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.

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

If you can write it down in words, then you can teach it as well.  That's not to say that practice is unnecessary - anything physical requires practice, and that includes all forms of shooting competition.  However, practice does not exclude the utility of books or discussion.   

From what I've learned here, mirage has nothing to do with reading wind apparently.  It's all about judging the target's shift in apparent position.  Whereas reading the wind requires weighting the data that flags provide as a function of the distance between the muzzle and flag and flag and target, reading the mirage appears to ignore this for the  most part.  And in fact, probably weights mirage down range, near the target, more than mirage up close to the shooter.  The exact opposite of wind flags.   

Brent

Brent; 

That is contrary to my understanding..
I think there are two DIFFERENT definitions of "mirage" going on in this discussion...
One refers to how air movement shifts the IMAGE of a target, and the other being how a short-focused spotting scope can allow a shooter to "see" the wind conditions.

The shooter I referred to uses her spotting scope to see the wind conditions, and gets better results than watching wind flags.
This is my understanding of what many Highpower competitors do also.

No doubt that the target shifting mirage effect ALSO makes significant changes, but seeing the difference between a 7mph breeze from 6 o'clock and a 10mph breeze from 8 o'clock, or being able to SEE a fishtail coming from 9 o'clock before the flags react to it is the more valuable way to "read" mirage.

As I said, I'm slowly learning how to see the wind for 100 yard smallbore prone.
I won't say that it's eliminated all my 9's.. but it's eliminated most of my 8's!

Paul F.

If I knew those answers well enough to explain 'em, my Smallbore classification card would say "Master" not "Expert"

However, focused properly, in the right conditions, I can "see" a change in direction... mostly I can see a stopping, then a swirling, AS the direction changes..

As for where to focus it... I pick the further 1/3 of the distance..
Am I right in doing so? Dunno.

Paul F.

VBull, thanks for the match information that never makes the record books.  Most interesting and was enjoyable reading your post.

Sharps, your starter post put me in the search mode for information on the topic that I can glean from when next season arrives with them squigley lines looking down range at that 600yd target.  This range is the longest I have close to home here in south Jersey.

Here's some more Internet words after pounding the browser (emphasis is me) ...

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

For that long shot that we have to hurry up, get into position and then are put on hold. Most people in the business have experienced this more than once. While on hold, conditions in the wind have to be monitored. A dominant condition must be determined. Dominant condition is simply that condition that prevails most of the time.

Then we look for variations in the conditions. The best way to do this and any other wind analysis is by looking at mirage through a spotting scope. 

Mirage is simply heat waves reflecting from an object. The warmer the day the more mirage you will see. Anyone who has watched a fire has noticed the distortion that develops from the heat. This distortion is what we look for in the scope. When these waves are observed, movement will be identified. The direction of that movement is the way the wind is blowing at that specific place, at that specific time. 

Mirage is best captured by focusing on the object you are reading and then turning the scope slightly out of focus. Your ability to see the distortion will improve. You're looking for movement in the heat waves themselves. Watch the waves bend, to see the affects of the wind and read the wind direction. 

The best place to read mirage is where you can. Ideally you want to be halfway between you and your target directly in the path the bullet will travel. However, ideal is not what is always available. You may have to improvise, at a different distance, look for a sand box, automobile, pavement, window sills, basically anything that is in the sunlight.

Watch the waves and observe the changes. Remember that wind is rarely constant. This brings up a critical point. When you dope the wind, you have to shoot the wind. Don't dope for a ten mile an hour wind and then wait for a lull in the breeze to shoot. Guess what? You are going to miss. You must be observant to change and change with the conditions. A marksman who stays in position for an extended period will change sight settings several times. It is not uncommon for competitive shooters, at six hundred yards, to make adjustments four or five times in a twenty minute string of fire. 

If the mirage is moving vertically, it is called boiling. This is an indication the wind is moving very slowly or is non-existent. Many people think that this is the time to deliver a shot, it isn't. This vertical distortion makes the target elongate, appearing higher than it is. This perception increases at greater distances. Most competitive shooters will not launch a round in this condition and to them there is only an X-ring at stake. I would say if competition shooters shy away from this shot it certainly warrants our consideration. 

Another thing to consider about a boiling mirage is this. If you look at your target and see right to left or left to right movement but can't really decern wind direction, turn your scope right or left until you see a boiling mirage. That will be the direction the wind is blowing.

Watching the mirage move from right to left or left to right is what the marksman is looking for when doping for windage. Generally, when we consider doping for wind, it has to do with moving the bullet from off center, to center. The slant of the mirage's waves will provide information about velocity as well as direction. The greater the slant the faster the wind. 

When you see the lines of the mirage horizontal and straight you have a really good wind, usually twenty plus miles per hour. This is an extremely poor condition to deliver a shot in. Also keep in mind that when you have this type of wind, even of lesser velocity, the target will be distorted in the direction the wind is moving. The target will be left, or right, of where you think it is.

Example

If you have a bright, sunny, day and distortion surrounds your target, watch the mirage. You will see it elongate the target. If the wind is blowing from left to right you will see the right side of the target get bigger. This area of the target will appear to swell in the direction the mirage is moving. If the swelling of the area appears to pulsate, that means the wind is intermittent. Again, these effects increase with distance. 

I also am a  old hp shooter, 35 years +.  To read mirage , I use a a Kowa TSN-1 w/ zoom  eye piece.  Too old to buy one of the newer 821 or 822. The higher powered eye piece permits you to pick up mirage on a cooler day.  I generally focus on the target at a given yard line then back the focus up until I can see the target but more importantly see the mirage. Shooting 600 yards focus at 300 or 400 yds.I watch the edges of number board or the edges of the target frame in the outer perimeter of the spotting scope, much the same as a mirage board.  The same can be done with a rifle scope. Smallbore prone at a 100yds is good training.   The higher the amplitude on the waves, the slower the mirage ( hence slower the wind).  The smaller the amplitude the faster the mirage ( faster the wind). The true direction of the wind can be determined by rotating your spotting scope until you loose the mirage at that time your scope should be parallel to the mirage.  The velocity of the wind ( the amount of correction required ) can only be determined by experience.  Flags help at this point to determine velocity. The flag angle divided by 4 = velocity.   Still you must put your best guess on and shoot. Sometimes you are rewarded.  Watch the the boils!  A fun experiment is to set a a rifle scope on a fixed object (post or rest ) focused on a target in the morning.  Don't move it but during the day periodically, observe how the mirage displaces the target in relation to the crosshair.  

To all,

The attached has helped me a lot.....FWIW.........JimK

Gentelmen,

If you want to put all this mirage reading wisdom into play, come to the American Creedmoor Cup (ACC) long-range match in Phoenix Arizona in March ’07. It is a NO COACHING black powder LR match at 800,900 &1000yds held before the Regional Creedmoor weekend. This is an un-sanctioned match.

This is a chance to watch the flags, feel the hair on the back of your neck, watch the mirage if it’s there and blend as needed. Then twist the sight knobs, get on the rifle and make the shot. Then hope nothing changed much. Wait for the target to come up and see how well you can “read”. This is also known as “on the job training” for most of us.

The ACC is a one-day match in the four-day shooting event.
The prize for this match will be a very large old Shooting Cup (trophy) rebuilt for the ACC
Anyone brave enough to compete with paper-patch bullets will have a chance at a high pp award. (sub-category) 

I hope to see some of you mirage readers there! 
Michael Rix          (this kind of topic is great-not enough on it)

Quote:



Mr. Rix:

Good to hear from you!

What are events of the other three days?


Glenn Fewless

Boats,
Your correct about the match rules governing the needs to learn mirage reading.  In general, the short distance of schuetzen will not see the same effect of mirage as the long range shooters experience.  It is common for a reversal to cause a LR BP shooter to miss the target frame completely even if his last shot was a center hit.  At 1000 yards the frame is only 3 moa from center to air.  When it happens, you can pan your scope up and down the target line and note how many missed the reversal.  Another rule in the NRA matches: personal wind flags ahead of the firing line are not allowed.  With rare exception, all of the matches I've attended have had range flags.  Some not so good, but present.  Frank M.

Talking about smoke and trees ...

(You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) I also read somewhere, that grass blades move in a 5 MPH wind

Brent I understand WSU is shooting without sighters once the record string starts. and counting all shots fired.  That to me is a good idea as it's much harder. Schuetzen is sort of watered down from what it  once was. WSU is going in the right direction in my opinion.

I used to shoot a fair amount of Service rifle and sighters were not allowed once the record relay started. High power silouette too. Coaching is allowed in both and worth more than sighters if you have the right coach. In fact I would say in BPCS the spotter is worth at least as much as the shooter. You can't compete sucessfully without a good one.

Each match has it's own rules and the best advice is to figure out a way to compete under the rules sucessfully. It is a mistake however to carry over methods that work well for one and not for another. Since they are allowed in ASSRA Schuetzen it's well worth using the sighter target to check changes in wind conditons. I  am not so sure Mirage is usefull, and you don't see any top offhand shooters using it.

Game is another matter. Around here we don't get much for long shots and holding dead center is the way to go with any sort of high velocity rifle.   

Still the basic advice is the same figure out the base conditon and watch for changes.

Boats

Last December I started this post. I received allot of great input on what to look for, how to read it, and that it’s just a matter of spending time out on the range. I agree with that. I do appreciate everyone’s input it has been of great help over the last year. 

J.D.Steele
                Thanks for the name of the book “Reading the Wind and Coaching Techniques” by Jim Owens, USMC. 

This post has a lot of great advice on what to look for and what to do with it. Thanks to all of you that contributed to the post. 

At this time I have just have one more request from all of you. Does anyone have what they would consider a must have book that covers “Reading Mirages”. Granted, the real work is on the range. Yet I believe that it does not hurt knowing what you need to look for and what to do when you can read it. Books are a great source of reference knowledge; they will not replace the experts, or your time on the range. I really don’t wish to be besieged with a number of books that say the same thing; perhaps one or two that pretty much say it all would be just fine with me. 

what 4227 said. Good luck, Joe