Dual purpose rifle scope - aim and read mirage.

[Alexander-M]

I, as many other shooters, use a separate scope to read the mirage, and it works ok. I have this scope setup such that I can use my left eye to read the mirage by simply turning my head a bit to the left and down, which I can do very easily and quickly. I focus this scope about half way to two thirds of the way to the target, depending on the surface between the target and the fining line. True, I can see mirage at the target itself, but I am not sure that this is enough.

However, I have seen a few shooters who use only the rifle scope for reading the mirage and for aiming, but have never asked them how they setup the scope for this dual purpose. Using the rifle scope for aiming and for reading the mirage would so much more convenient, and would allow me to keep my eye on the target and conditions all the time.

My question is, how to use the rifle scope to read the mirage?

Thank you!

Alex

 

[F Class John]

Here's my 2 cents on it, others may have other opinions and experience on it of course.

You have to de-focus the scope a little to pull mirage (while of course leaving it clear enough to read the target). It's a bit harder process in my opinion and experience to get used to and something I've been working on myself. In my experience, in a perfect condition with very readable mirage it's easier because you never pull your face off the scope so you have far less distractions. In tougher conditions you will still need to read flags or environment but it's still less distracting than moving to a spotter BUT you won't be able to have a zoomed in view of anything other than what your scope is looking at. This means no reading the building off to the left or that set of bushes at 900yds on the right. It's a trade off for sure. I know people VERY successful at this (Erik Cortina and others) and to be fair, they make it look easy.

YOU HAVE TO BE HONEST with yourself however about your shooting style. Personally I'm a faster shooter (and I think in general the people who use this technique are) and that's where it seems to shine. If you're a hunt and peck kind of shooter and like having as much info as possible before breaking a shot you will probably get frustrated by this.

 

[glockaholic]

Adjusting the side focus may induce parallax and move the apparent point of aim. I like to focus sharp on the target and if you can see some mirage, wonderful. I would use something else for mid-field wind reading such as flags or a spotting scope.
Alex, check for parallax issues next time at distances 600yds and further. I move my head up and down since side to side seems to hit the rifle cheek. Do this while focused at the target and focused half way to see if it's the same or increases. I hope this helps.....