A little game of range estimation

Rumblingdwarf

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 19, 2018
120
116
SLC...ish
How far away do you think these people are?

Spotter is a Bushnell T-Series 15-45. Reticle subtensions are half and full mil.

Spotted on top of a mountain behind my house.
 

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Low range estimate: 5'9" tall, 0.25 mil subtension -> 7,000 yards
Medium range estimate: 6'0" tall, 0.2 mil subtension -> 10,000 yards
High range estimate: 6'3" tall, 0.15 mil subtension -> 15,000 yards
 
Doing my best to find that main peak on Google maps I came up with 5.8 miles. Looks like the estimates closer to 10k yards were more accurate.
Doh...I was kinda close...I came up with 7.6 miles trying to mil it a week or so ago shortly after it was first posted...I mean hey...what's plus or minus a mile and a half lol 😆
 
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Doing my best to find that main peak on Google maps I came up with 5.8 miles. Looks like the estimates closer to 10k yards were more accurate.

Well, I was way off. My original estimate was based on simply eyeballing the close-up shot of the climber on top of the peak. Just now, I copied that image, doubled its size, rotated it slightly to get the reticle stadia closer to true vertical, then measured everything in pixels. Still having to guess at the height of the person standing, but my new calculation (based on the person being 0.196765 mils tall) comes to @ 9,879 yards or 5.6 miles which is a lot closer to what you determined using Google Earth. Taking careful measurements definitely yields better results.

 
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