Paul_F, I’m like you that in the begging learning about reading a mirage, wind and other conditions starts with the people that you shoot with. Yet later you can learn more from a few good books that concentrate on the topics, and yes from forums. I know how hard it has been over the years with my hunting rifles trying to shoot a nice buck when I had to have my riflescope kicked up. The mirage made it harder to judge the shot, and a bit difficult to get a good picture of the buck. However, while shooting open sights…you don’t have the advantage to see the mirage as clearly. Those Soule sights just don’t show the mirage magnified. On a hunt you don’t always have the time to look through and make the adjustment. And during competition, you don’t always have a spotter that can do that for you. You mentioned that when you have used it in High-power at 600 yards, you’ve experienced it, at what magnification are you using at 600 yards? I must say, that I’m learning more about things that I’ve taken for granted in the past, until I started shooting my Sharps with the Soule sights. If you cannot depend on the flags as you can on the mirage on real time wind directions, I guess all the wind flags can actually do is show a delayed direction and if the wind has had drastic velocity changes, that’s just a guess on my part. I would agree at this time, that it is very difficult to put into words what you are seeing in the mirage that clues you in... the best way to learn is to have a spotting scope and sit behind a really good shooter while the shooter fires, and observe the mirage and its effect. I have over 37 years of shooting rifles and shotguns, yes just over a year of shooting my Sharps 45-70, that’s a whole different thing to learn to shoot. Some carry over, yet with the low MVs, it’s a whole different ball of wax. feather, I am right there with you as not being an expert in the area, more like a beginner/novice in this area. Yet I’m will to listen, to read and to learn and improve my knowledge and skill in my shooting. I hear that a shooting events like the Quigley and the BPCR Silhouette shoots reading the mirage can go a long ways on how well you shoot. In most cased I would agree that a mirage is often caused by water vapor, yet that is not always true. I would agree that as it pertains to shooting on a range or out during a hunt this is true. The mirage you see while driving on asphalt is not necessarily from water. The resign in that is in the asphalt produces that mirage on a hot day. I’ve worked many years with asphalt and I know this for a fact. So road mirage in most conditions is created from something other then water. That was interesting on how you have been able to use your bifocals when spotting. A mirage can be a real pain in the butt, when it changes after you have already sighted in your rifle. That can be a real headache. Your explanation is simple enough on reading it. it now takes time to practice this before one can get good at it. I agree that a boiling mirage is a hard one to adjust to. I have not taken it into my shooting yet on how to adjust to it. During competition when you’re on a clock to shoot, you don’t have the luxury to wait until the boil is gone. That would be the time you take your best-calculated guess. You stated that you did not believe that the distance of the mirage from the firing line is of any consequence. It would make sence that a mirage is much like the wind, you have several laver of it from the ground up, and it changes per the terrain and can very between the shooter and the target depending on the ground surface and much more the farther your target. I could be completely wrong in this area, yet I don’t think that I am. feather, interesting use of black masking tape to overcompensation for the mirage created from barrel heat. Joe, A good friend of mine has also recommended Reading the Wind and Coaching Techniques by Jim Owens, USMC. He said it was the one book that beat all in this area. I have it on my families suggestion list for a Christmas list or my birthday gift in January. Mes, I’ve never seen of or heard of a mirage board. How far are they shooting at Etna Green?
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