Thread: Errors in visually estimating range.

Originally Posted by Kscott

Yup. I'm always having trouble estimating the range.

Guess how far there red arrow is.Attachment 1940

For rabbiting with the 223.

Its 22mm from the end of your suppressor. Easy if you have a ruler.

I know a couple of guys rekon they were always within 10% when guessing range, strangely they seemed to have an off day when the lrf was present.

400 yards?

Originally Posted by Kscott

Yup. I'm awlays having trouble estimating the range.

Guess how far there red arrow is.Attachment 1940

For rabbiting with the 223.

245yards 2' 6 & 5/8" ....... maybe 245yds 2' 6 & 3/4" at a push but I'd have to range it just to be sure.









Just tumbled to this Trick Question

The Red Arrow is about 12" away from Me

Originally Posted by Kscott

Yup. I'm awlays having trouble estimating the range.

Guess how far there red arrow is.Attachment 1940

For rabbiting with the 223.

Photos are even harder to guess than real life. But since I've already admitted to regularly getting it wrong- I'll have a stab at 425 yds.....which is a long shot on a rabbit with a .223.

Another thing to look at is when you range an item then you look at another animal that looks the same distance but range it anyway and bugger me its another 100 yards away ..... Range finder is a must if you want to shoot at range for sure!

262 yards.

A photo allways makes things look a lot further away(well mine do?)
190y

270meters

Seriously though, I'd put money on it being within a couple of yards of 262.

300

I find that practice helps, I quite often grab my range finder out of the shed and guess a spot/target and range them. There are a line of silage bales at 1000yrds and I am always walking out of the house looking at them and thinking, that is 1000yrds.

I think this is the first thing I can actually contribute to on the forum!

As with most things, judging distance needs practice. My favorite method is "unit of measure" - thinking of something you confidently know the distance of, eg rugby field, and figuring out how many rugby fields would fit between you and the target. This is not to be used over 400m though.

Tips:

Things seem closer...
- in bright light (sun coming from behind you and lighting up target)
- when dead ground is between you (shooting from one peak to anther with a vally in between)
- when target is higher than you

Things seem further...
- with sun in your eyes
- in bad lighting
- when the target is smaller than surroundings
- if you are lying down

My secco would be proud! (I was a scout)

Anyone know how to accurately Judge distance with just a map, compass and protractor?

Originally Posted by R93

Anyone know how to accurately Judge distance with just a map, compass and protractor?

Not accurately enough for me to shoot any real distance. After triangulating my position and taking a bearing to the target I could use the contour lines to estimate the targets position.
What Am I missing here R93?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Not accurately enough for me to shoot any real distance. After triangulating my position and taking a bearing to the target I could use the contour lines to estimate the targets position.
What Am I missing here R93?

Your onto it Cam. A prismatic compass is what you would need for greater accuracy but it can be done with almost any compass. You may also have to convert your mag bearing to a grid bearing to plot the back bearing from your target on the map.