. Now the No. 4 is really the only one commonly available short of special or custom order, but if you try one, you'll fall in love.

LWD

I like the german #4 Dot as up close. Leupold dot as a general purpose reticle.

I like best German #7 and then German #4

German #1.

For general hunting, I like German #4 the most, but like German #1 for low light/heavy cover.

Duplex for longer ranges in open country. Heavy duplex for shorter in heavy cover.

+1 for the #4...

The post is a specialized short-range reticle that is poorly adapted to medium and long ranges. Its presentation is also confusing to many shooters and can cause a shooter who is unaccustomed to it to inadvertantly aim too high or too low.

The "duplex" is by far the most popular hunting reticle, and for good reason.

Recently available range-specific reticles like the Boone and Crockett from Leupold and similar competing reticles are great for truly long-range hunting, but I regard them as specialty reticles which are out of place on most hunting rifles for most hunters.

I have to agree with Stonecreek. I've used many of the reticles available and think that a lot of the new "ranging" reticles are gimmicks to sell more scopes. Saying that, I will have to agree they do work well in certain circumstances. One of the overlooked reticles for out here in the west is the Leupold dot with the full tapering crosshairs. The standard and thick duplexes seem to be a good average reticle.