Basics Of Ballistics

Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well. The same applies to hunting. Nobody wants to be just an average hunter; everyone wants to be a great hunter. Telling the story about the monster mounted on the wall rather that the big one that got away. A ballistics chart is just one of the tools you can use to become a great hunter.

Whether you hunt with a rifle, bow, muzzle-loader or shotgun slug you all have one thing in common, ballistic motion. Ballistic motion defines the path a projectile follows as it is affected by gravity and wind resistance.

While ballistic motion is governed by the laws of physics and is defined by complicated engineering equations; ballistic motion is all around us. Every football that is thrown, every satellite that orbits the earth providing HD programming on your TV all rely on ballistic motion.

Everybody has watched a movie where a sniper is hidden in his Ghillie Suit getting ready for his shot, his sniper buddy is ranging the target and referencing a chart telling the marksman what adjustments to make to his scope to accommodate the range. This is all great, but most hunters don’t have a scope that lends itself well to making these adjustments nor do we want to make adjustments to the scope in the field.

Fortunately most hunters do have access to Microsoft Excel and a printer. This is all you need to make shots you never thought possible. Next season you can brag about the trophy buck or bull you bagged at 800 yards. Yes, just shy of half a mile.

When you site in your rifle, say for 100 yards don’t pack up and leave when you have 4 shots inside a quarter pattern. Stick around and fire a few more rounds, specifically at ranges above and below 200 yards. Fire 3 shots at 50, 100 and 150 yards as well as 200. Record the data in 2 columns in Excel. Record your yardage on the left hand column, and height on the right. If you hit above your mark the height value is positive, below is negative. A typical example would read as follows. Left hand column from top to bottom 50,100, 150, 200. Right hand column from top to bottom 1, 0, -1.5, -3.5. Insert an “xy scatter” plot. Right click the plot line and choose “Add Trendline” create a 3rd order polynomial and on the options tab check display equation and display R squared value. If the R-squared value is between .99 and 1 you are ready to proceed.

Create two new columns. The left column is yardage and should range from 0 to 1000 in 20 yard increments. The right hand column should have the equation from the previous graph and should use the yardage cell to the left in place of “X” in the equation.

Print this chart, trim it and stick it to the cheek side of you gun stock and you have a quick reference that is custom matched to your gun and ammo telling you exactly how high you need to aim at any range up to 1000 yards.

Apply this tool with knowledge of big game hunting and species vital zones and you are sure to become a great hunter too.

Happy hunting.

Scott is the owner of Ghillie Suit Source http://www.ghilliesuitsource.com and has been hunting and fishing the Dakotas and Canada for over 20 years.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_LaCoe

Choosing a Rifle Scope

Hunting for Whitetail Deer, Mule Deer, Elk, Moose, Black Bear or Coyotes you will need a quality rifle scope. The following tips may help with your selection.

First find a quality scope that fits in your budget, buy the best you can afford. You will never go wrong buying the best, but we all have budgets.

First, consider the light gathering quality of the scope. To do this, look at the large end of the scope. It will be measured in millimeters. The larger the objective lens the more light it will gather. If you are hunting early morning or late evening (if your not, you should be) you need to gather as much light as possible. A scope size will look like 9×40. That means that you will see the object 9 times magnification, and 40 would be the objective lens. Here is where you gather light. The larger the objective lens, the more light it gathers.

Now the example above would be for a fixed magnification scope. I prefer a rifle scope that has adjustable magnification. A scope like 4-9×40 means that it is adjustable from 4 power to 9 power magnification. The scope set on 4 power will give you wider field of view (FOV). If you are shooting at a moving target then lower magnification is best. It will make it easier to track your moving target. The higher the magnification, the narrower the FOV. Consider the zoom feature on a camera, works much the same.

Next make sure the scope has multiple coated lens. This means that each lens in the rifle scope has multiple coatings which will reduce the loss of light, provides a higher contrast image and reduces glare. There are different types of coatings used. The type of coating depends on the manufacturer.

Next, your new scope should have windage and elevation adjustments. These are the dial protrusions on the top and the side. The top adjustment should be the elevation or up and down adjustment. The windage or left to right is commonly on the right side of the scope. Each of can be change by removing the protective cap and turning with your fingers. Each click generally is ¼” in 100 yards. These clicks are fairly easy to hear.

The next thing to consider is the exit pupil size. That would be the end of the scope nearest your eye. Again, the larger the exit pupil size the brighter the image will be. Normally you can divide the magnification power by the objective lens to find the exit pupil size. A 4×40 would then give you a 10mm exit pupil. In other words, the size of the column of light that comes out of the exit pupil lens.

An important consideration for me personally is the eye relief. Eye relief means how far your eye can be from the end of the scope and still give you a full field of view (FOV). With a long eye relief you can be farther from the end of the scope. If you are too close, the rifle recoil may cause the scope to hit your eyebrow causing a nasty little cut or at least a bruise. If you choose a scope with a fairly short eye relief, make sure it has soft rubber surrounding your end of the scope. This will give a little more protection from the recoil.

Find a scope that is sealed, waterproof and fog proof, one that is scratch resistant. Falls, going through brush can all scratch your scope. And by the way, if you fall or otherwise shock your scope, you should sight it in again to make sure your shot at a trophy will hit its mark.

Finally, have your scope mounted on your hunting rifle by a professional. If you buy your new scope from a quality dealer, they will mount your scope at no charge.

I won’t get into the internal parts of rifle scopes. What I have written is the layman’s version of choosing a new rifle scope.

My personal preference is a 3-9×40. I believe this is an excellent rifle scope for big game hunting.

There are many fine brands available that you would be safe to purchase. Here is a partial list.

Leupold

Bushnell

Sightron

Burris

Trijicon

Nikon

Simmons

Happy Hunting.

frank@outwesthunting.com