Thread: mil/moa basics - everything you've ever wanted to ask...

right, so based on the other thread, let's do some basic education re mil / moa

remember, there are no stupid questions, so ask away.

i think the big thing is to remember that both systems are simply angular measurements, the only real difference is the units of those measurements.

so think of two lines, starting at a particular point. for illustration purposes, lets say one line flat along the ground, and the other rises steadily. kinda like two lines moving appart 30 degrees or 45 degrees, only a much smaller angle...

for moa (minute of angle), the angle between the two lines is 1/60th (a minute) of 1 degree (360 degrees in a circle right).

for mil (milradian/milliradian), the angle is 1/1000th of a radian. a radian is the angle you get when you take the radius of a circle, wrap it around the outside edge of the circle, and connect the two ends with the center. so it is a 1000th of that angle.

the most important thing to remeber is because these are both ANGULAR measures, they translate to different sizes at different distances.

taking MOA, the two lines indicating the angle, are about 1 inch apart at 100 yards, 2 inches at 200 yard etc. if you want to be pedantic it is actually 1.047 inches at 100 yards, but you get the idea...

talking MILS, at 1000m the lines are 1m appart. at 1000yards the lines are 1 yard apart, with mils it is always 1/1000th

now if you want to start comparing them, it is easiest to work at 1000yds to start off.

at 1000yds (100 x 10), 1 MOA is roughly 10 inches (1 x 10)
at 1000yds, 1 MIL is 1 yard (or 36 inches)

hope I did not make any mistakes with the math and that this all makes sense