Rifle Scopes Mirage off barrel?

[20Incher]

I'm playing with my new barrel and couldn't get my scope to focus and thought it was my eye.I kept playing with the focus and nothing.I then put my hand over the barrel and it focused right away.No problem keeping my hand on it.Could it be mounted to close to the barrel?I didn't take that many shots or at least that's what I thought at the time.Maybe 40/50rds.It's an AR with a heavy 20" Vortex 30mm Crossfire.About a 45 degrees outside.Do they make some kind of wrap for this problem?

 

[LoneWolfUSMC]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

You have two possibilities.

One, mirage off the barrel.
Two, glare off that shiny tube.

If it's glare, some black paint will solve the issue.
If it's mirage, then you need to deal with it or get/make a mirage band.

Slowing your rate of fire and allowing the barrel to cool between shots is also an option.

 

[Lowlight]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

To add to above:

Turn your power down.

For every bit of magnification you are using you are magnifying the problem.

 

[Guest]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

A wrap only holds the heat. Mirage bands/tubes suck in the woods.
If your playing a 6 buck battery powered fan.
If real, surgical tubing on top of the barrel, placed so when you exhale it gives you 5-8 seconds of clarity. I've a very small piece of 1/2" copper tubing that I have flattened that fits just between the obj's an barrel. The surg tubing is attached to it and runs to the rear where I can keep it in my mouth while shooting.
Looks like shit, an always get the WTF is that for, by weekend shooters.

Never had a target complain about the ugliness yet.

 

[20Incher]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

Thanks for the responses.If its not glare I'll turn down the power and wait before shots.

 

[sr15match]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

In the winter when temps are cold is when I notice mirage created from the barrel. A couple of us guys have a make-shift tube that slides over the objective sort of like a sunshade and it helps some. But this is shooting in more of a "controlled" enviroment. We a bench set-up in a barn and this allows us to use a small fan at the same time to keep the air moving across the barrel keeping the mirage managable.

There's a lot of ideas it's just a matter of what works for you.

 

[Ian A. Kelbly]

Re: Mirage off barrel?

Check out all the F-Class Shoots and all the Benchrest Shoots. They started using Mirage shields decades ago to compensate for this problem. There are some highpower mirage "bands" that are semi-elastic and would work well on an AR or a bolt gun. I get crap for it but I use a mirage shield in all competitions. Looking stupid is better than missing because you couldn't get a good focus.

- Ian