can anyone help me out here?

[Duff]

i do a lot of coyote hunting and now that i have a mildot reticle i feel more comfortable making moving shots. my question is what is the formula for shooting a moving target? i can work out speeds and stuff later if y'all can provide a formula for me.

 

[SIG700]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

speed of target * bullet flight time = total distance the target will move, than convert that distance to mils at your range

Example (easy one with "nice" numbers)

Distance 700 yards
Bullet Flight time 1 second
Target moving at 4 feet/second

From time you squeeze the trigger to the time the bullet gets there- the target has moved 4 feet- which at 700 yards is 2 mils (rounded)

By time you have figured out all this math- your target is gone. Haha.

 

[Duff]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

haha thanks! I'm going to try to work out a cheat sheet or something and see how that works out for me. if not ill just go back to makin them stop and the ones that dont letem run

 

[Strykervet]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

If you have the room out there in Wyoming, what you can do for practice is to erect some wood target frames on a wood sled, maybe with steel skids or steel skid covers if the ground is rough or you plan on using it a lot. Anyway, a couple of posts and you can put any kind of cardboard cutout you like on it. Have a looong rope connected to it, nice and taught, no slack, connected to a truck. Radio your buddy and he can drive at whatever speed you like while you practice. Get out, turn it around (or spin the target around and reconnect the rope, depending on how you make it) and go the other way.

This is the only way to get practice so that you can hope to make those shots. Knowing the math and stuff is great, but you need to practice it. This is the only "easy" way I know of.

There are little rail mounted electric targets you can get I think, and I'm sure you could make one if you were savvy... But the truck and sled is easiest if you have a buddy.

Either way you do it, you develop a feel for it and can kind of tell how much to lead without doing any of the math, and that is the point. Because yeah, you don't have time.

 

[sled_mack]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

Do the math at home for a fixed speed at distance intervals of 100 yards. Either pick a speed you expect your target to be moving at, or pick something easily converted (1 or 10 mph, for example). Use this to make a data card you can refer to quickly.

But really, there is no substitute for shooting movers to get good at it. And it's so much fun that when you have the chance you won't want to stop. The hard part if getting the chance.

 

[hondo1312]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

Read this thread...some good info despite the slight derailment in the middle.

http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=725783

 

[milo 2.0]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

An AR style rifle with a 30rd magazine would be the best place to start, guage off your misses.
Hitting coyote on the run at 700 yards, hmmmm.

 

[1911fan]

Re: can anyone help me out here?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SIG700</div><div class="ubbcode-body">speed of target * bullet flight time = total distance the target will move, than convert that distance to mils at your range

Example (easy one with "nice" numbers)

Distance 700 yards
Bullet Flight time 1 second
Target moving at 4 feet/second

From time you squeeze the trigger to the time the bullet gets there- the target has moved 4 feet- which at 700 yards is 2 mils (rounded)

By time you have figured out all this math- your target is gone. Haha. </div></div>

Yeah, works as an example, but coyotes move faster. A lot faster. I did the math once, and a coyote can sprint at up to 35mph, IIRC. That's 51.3fps, and I swear I've seen 'em run faster when I'm shooting at them.
Anyway, updating the numbers in your example, if time of flight = 1 second and he's moving at 51.3fps, then by the time your bullet's there the target has moved 17 body lengths (assuming 36" tip to tip). That's a hell of a holdoff.
I've shot stationary prairie dogs past 700, and targets a lot further- but cranking shots at a running dog at that distance will only educate him, if that.
Most fun practice is at night, on snow, with tracers, under a nice moon.


1911fan