Information request: Shooting accurately at distances beyond or below your sighted in distance

As some may know, I am fairly new to shooting.

I have followed some online guides for sighting in a scope and really it seems to just be trial and error...shoot, adjust, shoot adjust. Shoot good group, stop adjusting.

The problem/question I have is that sighting in a scope at say, 30 yards is all fine and good, but if I have a target that pops up and I am not sure of the yardage, how precisely do I properly aim to ensure an accurate shot?

I understand in general that you need to adjust and using mildots and a wheel can help to use a proper holdover to accomodate the change is distance since the scope is no longer pointing at the desired intersect point.

 The question I have for the forum is what tricks, tips, ouija board or voodoo skills do you have in terms of making accurate shots at uncertain yardages.

Any wisdom you wish to offer would be greatly appreciated.

I have a feeling that this sort of gets filed under the general category of "you just need more experience"

Thanks in advance.

[Gene_SC]

I am also new to air guns, "8 Months". I had the same question when I first started. What I found out was basicaly on my own as you will probably do also.

I start at 10 yards to get it on the money. Then I move it out to 20 yards and re-adjust.. Then I move it out to 40 yards and re adust again.. I only have a couple rifles that I shoot beyond 40 yards..

You will notice that after you adjust your scope to 40 yards and are grouping where you want and then go back to 20 yards, and 10 yards you will be I think to high... Try it and you wil see.. I am lucky in a since that I have a few air rifles and I have one set dead on at 20 yards and the others at around 40 yards out.

This is not that complicated. After you adjust your scope to shoot at 40 yards and back to 20 yards try and find the bullseye on the target and manually adjust with rifle up or down to find out if you need to aim lower or higher to hit the bulls eye. Thats how I did it before I bought a few more rifles.

This procedure of adjusting manually works fine for me. If you have an Objective adjustment then you will have to adjust it for distance first.

Just think of having iron sights. You always have to make you wind and distance adjustment manually by placint the sights either up, down, right or left a bit to hit your target.

I am bad at explaining things and this probably is not the proper proceedure but it works for me...

Some of the other experienced scope hunters will probably heip you out more..

Good Luck

Gene

[waunderin]

uk, there is what is called, point blank range. if you understand trajectory of your projectile than you sight in at a specific range and your pellet will will be above or below the aim point a certain amoumt. the pellet starts its travel below the line of sight, due to the angle of departure the path it follows will be at line of sight at the sight in distance. then its path goes above the line of sight, mid range trajectory iirc. then it will drop back down to line of sight again, to point of aim, again. then it will drop below line of sight. point blank will be determined by the "kill zone" of the target. it is not as complicated as it sounds, a picture of the trajectory curve would help to understand. the rest is just trial  and testing.  john

Youkilis - 7/26/2006  1:01 PM

I have a feeling that this sort of gets filed under the general category of "you just need more experience"

Thanks in advance.

Thats pretty much the bottom line - experience.

 The more expensive scopes used by the FT shooters will allow you to calibrate the elevation turret to very precise distances - which also requires the objective lense adjustment be equally precisely calibrated - to range the target - thus the large side-wheels you usually see on these scopes. When using a less expensive scope, such as the 4x AO Bushnell I have on my favourite hunting rifle, it's a matter of experience - how much "Kentucky elevation" will I need to hit a target at 30 yards when I am zeroed at 25 yards? "Kentucky windage" comes into play if you are shooting with a cross breeze - only trial and error and experience will help here. Keep shooting and it will come to you.

[rabbit]

Hello,

     I agree completely with Leonard.  I could give you all of the mumbo - jumbo about judging distance and hold - over or hold - under there is but like Leonard  said, it will all come to you with experience. Its not really all that complicated. Best of luck...

                                                                                Rabbit      

Go here.
http://www.blueline-studios.com/kuengairguns.com/talk.html#zero

Bart

[Gene_SC]

Excellent information on that link Bart..

Thanks
Gene