Shooting Through Heat Waves

[trackmagic]

I was shooting last weekend laying prone on a hot day. At 300 yards the heat waves were very intense. My target was blurry and looked like it was changing shape and moving as the wind would blow the heat waves.

Are there any cool tricks that any of you know of that help shooting in these conditions? I ended up just trying to get an "average" of where the target was and shooting, but it did not seem like the best method (although I was hitting)

It seems like if I was any further than 300 yards then it would have been impossible to get a good aim.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

Reading the mirage will make you a good rifleman. When it's boiling straight up, there is usually light or no wind. You can guage the wind by the amount of boil and the direction is appears to be boiling also. This is taught to all USMC riflemen, and is a good tool for judging conditions.

About the only way to minimize the effect, is to lower the scopes magnification. This will allow a much clearer view of the target and allow more accurate shot placement. One thing for sure, if you shoot prairie rodents or hunt the open west, reading the mirage is one aspect any rifleman needs to master to be effective.

Good luck with the quest.

 

[queen_stick]

what you're talking about is called "mirage."

I'll let others explain how to read it... I still haven't figured it out


There are good articles about the subject, including tips on reading mirage. Here's a good place to start - http://www.6mmbr.com/readingmirage.html

 

[trackmagic]

Thanks for the information. I'll try the zooming out trick to see if that helps.

Rick what part of Oregon are you in? I live in Albany.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

track: Location in Oregon.....here's a hint:

Answer if you haven't guessed.....the high desert of central Oregon, sage rat and rock chuck heaven (for me). We're almost neighbors, .....'cept for the 'hump'.

 

[queen_stick]

Zooming out does help, and depending on the intensity of the mirage, zooming out can almost get rid of it (as far as perception)... it's still there though, and can cause you to move your POA if you're not aware of it, or don't know how to read it. If you're shooting benchrest (especially mid or long range), you should be aware of it and know how to compensate for it, if you want to be competitive.

Another thing people do, is adjust their parallax a little short of the actual target distance, which reduces the visual effects of mirage, but now you've introduced parallax error once you do this. The parallax error is usually less than the 'target movement' caused by the mirage, so it's a viable way to 'get around it.' This is a very good reason to master your hold and head position, so that they are exactly the same for every shot!

I'm certainly no expert, and still have trouble beating the mirage my self. The one thing I do know for sure, is if you want to successfully read mirage every time, you need to practice shooting in it... A LOT!!! And, you must use wind flags for every practice session... you need to know what causes a shot to drift... was it mirage causing you to change your POA, or was it wind changing your POI?

 

[trackmagic]

You're closer neibors with my sister. She lives in a town south of Burns. We go rat and rock chuck hunting over there sometimes. Fun times.

 

[trackmagic]

I was shooting a 100 yard competition target and I had all the rounds on the paper, but the groups were not great. It was about a 10mph wind that was variable. I was trying to time my shots when the wind "felt" consistent.

I was rested pretty good, but the target was moving so much it was hard to know where I was rested which is why I wanted to see if anybody knows any tricks in dealing with it. I'm sure I'll see it again this weekend so I'll just practice with it more.

Thanks!

 

[bheadboy]

a few facts
if the waves are moving right to left the wind is movingright to left and the target is to the right of where you see it

if the waves are boiling verticle the image is above where the target actually is

if the waves are moving right to left at a 4:00 to 10:00 angle the wind is moving the image up and to the left the actual target is to the 4o point

if the waves are moving left to right 7:00to 1:00 the target is actually at the 7:00 area

the sameis true of a wave movement from 10-11:00 towards 4-5:00

The same is true ofwaves movement from 1-2:00 towards 7-8:00

The wave direction indicates the wind direction and the target is alway at the sorce of the wave direction.

the intensity of the wind determines the distance the image is actually moved

12 and 6:00 winds offer the least movement and usully the target is more clear
3-9:00 winds give full effect to movement
1-2:00 and 4-5:00 and 7-8:00 and 10-11: give about 1/2 the target movement vs its actual position


Bob

 

[XTR]

Another one of those sage bits for long range (1000 yard) shooting is "Never shoot into a boil". If the mirage is boiling straight up then the conditions are about to change and by the time you get the shot off you'll be out one side or the other.

 

[itchyTF]

What's with that link??

 

[CatShooter]

What's with that link??

MacyPurinton's first post is about "drinking water", then it is a link to bank loan website??

MacyPurinton is a fake and he(they) are cheating the forum out of advertising funds, and running free advertising.

They are scammers!!

 

[spclark]

MacyPurinton is a fake and he(they) are cheating the forum out of advertising funds, and running free advertising.

Not if you don't click on the link.

There might even be malware that gets installed on your 'puter (you foolish enough to believe what the poster's supposed to be talking about?) if you click on that link.

 

[CaptainMal]

Someone must have dumped it.

Try to do what is suggested. The trick is "how much". Cannot figure it out. That's why experience is a big issue.