IdaRam
AH legend
So, y'all might be thinking I want to talk about the environment 
Nope, I'm talking about environmental factors that affect our ability to accurately put rounds on target! 
Sorry to disappoint you, but if we work at it we may still be able to start an argument 
Just jokin' folks, not my intent.
Recently in another thread PHSC_Jono posted a great question about outside air temperature and felt recoil. DOC-404 posted up an informative article on environmental factors that effect accuracy and cartridge performance. Because of that thread I thought it might be an interesting topic of conversation.
Below is a list of some of the factors (environmental and otherwise) that affect accuracy, exterior ballistics and our ABILITY to shoot accurately. Notice I distinguished between accuracy and our ability to shoot accurately Most of these factors don't really come into play until you start shooting at distances greater than what most people probably shoot at game. So this is really more about "shooting" than "hunting", but with the ever increasing popularity/hype surrounding long range hunting more and more people are shooting at game at greater distances. Don't mistake me for an advocate of this. At the risk of starting the first argument 
in my opinion most of these folks have no business shooting at game beyond 200 yards. For those who actually practice extensively at longer range and have developed real skills, I have no issue with you.
Air density - Combination of temperature, barometric pressure and humidity (altitude and weather are the main factors that affect barometric pressure).
Distance - Range to target
Wind - Velocity and direction the air mass is moving which our projectile must travel within/through to reach the target.
Light - This one is a loaded subject!!! Where to start? Direct sunlight, cloud cover, intermittent sun and clouds, angle the light is coming from - high above, left, right. Difficult to quantify and little understood.
Mirage - Optical phenomena in which light rays are refracted and cause objects to appear distorted and displaced. Temperature, light, humidity, wind all come into play with this one.
OK, now here's a few I know are likely to start a fight Conspicuously left blank...
Spin Drift -
Coriolis Effect -
So I will start off by throwing this out there; I've always been intrigued with how "light" affects our shooting. I started shooting handgun metallic silhouettes when I was about 10 years old. After a little while in the sport I had been "adopted" by a few accomplished shooters that taught me a lot about shooting. One old NRA High Power shooter gave me some coaching on shooting on the days when the sky was full of big puffy cumulus clouds and the sun was continually ducking in and out behind the clouds. Enter in the old High Power shooters mantra "One up - Sun up". Meaning, compensate 1 MOA when the sun is beating down from above 'cuz you're going to shoot low if you are zeroed for different conditions. This is NOT confined to open sights, it affects your shooting with a scope as well.
I've had the pleasure of volunteering my time as a RO (Range Officer) at a number of matches over the years and to score a bunch of targets. One of the things that has been very interesting and educational has been watching the results from what is a very common 1st stage of the day at many Sniper/LRTR matches, the "Cold Bore" This is generally 1 round, first round of the day, either a "hit" or a "miss" - score or no-score.
Some things have become predictable. Many shooters do not consider the "light" condition. If it is early am and you are shooting north or south, the light will be coming in from a shallow angle from the side if it is a sunny day. Here in the northern hemisphere if you are shooting to the north the sun will be coming in from the hard right. Guess where 80% of the shots go... Usually about 1 MOA to the left.
Next time you are out at the range shooting some paper on one of those intermittent sunlight days, take the time to do a little experimenting. Shoot a 3 shot group while the sun is behind a cloud. Wait until the sun comes out completely then shoot another 3 shot group in the direct sunlight. See if you don't get a point of impact shift.
And when you are working up a load and shooting for group, keep the changing light in mind.
Past my bed time, but I would love to hear other peoples opinions, experiences, questions, etc about this and any other factors that affect our shooting.
Cheers!
Nope, I'm talking about environmental factors that affect our ability to accurately put rounds on target! Sorry to disappoint you, but if we work at it we may still be able to start an argument Just jokin' folks, not my intent.Recently in another thread PHSC_Jono posted a great question about outside air temperature and felt recoil. DOC-404 posted up an informative article on environmental factors that effect accuracy and cartridge performance. Because of that thread I thought it might be an interesting topic of conversation.
Below is a list of some of the factors (environmental and otherwise) that affect accuracy, exterior ballistics and our ABILITY to shoot accurately. Notice I distinguished between accuracy and our ability to shoot accurately
Most of these factors don't really come into play until you start shooting at distances greater than what most people probably shoot at game. So this is really more about "shooting" than "hunting", but with the ever increasing popularity/hype surrounding long range hunting more and more people are shooting at game at greater distances. Don't mistake me for an advocate of this. At the risk of starting the first argument in my opinion most of these folks have no business shooting at game beyond 200 yards. For those who actually practice extensively at longer range and have developed real skills, I have no issue with you.Air density - Combination of temperature, barometric pressure and humidity (altitude and weather are the main factors that affect barometric pressure).
Distance - Range to target
Wind - Velocity and direction the air mass is moving which our projectile must travel within/through to reach the target.
Light - This one is a loaded subject!!! Where to start? Direct sunlight, cloud cover, intermittent sun and clouds, angle the light is coming from - high above, left, right. Difficult to quantify and little understood.
Mirage - Optical phenomena in which light rays are refracted and cause objects to appear distorted and displaced. Temperature, light, humidity, wind all come into play with this one.
OK, now here's a few I know are likely to start a fight
Conspicuously left blank...Spin Drift -
Coriolis Effect -
So I will start off by throwing this out there; I've always been intrigued with how "light" affects our shooting. I started shooting handgun metallic silhouettes when I was about 10 years old. After a little while in the sport I had been "adopted" by a few accomplished shooters that taught me a lot about shooting. One old NRA High Power shooter gave me some coaching on shooting on the days when the sky was full of big puffy cumulus clouds and the sun was continually ducking in and out behind the clouds. Enter in the old High Power shooters mantra "One up - Sun up". Meaning, compensate 1 MOA when the sun is beating down from above 'cuz you're going to shoot low if you are zeroed for different conditions. This is NOT confined to open sights, it affects your shooting with a scope as well.
I've had the pleasure of volunteering my time as a RO (Range Officer) at a number of matches over the years and to score a bunch of targets. One of the things that has been very interesting and educational has been watching the results from what is a very common 1st stage of the day at many Sniper/LRTR matches, the "Cold Bore"
This is generally 1 round, first round of the day, either a "hit" or a "miss" - score or no-score.Some things have become predictable. Many shooters do not consider the "light" condition. If it is early am and you are shooting north or south, the light will be coming in from a shallow angle from the side if it is a sunny day. Here in the northern hemisphere if you are shooting to the north the sun will be coming in from the hard right. Guess where 80% of the shots go... Usually about 1 MOA to the left.
Next time you are out at the range shooting some paper on one of those intermittent sunlight days, take the time to do a little experimenting. Shoot a 3 shot group while the sun is behind a cloud. Wait until the sun comes out completely then shoot another 3 shot group in the direct sunlight. See if you don't get a point of impact shift.
And when you are working up a load and shooting for group, keep the changing light in mind.
Past my bed time, but I would love to hear other peoples opinions, experiences, questions, etc about this and any other factors that affect our shooting.
Cheers!
I know, I know! 
