Lately, I've been trying to improve my night shooting.
I've mostly been shooting at 100yds with tac light and comparing to results with NVD.
One issue is that the NVD groups seem to be off with respect to shooting without the NVD, but I don't want to dwell on that issue here. The NVD is ATN/PS22 g3a and I know many people do not like that company, and my purpose is not to rehash that discussion. That belongs over in the Night Vision forum.
Over here I want to describe a problem that I assume is a "me problem" and see what ideas people have to address.
I've been shooting scoped rifles for about a year. Mostly .22LR, but also a bit of 7.62 and a small bit of .338LM. I have two Luepold scopes, 20x TMR FFP and 10x TMR SFP. I use the 10x for night shooting because I can mount the NVD on the scope and because this scope has an Ill Ret.
In terms of day shooting I've been able to get down to 1.5 MOA consistently out to 300yds with the 7.62 (16 inch barrel) and also 1.5 MOA out to 600yds with the .338LM. These are not great results, but this is where I am. I shoot mostly on my land and I try to shoot in wind, rain, snow and general cold conditions from the ground, with a bipod. So my practicing is not attempting to strickly minimize MOA group size I throw the discomfort of the land and the weather into the mix.
That being said, my goal for the next year is to get down to .75 MOA for all inscope shooting. This includes 200yds at night (or 400yds under good moon conditions) and as far as day shooting: 800yds for the 7.62 and roughly a mile for the .338LM (I'll have to go to Rebel Ridge in SW KS to shoot beyond 600yds).
Right now, my night shooting problem, is that my groups are 3 MOA, whether with tac light or with NVD. In the day, I use 10x power on the 10x scope. At night I want to use 3.5x power on this scope. This will give me better FOV.
So, what are my theories about why my groups are 3 MOA at night? Oh, and the night shooting in question is with the Sig716, 16 inch barrel with 147gr FMJ.
01 - I cannot see the normal bulls eye aiming point, so I have to aim center of mass.
02 - I can barely see the reticle marks, especially the half mil reticle marks on the TMR and I am trying to hold .25 mil adjustments. I've been using the Ill Ret when shooting with the tac light, but not when shooting with the NVD.
03 - My trigger pull is different at night than it is in the day (I'm not sure I buy this theory, but I add it here as I cannot completely discount it).
==
What can I do to improve the situation?
11 - I could try changing the magnification to 5x. This should allow me to see the aiming point better.
12 - I could change my zero back to 100yds so I don't have to hold (I'm currently zeroed at 325 as I'm trying to get the 7.62 to 600yds in my day shooting practice. WHile this makes sense, I want to be able to hold at night, I want to be able to use the reticle. And turning the knobs so as to always only have the cross hair to point at something, is not aligned with my idea, that normally I will be holding, at least for the wind.
BTW I use white paper targets with colored dot on them. Currently the bull is a 2 inch blob of black dots and black tape.
Are there other ideas about ways to decrease the group size at night? All input appreciated!
I've mostly been shooting at 100yds with tac light and comparing to results with NVD.
One issue is that the NVD groups seem to be off with respect to shooting without the NVD, but I don't want to dwell on that issue here. The NVD is ATN/PS22 g3a and I know many people do not like that company, and my purpose is not to rehash that discussion. That belongs over in the Night Vision forum.
Over here I want to describe a problem that I assume is a "me problem" and see what ideas people have to address.
I've been shooting scoped rifles for about a year. Mostly .22LR, but also a bit of 7.62 and a small bit of .338LM. I have two Luepold scopes, 20x TMR FFP and 10x TMR SFP. I use the 10x for night shooting because I can mount the NVD on the scope and because this scope has an Ill Ret.
In terms of day shooting I've been able to get down to 1.5 MOA consistently out to 300yds with the 7.62 (16 inch barrel) and also 1.5 MOA out to 600yds with the .338LM. These are not great results, but this is where I am. I shoot mostly on my land and I try to shoot in wind, rain, snow and general cold conditions from the ground, with a bipod. So my practicing is not attempting to strickly minimize MOA group size I throw the discomfort of the land and the weather into the mix.
That being said, my goal for the next year is to get down to .75 MOA for all inscope shooting. This includes 200yds at night (or 400yds under good moon conditions) and as far as day shooting: 800yds for the 7.62 and roughly a mile for the .338LM (I'll have to go to Rebel Ridge in SW KS to shoot beyond 600yds).
Right now, my night shooting problem, is that my groups are 3 MOA, whether with tac light or with NVD. In the day, I use 10x power on the 10x scope. At night I want to use 3.5x power on this scope. This will give me better FOV.
So, what are my theories about why my groups are 3 MOA at night? Oh, and the night shooting in question is with the Sig716, 16 inch barrel with 147gr FMJ.
01 - I cannot see the normal bulls eye aiming point, so I have to aim center of mass.
02 - I can barely see the reticle marks, especially the half mil reticle marks on the TMR and I am trying to hold .25 mil adjustments. I've been using the Ill Ret when shooting with the tac light, but not when shooting with the NVD.
03 - My trigger pull is different at night than it is in the day (I'm not sure I buy this theory, but I add it here as I cannot completely discount it).
==
What can I do to improve the situation?
11 - I could try changing the magnification to 5x. This should allow me to see the aiming point better.
12 - I could change my zero back to 100yds so I don't have to hold (I'm currently zeroed at 325 as I'm trying to get the 7.62 to 600yds in my day shooting practice. WHile this makes sense, I want to be able to hold at night, I want to be able to use the reticle. And turning the knobs so as to always only have the cross hair to point at something, is not aligned with my idea, that normally I will be holding, at least for the wind.
BTW I use white paper targets with colored dot on them. Currently the bull is a 2 inch blob of black dots and black tape.
Are there other ideas about ways to decrease the group size at night? All input appreciated!
