Reading mirage in F Class

[jeb405]

This is most likely a dumb question, but I know one of my biggest challenges is learning to read and adjust for the wind. I am reading like crazy to learn as much as I can, but am confused. High power shooters use spotting scopes to check mirage. Do F class shooters do this or just use thier riflescopes? How?

Thanks,
JB

 

[AlanPF]

JB,

Apart from coaches in team shoots, I've never seen an F-Class shooter using a spotting scope here in Australia. I'm sure they are generally better suited to reading mirage than a scope sight. But the added cost, time delay moving from scope to scope before a shot, and yet another item to carry to the mound seems to discourage their use. If someone made a scope sight with a quick and easy focussing knob,with adjustable stops), it would make the choice even easier.

Alan

 

[memilanuk]

Good question! This is one of the things I've never quite figured out... in High Power I've always been told to pull the focus on the spotting scope back to about 1/2-2/3 the distance to the target to be able to get a good read on the mirage near the apogee of the trajectory, or if there are unique terrain features to try to adjust the focus to where you can 'see' the wind,mirage) at one of those features.

As you have noticed, most F-Class shooters, even the ones who shoot High Power, don't normally do that. I don't know if it's a function of the F-Class shooters normally hauling butt and shooting a lot faster than normal HP shooters, or what. I've heard the theory advanced that if you dial in directly on the target,like most people do w/ rifle scopes), the mirage you see is an aggregate of all the wind between you and the target, rather than just at one spot. Sounds good, but it can make it dang hard to figure out what the wind is doing where.

Sorry, no great answers for you, as I'm definitely not the best wind reader out there, but maybe it's some food for thought.

HTH,

Monte

 

[DRGreysun]

A good side focus,AO) scope makes the task of seeing the mirage much easier. Like with a spotting scope you can focus short of the target. Back to the target, figuring what you are seeing is the trick. With all the refraction through the mirage you may think you are holding off for the wind but maybe you are not. Or, you check the mirage, dial in the windage hold center but are you really 'holding center'? Practice, practice and more practice. Some shooters become masters at reading mirage for wind as well as knowing were there line of sight will be. It's still a mystery to me. :^,

D R

 

[jeb405]

I want to try using the side focus as you describe. It seems to make sense to me that this should work. I thought of it regarding mirage read for wind, but checking image shift is a great idea too.

I hope 22x will be enough to read the mirage. Between wanting more power to read conditions and now what I have read of the new target being more difficult with 1/4 moa adjustments, I may need to look for a new Nightforce BR Model.

Thanks to everyone for feedback.

John.

 

[jb1000br]

Constantly changing one's parallax adjustment is probably not the best thing one should do for a small group...


JB

 

[Lbart]

John,
I can not advise changing your parallax adjustment during a match. My recommendation is to apply the KISS principle as often as possible. If shooting in the USA watch the mirage with your rifle scope, the flags, and maybe other targets of good shooters you can see in your field of view. Shoot through as few wind changes as possible, this usually means shooting as fast as possible. Do not plot your shots, if you want them plotted have someone else do it. Keep a mental picture of where your group is forming. Keep you eye glued to the scope as much as you can and form a picture in your minds eye of what the mirage on the last shot looked like. Make your hold off decisions based on your last shot and the changes you see. Good Luck!

Larry Bartholome