I’m sure that I’m not alone, and that others would like to know how to read mirages when were out on the range or on a hunt. I know that this is not something new, yet it’s an old topic and concern. 

I did search to find other postings on this topic; I found postings that had one or more of the words, yet no topic specific on Reading Mirages. I know that It’s an issue that we all have experienced.

I’ve also done my research on the internet on Reading Mirages. Not much good stuff out there. I’m sure there are books on the topic, yet trying to find one that is actually worth buying and reading is another story. That would be a story I would like to read. Any suggestions on one or two quality books. I’m not looking at creating some kind of a library on this topic. Just keeping it small.   


Whether it’s looking through your spotting scope, or with your open sights trying to read the ripples from the heat mirages. I know that there has been plenty of research in this area. Making it possible for the shooter to read the mirage and determine thinks like wind conditions, and I’m not sure what else.  I’m sure that in understanding these conditions and knowing how to read them should improve a shooters accuracy. How do you determine where on the range the mirage is occurring? Does it matter if it is occurring near your target or if it’s somewhere between you and your target? 

I’m sure we have many experts here that could lend their thoughts on Reading Mirages. I’m sure I’m not the only one that would like to know.   

Brent,

     Wow, you did better then I had done. Instead of putting “Reading Mirage Shooting”, I had tried “shooting reading mirage” and “reading mirage”. I like your choice as well. I am also going to check out the same results from the search you used, thanks. 

     All of what you have mentioned are the things that I am also interested in learning about. I have a friend that has done allot of research on the topic, yet he has yet to get back to me on the one book he found to be the best. Perhaps between the two of us and others that join in, we can find the information and share it. Thanks for the input. 
 

Sharps1874,

I'm not an expert on mirage but I've seen enough of it shooting at silhouettes that I can offer some observations.

Mirage is caused by water vapor in the air and just like water, it refracts light.  I wear bifocals and when spotting for a shooter I'm able to tip my eyes upward and look through the bottom lens and see any mirage in my spotting scope because the scope lens has a long eye relief.

When mirage is moving from left to right, (it appears to be bending with the top of the mirage farther to the right than the bottom of the mirage) the target will actually be slightly to the left of where you see it.  How far to the left depends on how violently the mirage is moving.  Slight movement will have little change of the target location; hard movement can be enough to cause a miss if not compensated for with the sights.  Suffice to say that if the mirage is moving hard from left to right, hold slightly left of where you see the target.  If the mirage shifts and moves from right to left, then you will want to hold slightly right of the target.  Of course the mirage you have when zeroing your sight is also important.  If you hold dead on for one condition, you only have to hold slightly off the target when the other condition rears its ugly head.  If there was no mirage when you sighted-in, you may wind up going back and forth most of the day.

The one condition you don't want to shoot into (if possible) is a boiling mirage.  That is when the mirage appears to be steam boiling up from a pot.  It is straight upward and wavy.  Logic says that you should aim a little higher but it often doesn't work.  Many of the shooters I know refuse to take the shot in a boil.

I don't believe the distance of the mirage from the firing line is of any consequence.  You are seeing it wherever it is and its effect on your vision of the target is the same.

Brent,

One method I have used to control mirage from the barrel with iron sights is to place black masking tape along the top of my barrel.  It is easily removable yet it has a pebbled surface that tends to break up the mirage rising from the barrel.

I'm sure more knowledgeable shooters will offer additional advice and I'm curious to know what other shooters think as well.

feather

Darn ya all Sharps, I'm just getting a handle on wind vectors and ya have to throw in the effect of them squigley lines in my spotting scope - mirage!

Here's a nice read ... (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

I'll wait till next Summer to work on Mirage at the range, but I'll tell you a true one:  3 years ago, was testing a new recipe.  Had 5 rounds left after shooting @ 100.  Went over to the 600yd range, looked in the reference book and 153" looked close to raise the vernier.  Fired 5 quick shots with mirage so bad coudn't see past 300 in the spotting scope.

Drove down to the target ... 5 holes in the 7 ring.  Three were a clover (2.25"), the other 2 were respectively 3" to the left and 4" to the right of the clover.  A 2.5" x 7" group, I had a witness and have never been able to duplicate that group! 

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? 

Sharps 1874
Hunter rifle at Van Dyne is shot at 100 yards and 200 yards, mirage boards between every target.
Etna Green is shot at 200 yards for the centerfire matches and 100 yards for the rimfire only matches.  I have never seen a mirage board at Etna Green, but maybe I was not looking hard enough.
Marty

For me, the thing about mirage is not so much the fact that it indicates what the wind is doing, but rather the fact that it does tend to move the target to an apparent location, which at LR can cause you to completely miss when aiming at the target!  That stuff really can throw me in utter confusion...

Here's another read about mirage.  Re: the last paragraph about shooting at bull with a spotter, I'm thinking that 300yds would be ideal to learn the art of deciphering a mirage.  One could use their spotting scope - a mirage board and still see the POI of the bullet from the bench without a spotter.

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