I am not an experienced rifleman. Sorry, unlike some here, my day job involves firewalls, forensically sound information collection, audit logs, policies to retard social engineering, and teaching other people how to work with all of the above.
As a result, I have to work a little bit harder than some to not only develop my personal skill with a rifle and to continue to sharpen those skills. One of the most challenging aspects of marksmanship for me to pick up the first time was range estimation.
Along the way, I discovered Long Range Shooting Simulation, a basic program offered by a site called "ShooterReady" to learn and apply basic mil-dot ranging and then use a simple point and click approach to "take your shot".
http://www.shooterready.com/lrsdemo.html
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Basics</span>
The idea behind LRSS is that it has a "classroom" that provides you with the absolute basics about calculating how to adjust your optic's windage and elevation to take a shot given various conditions. It then provides a very basic static environment to practice in with more advanced stages incorporating variable distances, movement, etc.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Classroom</span>
The classroom is extremely basic and should be treated as more of a reminder than as any sort of formal instruction in the methods of using a rifle at long range. Further, because it focuses on the adjustments necessary for such a shot, a shooter will need to supplement this product with range-focused time either with an instructor or with quality course time with a firm like Rifles Only.
The classroom is navigated in a click by click way, with information being simply displayed to be read. Most of the information provided is very basic and more advanced shooters can safely ignore the classroom completely as intermediate topics are essentially not covered.
This product is not a substitute for range time under any circumstances and will help you only with grasping the basics of optic adjustment for given conditions. Your fundamentals will not be improved in any way with this application.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Shooting Simulation</span>
The more interesting use of this program, to me, is the opportunity to assess and virtually "fire" at given size targets to apply your knowledge of unknown distance ranging in various conditions. A number of common ammunition types are included in the simulation, including both MIL and MOA modes for the virtual optic to be calibrated to.
The visual representation of these graphics is extremely rudimentary but is not intended to be a "game" per se but rather a training aid. Those interested in virtually shooting a boar would be better served to look at a Cabelas title or something similar.
The provided modes include up to 10 stages within each mode that provide varying conditions and target distance to test your ability to make adjustments to point of aim and virtually confirm by taking your shot. With dilligent use of the simulator, I have found my time to make adjustments to the optic is coming down as I gain confidence with the math to estimate target distance and adjust for wind, altitude, angle, and humidity.
The program is not often updated but when updates do come out, they seem to add important features. The shooting simulation now includes modes to practice dealing with elevation, wind, and longer ranges for particular targets.
The one oddity in the program that I am not sure about are the modes provided for .223 which seem more game oriented in nature. They include urban type backgrounds for the targets to appear on and have "hostage" and similar scenarios to practice against. These modes are somewhat challenging in that the targets incorporate motion and obstruction, but I am unsure of their practical application for the average domestic shooter.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Overall</span>
Overall I think this program is an interesting new tool for novices to the sport to improve their math and sharpen their ability to shoot in various conditions between range visits. Shooters should not expect this program to help at all with the fundamentals of the sport, nor should it be used in place of actual range time. This should be seen as one more tool in the beginner's toolbox.
By about the time you can consistently hold MOA or better out to about 500 yards, the utility of this program declines with real-world practice applying the skills it demonstrates.
As a result, I have to work a little bit harder than some to not only develop my personal skill with a rifle and to continue to sharpen those skills. One of the most challenging aspects of marksmanship for me to pick up the first time was range estimation.
Along the way, I discovered Long Range Shooting Simulation, a basic program offered by a site called "ShooterReady" to learn and apply basic mil-dot ranging and then use a simple point and click approach to "take your shot".
http://www.shooterready.com/lrsdemo.html
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Basics</span>
The idea behind LRSS is that it has a "classroom" that provides you with the absolute basics about calculating how to adjust your optic's windage and elevation to take a shot given various conditions. It then provides a very basic static environment to practice in with more advanced stages incorporating variable distances, movement, etc.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Classroom</span>
The classroom is extremely basic and should be treated as more of a reminder than as any sort of formal instruction in the methods of using a rifle at long range. Further, because it focuses on the adjustments necessary for such a shot, a shooter will need to supplement this product with range-focused time either with an instructor or with quality course time with a firm like Rifles Only.
The classroom is navigated in a click by click way, with information being simply displayed to be read. Most of the information provided is very basic and more advanced shooters can safely ignore the classroom completely as intermediate topics are essentially not covered.
This product is not a substitute for range time under any circumstances and will help you only with grasping the basics of optic adjustment for given conditions. Your fundamentals will not be improved in any way with this application.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The Shooting Simulation</span>
The more interesting use of this program, to me, is the opportunity to assess and virtually "fire" at given size targets to apply your knowledge of unknown distance ranging in various conditions. A number of common ammunition types are included in the simulation, including both MIL and MOA modes for the virtual optic to be calibrated to.
The visual representation of these graphics is extremely rudimentary but is not intended to be a "game" per se but rather a training aid. Those interested in virtually shooting a boar would be better served to look at a Cabelas title or something similar.
The provided modes include up to 10 stages within each mode that provide varying conditions and target distance to test your ability to make adjustments to point of aim and virtually confirm by taking your shot. With dilligent use of the simulator, I have found my time to make adjustments to the optic is coming down as I gain confidence with the math to estimate target distance and adjust for wind, altitude, angle, and humidity.
The program is not often updated but when updates do come out, they seem to add important features. The shooting simulation now includes modes to practice dealing with elevation, wind, and longer ranges for particular targets.
The one oddity in the program that I am not sure about are the modes provided for .223 which seem more game oriented in nature. They include urban type backgrounds for the targets to appear on and have "hostage" and similar scenarios to practice against. These modes are somewhat challenging in that the targets incorporate motion and obstruction, but I am unsure of their practical application for the average domestic shooter.
<span style="font-weight: bold">Overall</span>
Overall I think this program is an interesting new tool for novices to the sport to improve their math and sharpen their ability to shoot in various conditions between range visits. Shooters should not expect this program to help at all with the fundamentals of the sport, nor should it be used in place of actual range time. This should be seen as one more tool in the beginner's toolbox.
By about the time you can consistently hold MOA or better out to about 500 yards, the utility of this program declines with real-world practice applying the skills it demonstrates.
