How to escape heat mirage from the ground

[Ultraman550]

Guys, I have a pretty silly question but I constantly have the problem stated above. I live out in Las Vegas and during the summer its just nasty hot. In truth I can only be outside early in the morning or late in the afternoon when its below 100 degrees. The place I go shooting is incredibly flat and there's a ton of open land which I can't complain about. I'm talking about miles of open land 360 degrees around me. The problem is the terrain is mostly dust, fine red sand and small rocks so the ground gets scorching hot. Before I even fire a bullet there's a lot of heat mirage right from the tip of my barrel to the target.

When I look at the pictures of you guys shooting long distance (600 yards and on) it seems that most if not all of you are shooting on elevated ground at your target whether it be straight ahead or at a minor angle downward. Have I been limiting myself? It obviously appears that the higher I am and the more space between my scope/rifle and the ground the less mirage there will be.

 

[KNIGHT11B4]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

There are some small things you can do but you are mainly a victim of your shooting area and conditions.

Elevating yourself and dialing back mag a bit will help a tad but depending upon the distance you are shooting you may not even notice it at all.

Try covering the area under you with a shooting mat, elevating your position if possible, and dial back you magnification a bit.

It wont make it like shooting in 60 deg weather but it may help some.

 

[Ultraman550]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

Thanks KNIGHT. One of the things I didn't mention is I definitely use a mat or I'd be burnt to a crisp. I'm even looking into some sort of tarp cover to block the sun but inevitably I'm going to be hot no matter what. Would it be correct to assume that if I was to stop being a pussy and actually hike up to a ridge where there was a considerable drop (like a valley of the sort) between my position and the target that I wouldn't even have this issue? I'm so lazy that when I'm setting my zero at 100 yards I don't even walk to the target, I get into my truck and drive there.

 

[Niles Coyote]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

Understand I don’t have a lot of experience with heavy mirage but there is defiantly less the higher you get off the ground. I would try the ridge and see if its helps, you will still have some near the target. Something else to consider while shooting, mirage is like a flag waving on a pole, eventually you will see the target snap back to the direction the wind is coming from, in the brief moment that is the targets true location.

 

[lanwickum]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

Good optics can help a little. Mostly don't look through the intense heat. Get above it. You can put something over the barrel if the barrel puts off to much mirage. Can be another variable to fight and learn. The fun of shooting long range. Sit back and study it. Can learn to use it for your advantage. I prefer reading wind with mirage when possible. Only way I know to see wind in multiple spots and heights with out putting up a bunch of flags. Then again, I hardly ever shoot in weather over 80degF.

 

[Strykervet]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

Mag out, sharp focus. If you back the focus out, you can increase the mirage. So be sure your focus is good and sharp to begin with.

If you shoot from a ridge, that may help, but make sure you consider the angle. And I'd try for dusk/dawn myself.

 

[rojkoh]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Ultraman550</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Guys, I have a pretty silly question but I constantly have the problem stated above. I live out in Las Vegas and during the summer its just nasty hot. In truth I can only be outside early in the morning or late in the afternoon when its below 100 degrees. The place I go shooting is incredibly flat and there's a ton of open land which I can't complain about. I'm talking about miles of open land 360 degrees around me. The problem is the terrain is mostly dust, fine red sand and small rocks so the ground gets scorching hot. Before I even fire a bullet there's a lot of heat mirage right from the tip of my barrel to the target.

When I look at the pictures of you guys shooting long distance (600 yards and on) it seems that most if not all of you are shooting on elevated ground at your target whether it be straight ahead or at a minor angle downward. Have I been limiting myself? It obviously appears that the higher I am and the more space between my scope/rifle and the ground the less mirage there will be.
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I've shot in both SoCal (desert) and in Vegas. AS someone that is a sling prone shooter, I read mirage.. it's good tool for gauging the wind.

At DM we shot to 1000 yards normally and in Ariz I've shot 800,900 and 1000 and I know I've shot distance in Nev. Shot both scope and iron sights.

 

[Garvey]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

My part of Texas is called the blackland prarie. I observe mirage all year long. Forget about trying to make a shot across plowed ground with high magnification, in the summer.

Elevating yourself is going to be the most helpful change you can make. Turning down your magnification is a tight second. But remember Mirage is your friend.

P.S. lazy is an attitude. Walk your ass 100 yards to the target. Walking is good for you!

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

Mirage and wind are prevalent conditions. When we seek to escape it, all we are actually accomplishing is to deprive ourselves of the training we need in order to cope with the more common part of our shooting challenges. Better to forge on through than to tippytoe around. Seize the challenge. Embrace the mirage and make it work as part of your skill set.

Greg

 

[Rapidrob]

Re: How to escape heat mirage from the ground

I run New Mexico Military Surplus Rifle Pistol Shooters club. We shoot out to 1,000 yards with open sighted firearms from all the worlds armies. The Range sits just one mile above sea level and is 1/4 wide and several miles deep.
Mirage is a big factor since my matches start at 0900 and go to dusk. What I try to do is to dope the sun. We shoot the really longer ranges in the early hours of the cooler,calmer air and move into the closer targets ( 500 and in ) as the air warms up.
I found that if you can change the angle of the shooter to the target,and still be safe for possible ricochets, you can sometime see the target as the light passes through the mirage at a steeper angle, much clearer. While the mirage is still there, the "dancing" is reduced.
While this technique works it is not 100% percent effective every time we try it. There are just too many factors to deal with.
As stated above, if you can raise your shooting position, the mirage will be lessened as you get further away from the heat source. I've seen guys build an elevated platform in the back of a truck bed or trailer ( check local laws on this tip )They, the shooters, said it really helped.
We worked with the city and had the firing line elevated 25 feet above the floor of the range.This helped a bunch.

 

[junglerogue]

I went for my first 800 yard shot out of a 308 this weekend. I'm located in El Paso and was shooting in mid 60's at 2pm with <5 mph wind. We started at 300, 600 and then 800. The 300 and 600 were shot at ground level, and horribly hard to track shot impact. We could see the heat mirage and wind direction of the mirage, almost more clearly than the dust signature/impacts. We then elevated 20-30 feet up the side of a hill and set up for the 800. MY GOODNESS!!! It was like I was shooting with a whole different scope. I immediately regained the clarity and lost almost all the mirage effect. Out of four shots, I had one on paper. Awesome considering that I'm learning how to adjust with elevation adjustments, rather than compensating with the reticle. ELEVATION MATTERS!