Advanced Marksmanship MIL Range This......
- Thread starter psinclair
- Start date
- Nov 3, 2010
- 10,415
- 22,737
~444 yards.
Average male coyote shoulder height 24" (from google anyway), looks to be 1.5 mils.
In meters:
~400 meters
(60cm shoulder height, x 10)/1.5 = 400M (math is much easier in metric)
Average male coyote shoulder height 24" (from google anyway), looks to be 1.5 mils.
In meters:
~400 meters
(60cm shoulder height, x 10)/1.5 = 400M (math is much easier in metric)
Last edited:
Yeah, I’m sort of w you. About 300 yds.
Figure bit less than a yard long and subtending 3 mil.
(1 * 1000)/3 = 333 but I think a yard maybe a bit too long. We do have coyotes in Maryland, reportedly, but I’ve never seen one.
So maybe even 275.
But I might be reading this reticle wrong.
Is each mark (both line and dot) a mil or are the lines .5 mil?
~400 ish
Even if wrong and it’s closer to 300, dial in 350 dope and you’re only off .3 mil either way. It’s sitting, so you’re not in bad shape.
Even if wrong and it’s closer to 300, dial in 350 dope and you’re only off .3 mil either way. It’s sitting, so you’re not in bad shape.
One yard = my estimate of the length off the coyote and I think it subtends 3 mils.
If length in inches, then length times 27,000 (if I recall correctly) divided by mils that are subtended.
Haha. Thank you!! Yeah, 27k couldn’t possibly be right!! LOL what I get for lazily writing a post on my phone from the couch.
At least I did remember 27! Haha
I di find it easier to estimate target dimension in yards (or a fraction thereof) and stick to multiplying by 1k so that’s the one I committed to memory in my very small brain! The math is just more simple for me LOL
Thanks again for correcting my obvious error.
I tried that, but I think I was too close to the computer screen. I couldn‘t get a range...
I feel like this thread is a good example of how much of a shit show it is to try to mil range something. Google is spouting a whole bunch of different heights for coyotes, most don't specify the difference between male/female or different parts of the country, some don't even specify what "tall" means but most say "at the shoulder". Are there any good websites that have more detailed measurements (for each combination of age, gender, geographic location etc) of different animals we hunt?
I assume OP had a rangefinder and is just waiting for a decent amount of people to reply before giving what his rangefinder said and then people can see how close they were.
I assume OP had a rangefinder and is just waiting for a decent amount of people to reply before giving what his rangefinder said and then people can see how close they were.
Yep. Mil ranging is not precise at all. To do it properly, you need to account for the high and low end possibilities and use dope in the middle.
Not to mention lighting an other such shit building in more error.
I’d consider mil ranging and engaging a sitting coyote as it provides a good bit of vertical. I’d likely not engage it standing/walking based on mil range as you’re now well outside the error.
It mean that it is 277 yards.....and to be more precisie.....it is an additional 7.75 inches beyond that range....so not 278 yards. ....just my way of adding a little sarcasm.
I got 277.8 for 18”at the shoulder. 308 for 20” shoulder. Guess I’m going with 293 yards when I average.
All of this illustrates how fraught with peril mil ranging a target really is. We have estimates from 200 to 400 yards. So, now for those so inclined. Assuming a center of mass shot on this guy, if the actual range is 200Y, would a 400y hold hit or sail high. Would a 200 yard hold hit or drop in the dirt below the target. Show your work. What cartridge at what speed, bullet weight, etc...
We're looking at a picture here so it's impossible to get perspective really but in the field I would hope a good marksman would know the difference between something at 200 yards and something potentially double that distance. However, if you had 400 yard dope dialed in and it's actually 200 yards away, your round is sailing over it and conversely if it's more like 400 and you have 200 dialed in, you're kicking up dirt.
Here's my work:
I'm taking some liberties with dimensions but it's a natural animal and this gives me a fair spread. The red circle is a .6 mil wide "kill zone", roughly.
32" @ 2.65 mils = 351 yards
I don't know the exact height of course but 32" seemed reasonable.
24" @ 1.9 mils = 335 yards
We can't see the bottom of the paws so I fudged where I predicted they would be behind that shrub.
Averaged together I'm looking at about 343 yards.
Plugged in for my 6.5 Creedmoor slinging factory Hornady 140 ELD-M's at 2695 fps, my dope for 343 yards is 1.4 mils. As long as the actual target distance is between 310 - 370-ish yards there's a high probability I'm within the .6 mil circle.
Using data from a Tikka T3x CTR pushing Hornady 143 ELD-X's at 2495 fps the same 343 yard range would require 1.8 mils and reduces my margin of error to 320-360 yards give or take.
16" AR -15 shooting Hornady 62 gr Spire Points at 2967 fps would be about 1.5 mils of elevation for 343 yards and gives me a margin of error of between 330-370 yards.
All of those hypothetical calculations assume a 100 yard zero.
Here's my work:
I'm taking some liberties with dimensions but it's a natural animal and this gives me a fair spread. The red circle is a .6 mil wide "kill zone", roughly.
32" @ 2.65 mils = 351 yards
I don't know the exact height of course but 32" seemed reasonable.
24" @ 1.9 mils = 335 yards
We can't see the bottom of the paws so I fudged where I predicted they would be behind that shrub.
Averaged together I'm looking at about 343 yards.
Plugged in for my 6.5 Creedmoor slinging factory Hornady 140 ELD-M's at 2695 fps, my dope for 343 yards is 1.4 mils. As long as the actual target distance is between 310 - 370-ish yards there's a high probability I'm within the .6 mil circle.
Using data from a Tikka T3x CTR pushing Hornady 143 ELD-X's at 2495 fps the same 343 yard range would require 1.8 mils and reduces my margin of error to 320-360 yards give or take.
16" AR -15 shooting Hornady 62 gr Spire Points at 2967 fps would be about 1.5 mils of elevation for 343 yards and gives me a margin of error of between 330-370 yards.
All of those hypothetical calculations assume a 100 yard zero.
Yeah my dope for those ranges is about .2 mil above and below my dope for 343 yards so it gives me a little buffer so that I can theoretically stay within the .6 mil circle.
Shoot a 165gr ballistic tip at 3500fps out of a 30-378 wby, at mbpr zero like a fudd. 4.8” high at 200, 3.8” low at 400. 2590 ft lbs of KE at 400, even if you miss vitals he gone.
I feel like my life is incomplete after reading all
This now.
Take away, mil ranging is a shit show
This now.
Take away, mil ranging is a shit show
I've heard MOA are better for this sort of thing. Can anyone confirm that? 
But I'm putting on 300 m dope and aiming center.
But I'm putting on 300 m dope and aiming center.
By the time you figure all this shit out......he's long gone. At least the ones I hunt.
I'm getting 315 yds doing it in my head without google or calc. Assuming 1st focal plane & half mil sub-tensions on ret.
I have recently seen Coyotes up close so I do have a frame of reference for size @ about 26" ear tip to toe sitting.
This is a good exercise. Perfect for my SWFA SS 3-9 mil dot on 6.8SPC
I have recently seen Coyotes up close so I do have a frame of reference for size @ about 26" ear tip to toe sitting.
This is a good exercise. Perfect for my SWFA SS 3-9 mil dot on 6.8SPC
The formula I use is this:
(Height of target in yards x 1,000) / height of target in mils
I shoot coyotes all the time. Coyotes here are big. I give him 36 inches from the top of his ears to the ground. He will be that height standing or sitting.
So, it's:
(1 x 1,000) / 2.6
It's 385 yards, rounded. 20 or 21 clicks up on either of my .308 guns and I own him.
(Height of target in yards x 1,000) / height of target in mils
I shoot coyotes all the time. Coyotes here are big. I give him 36 inches from the top of his ears to the ground. He will be that height standing or sitting.
So, it's:
(1 x 1,000) / 2.6
It's 385 yards, rounded. 20 or 21 clicks up on either of my .308 guns and I own him.
