Angle shooting

[CowboyBart]

I know I can get a cosign indicator on my rail/scope, but I don't want move it from gun to gun or buy one for every rifle.
I want to learn how to do the math longhand. From geometry (or maybe it was calculus) in HS, the saying was Oscar Has A Heap Of Apples
Opposite/Hypotenuse = sign
Adjacent/Hypotenuse = cosign
Opposite/Adjacent = tangent

So how do I do angle shooting math longhand??

 

[Makinchips208]

Ballistic calculator for the win.

Or
You could calculate the true horizontal distance and adjust drop for that distance. It isn't perfect, but works for hunting if less than 30 degrees and less than 400 yards. Some rangefinders can give this number.

To solve for true horizontal distance = Los distance x cosine of shot angle
So 300 yard shot at 30 degrees solves out to 259 yards of true horizontal distance.

There is another method… ill have to refer to my notes cause it isnt easy…

Or, when in doubt, aim for the balls. You will hit high.

 

[_Windrider_]

Never heard of Oscar, but I learned SOH CAH TOA

How you solve the problem starts with whether you have your LOS distance , which would be the hypotenuse, or the true distance to target which would be the bottom leg of the triangle. After that you need the angle some how. The cosine indicator is easy and what most use or the tried and true mil dot master has one built in. Once you have one of the distances and the angle you can solve your problem.

The hypotenuse determines your wind call and the long leg is your drop. But when you actually look at the math and start playing with it you’ll realize that unless the distance is long or the angle extreme you can almost ignore it all together.

 

[ironpony52]

Indian Chief SOH-CAH-TOA with the new phones it should be simple math.

 

[Taylorbok]

Just use your Ballistic Calculator.

 

[Makinchips208]

Couple rules of thumb i personally use to actually impact within a certain margin of error, or know if i need to pull out more scratch paper…

1. Anything less than 250 yard away, my shot angle doesn't matter.

2. Anything within 450’ (or 150 yards) of my elevation, i just use my written dope for the shot distance.
This is not super hard to sort of estimate, and if in doubt i just multipy (los distance)x(sin of shot angle)


Use a smartphone for the math,
Or,
I don’t do this part, but Sine cosine tangent charts are easy to print and laminate. Or just do in 5 or 10 degree increments up to 45 degrees. Unless you have large cliffs.
And carry a small waterproof calculator.

 

[CowboyBart]

OK, I think I have it. Range finder gives me hypotenuse and also shot angle, so I should be able to do the math and come up with actual distance gravity pulls on the bullet. Thanx.
I know a ballistic calc is the easy button, but I like to know the long hand too.
Are there any apps that can "feel" the angle of the phone?
Some large cliffs - yes. I came up on a moose while elk hunting. 254 yds away but perhaps a 70* down angle shot. While moose are tall, from that angle they aren't fat. All I need to do now is draw a moose tag.

 

[Makinchips208]

There are apps. Also ABQ can pull inclination angle from the phone,

So can Ballistic AE

And tagging @Aftermath cause he knows a thing or two about angles.

 

[_Windrider_]

OK, I think I have it. Range finder gives me hypotenuse and also shot angle, so I should be able to do the math and come up with actual distance gravity pulls on the bullet. Thanx.
I know a ballistic calc is the easy button, but I like to know the long hand too.
Are there any apps that can "feel" the angle of the phone?
Some large cliffs - yes. I came up on a moose while elk hunting. 254 yds away but perhaps a 70* down angle shot. While moose are tall, from that angle they aren't fat. All I need to do now is draw a moose tag.

Well some rangefinders give corrected distance. You have to know your equipment

 

[Aftermath]

There are apps. Also ABQ can pull inclination angle from the phone,
View attachment 8684056

So can Ballistic AE
View attachment 8684057



And tagging @Aftermath cause he knows a thing or two about angles.

Look at vector type mathematics. Gravity from the top, air resistance from the front (BC), winds from the sides, momentum from behind, ground effect from the bottom.

Or just buy a good laser range finder with a built in solver using Litz data.

Or just go be poor somewhere else.

 

[Baron23]

Well some rangefinders give corrected distance. You have to know your equipment

I was about to post this....I'd be surprised if any current range finders don't have a mode for horizontal distance as well as a mode for the actual slant distance. I have both a Vortex Viper LRF (so not high end, right) and a Sig and both do this.

At Mifflin in PA, there is a very steep slope from....eh, 500 yd to 1k. We were all shooting high. Frank said that in the Corp they told them if shooting uphill, aim for the balls...you'll hit somewhere in the body. lol

Cheers

 

[Rob01]

OK, I think I have it. Range finder gives me hypotenuse and also shot angle, so I should be able to do the math and come up with actual distance gravity pulls on the bullet. Thanx.
I know a ballistic calc is the easy button, but I like to know the long hand too.
Are there any apps that can "feel" the angle of the phone?
Some large cliffs - yes. I came up on a moose while elk hunting. 254 yds away but perhaps a 70* down angle shot. While moose are tall, from that angle they aren't fat. All I need to do now is draw a moose tag.

That moose will be long gone as you are doing long hand math. lol Make your life easier. Not harder. Use your LRF if it has the option to do angle fire. A lot do.

Or get a slope doper if you have to do math.

Slope Doper

Slope Doper

www.impactdatabooks.com

You can get a Mildot Master and on the back there is a similar tool to the slope doper.

Mildot Master

Mildot Master

www.impactdatabooks.com

 

[Aftermath]

I was about to post this....I'd be surprised if any current range finders don't have a mode for horizontal distance as well as a mode for the actual slant distance. I have both a Vortex Viper LRF (so not high end, right) and a Sig and both do this.

At Mifflin in PA, there is a very steep slope from....eh, 500 yd to 1k. We were all shooting high. Frank said that in the Corp they told them if shooting uphill, aim for the balls...you'll hit somewhere in the body. lol

Cheers

uphill, downhill. the difference is not shootable. negligent. same-same

 

[DFOOSKING]

Don't do all that bullshit math and fuck up the wind.

You want angle corrected distance.

You want line of sight wind.

 

[Rob01]

You want angle corrected distance.

You want line of sight wind.

Quote that so it’s not missed by the OP.

 

[Slides]

Don't most rangefinders offer a normalised distance mode so you can use your standard dope/ballistics calculations? That's a lot faster than running numbers.

 

[ma smith]

Consider also to acually learn the slope that requires a 0.1 ∆ to your dope. Like go thru the math on a hard-copy of your dope and figure it out.

 

[Baron23]

Don't most rangefinders offer a normalised distance mode so you can use your standard dope/ballistics calculations? That's a lot faster than running numbers.

Yes

 

[CowboyBart]

I always want 3-5 ways to skin the cat. While gizmos and techy stuff make life easy, I want to know how the tecky program was written. If I can duplicate it with the math, that is all I need to do. I don't plan on taking an abacus and slide rule into the field. If I can prove the tecky gizmo to be good, I take the tecky gizmo into the field. Some programs round MOA, some round MILs, some round distance and some angles. By the time everything is converted from yards to Mils to degrees ..., things can get skewed. When I do the math, I carry decimal points out as far as the calculator will allow. For me ONLY the final answer is rounded. This way I know if the tecky gizmo is rounding at the end or all the way thru the process. Kind of like tolerance stacking. If all the parts are "in tolerance" but yet things don't work right. Then maybe all the parts were at their max tolerance and the final product is shitty.

 

[Aftermath]

I always want 3-5 ways to skin the cat. While gizmos and techy stuff make life easy, I want to know how the tecky program was written. If I can duplicate it with the math, that is all I need to do. I don't plan on taking an abacus and slide rule into the field. If I can prove the tecky gizmo to be good, I take the tecky gizmo into the field. Some programs round MOA, some round MILs, some round distance and some angles. By the time everything is converted from yards to Mils to degrees ..., things can get skewed. When I do the math, I carry decimal points out as far as the calculator will allow. For me ONLY the final answer is rounded. This way I know if the tecky gizmo is rounding at the end or all the way thru the process. Kind of like tolerance stacking. If all the parts are "in tolerance" but yet things don't work right. Then maybe all the parts were at their max tolerance and the final product is shitty.

I can do the math.
I do not do the math.
I take my rifle and I shoot it.
I shoot it over a chronograph.
I enter data into my laser range finder that gives me theoretical DOPE, including if that shot is at an angle.
I take my rifle and I shoot it.
I write shit down.
I compare that to a few other ballistics solvers, including the info from my Kestrel.
I take my rifle and I shoot it some more and I write that shit down.
I figure out wind and I write that shit down.
I take my rifle and I shoot my rifle at various things in various conditions...I really like killing innocent rocks.
I write that shit down.
I take all this written down information and I study it.
I decide what part of that written down information is actually useful/meaningful and condense it.
I make a pretty good chart with a font large enough for old man eyes but keep it 3x5ish.
I laminate that shit.
I clear tape that shit to my stock.

In my current AO and the shooting situations I find myself in, (my own acres mainly) that is plenty good.

When I lived Idaho or Alaska, I'd have to consider where I was, elevation, temperature...density altitude. I kept 4-5 charts.

But...even moderately priced modern laser range finders will give you suitable DOPE, especially if you take the time to make sure you are not putting garbage in so that you are not getting garbage out.

 

[DFOOSKING]

Don't most rangefinders offer a normalised distance mode so you can use your standard dope/ballistics calculations? That's a lot faster than running numbers.

Yes.

But often many don't know about needing LOS for wind and just grab the corrected Range and reference their dope card or app and go.

I have seen match directors give angle corrected range to targets in match booklets.

If the error is a tenth or two for 10mph choosing between the two ranges.....and you are quickly trying to reference for 8mph half value or worse....30mph at full value. That's valuable tenths of a mil in wind being under or over accounted for.