Range Report I hate mirage

[TimK]

Really, I do. I was out today trying to get a hard zero and confirm a new load for a match next weekend. The mirage was so bad I couldn't even get the parallax set, and I shot some very poor groups. I know the load is good from some testing last week, but I'd been looking forward all week to shooting some bragging groups while getting a good zero.

I swear the target image was moving 2" or more at 100 yards. Ugh.

OK, rant over. I feel better!

 

[Chiller]

Re: I hate mirage

did you back your magnification off?

 

[TimK]

Re: I hate mirage

Nope, didn't occur to me. Duh.

 

[lovain1932]

Re: I hate mirage

Had a little mirage myself today not as bad as your talking but enough to make grouping nearly impossible

 

[MontanaMarine]

Re: I hate mirage

If you can get into a position on a hilltop or platform where your line of sight is above the ground a ways, it helps a lot.

Took this pic yesterday from a distance of ab out 300 yards. Flat ground, hot, and nearly calm.

 

[mdesign]

Re: I hate mirage

Wow Shane, did mirage make his horns bigger?

 

[Captain Kirk]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tim K</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The mirage was so bad I couldn't even get the parallax set, and I shot some very poor groups. </div></div>

Sure, blame it on the mirage........

Mirage can be your best friend for getting an idea what the wind is doing, but it can be a real pain when its dead calm.

Kirk R

 

[MontanaMarine]

Re: I hate mirage

He was a fatty, with good sized headgear. I think the mirage actually makes the horns look a bit thinner.

 

[rwest309]

Re: I hate mirage

That first pic... would have made a nice texas heart shot!

Right in the out door.

 

[wksinatl]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MontanaMarine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you can get into a position on a hilltop or platform where your line of sight is above the ground a ways, it helps a lot.

Took this pic yesterday from a distance of ab out 300 yards. Flat ground, hot, and nearly calm.

</div></div>

Damn Shane, that looks like a water color painting. Was shooting 2 days ago at 300yds (KMW 308 and CLE AR15). Mirage was so bad we could not make out the 223 holes on Shoot-n-Sees. We could barely see the 308's using the NF and Leupolds on the rifles as well as both spotting scopes. Frustrating.....

Keith

 

[Diablo]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MontanaMarine</div><div class="ubbcode-body">If you can get into a position on a hilltop or platform where your line of sight is above the ground a ways, it helps a lot.

Took this pic yesterday from a distance of ab out 300 yards. Flat ground, hot, and nearly calm.

</div></div>

Looks like you had him lined up for the old "Texas Heart Shot".

 

[BryanLitz]

Re: I hate mirage

An idea I've yet to implement to overcome mirage effects on your sight picture when shooting long range:

Let's say you're trying to shoot a group at 1000 yards but the mirage has the target looking like a belly-dancer.
Set up an object near your line of sight, about 50-100 yards away and focus your scope on that. You'll get a clearer sight picture bc you're not looking thru so much mirage, and you might be able to shoot a better group.

I've used this method in a Palma match (aperture sights) where there was thick fog. I adjusted my sight so I could aim at a rock 100 yards in front of me and had the rounds hitting in the x-ring of the target 800 yards away.

-Bryan

 

[Grump]

Re: I hate mirage

Ah, Bryan tells of the virtues of indirect fire!

Phil Sharpe's book "The Rifle In America" (or "Modern Handloading"...I got both from my Dad) has a nice little description of USGI binoculars from WWII which had a reticle in one side which had a scale for squad leaders to direct fire that way. The operating theory was something about get the range to the target, place the scale between the target and a more easily-spotted aiming point, then read the scale to see what "yards" on the M1 Garand rear sights to have the riflemen use. It was supposed to work pretty well.

Now, to us old phart highpower shooters, it has been well-known since probably the 1950s if not before, described in every published scorebook/logbook I've seen, it was in the USAMTU manuals I've seen, and it has also been documented in some of our own logs, that mirage can offset the target *image* as seen at the firing line by about 1 MOA at 300 and 600. Being a guy who just chased the spotter, I never paid too much attention to it. For iron sights, I did notice that mirage from calm conditions or 6:00 or 12:00 winds often offset the general rule of "lights up, sights up".

 

[artee]

Re: I hate mirage

Shane, you always come up with the perfect illustration!

Bryan, we used "offset bombing" often in the Air Force. When you had a radar "no show" or a target that would appear late in the run, you'd update the navigation solution by placing your cursors on a good radar (or laser) show point, update, and try for "target direct" before the release point. Sometimes, you just had to go through offset aiming all the way. Scores or results were still great. In VietNam, to make up for really poor ground mapping radars (think Phantom) a 'radar beacon' would be set up, and offset data computed from it to the target. More than one beacon became "unserviceable" when the WSO made a switch error...

To come back to shooting, lots of guys in fog/haze or having the sun behind the target have used a "top of frame" or number board hold. The "top of frame" hold is simply a 3 1/2 minute offset aimpoint. I think Bryan's "Rock Hold" is a great solution, just dial it in--and don't shoot the rock.

 

[skinnypitt]

Re: I hate mirage

So trying to understand you guys here...your basically dialing focus at a close target then moving back to the long range target or target in mirage so basically your just backing off in magnification right?

 

[artee]

Re: I hate mirage

Skinnypitt: No, I don't think you have it. What your are doing is putting your crosshair or front sight on that "closer" (understand 'other'/NOT TARGET you're actually hitting/shooting) and putting a sight correction on that is so gross you're hitting your target. Bryan's 'mirage refinement' is to sight on that close object to MINIMIZE the effect mirage has on his sight picture, and use an "offset technique" to hit the target.

Another example would be if your squadded on target 8, and the winds are So Bad coming from the right you run out of windage on your sight and have to sight on target 9 to hit your target 8. That is what we called "offset aiming" in the AF, and Grump is calling (in jest) indirect fire.

 

[Grump]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: artee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Skinnypitt: [snip]
Another example would be if your squadded on target 8, and the winds are So Bad coming from the right you run out of windage on your sight and have to sight on target 9 to hit your target 8. That is what we called "offset aiming" in the AF, and Grump is calling (in jest) indirect fire. </div></div>
Jest my a$$! I'm just too old to remember what it was called!*

Unless Sharpe mis-used the artillery term...that's where one version of "indirect fire" comes from, right?

*and too lazy to go out into the shop and look it up.

 

[TimK]

Re: I hate mirage

Hey, now that I think about it, I've used this very technique at the bowling alley. Aim for the little arrows and hit the pins way down the lane.

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: I hate mirage

That system works fine.....until the target moves. That is about it's only fault.

Other than that, it's been used in Artillery, mortars, etc. for decades. If you ever watch an artillery battery or mortar crew set in, they have little sticks they put out to use for aiming at. I can't tell you exactly how they set them in, because I was always the guy on the hill with the binos and the radio.

 

[SONIC SAAMI]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bryan Litz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">An idea I've yet to implement to overcome mirage effects on your sight picture when shooting long range:

Let's say you're trying to shoot a group at 1000 yards but the mirage has the target looking like a belly-dancer.
Set up an object near your line of sight, about 50-100 yards away and focus your scope on that. You'll get a clearer sight picture bc you're not looking thru so much mirage, and you might be able to shoot a better group.

I've used this method in a Palma match (aperture sights) where there was thick fog. I adjusted my sight so I could aim at a rock 100 yards in front of me and had the rounds hitting in the x-ring of the target 800 yards away.

-Bryan </div></div>
You Sir are a Genius...will give this a try next summer.

 

[Swan]

Re: I hate mirage

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tim K</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hey, now that I think about it, I've used this very technique at the bowling alley. Aim for the little arrows and hit the pins way down the lane.

</div></div>

+1. I literally doubled my bowling score by this exact method years ago. Went from a modest 50 bowler to averaging at least a 100.

 

[ubet]

Re: I hate mirage

TAG!

 

[Topstrap]

Re: I hate mirage

Me and my shooting bud have talked about this quite a bit after the long range plate matches and listening to others talk about how bad the mirage is. We both shoot really crappy scopes (they don't make a decent long range handgun scope) on our long range handguns and very rarely see the mirage and really don't have the problem hitting the farther targets that the rifle guys do with their high powered optics on days when the mirage is really bad.

We use my Kowa spotting scope to spot for each other and sometimes it's so bad we can barely see the target it's wavering around so bad but looking thru our crappy low powered scopes the target looks pretty decent. I agree with some others, back off the magnification and bring it down to 10 or 12 and I bet the targets will clear up quite a bit.

Topstrap

 

[skinnypitt]

Re: I hate mirage

Bryan.....Fantastic Idea!! I'm going to have to try this next time i'm out at the range.