Best magnification to achieve sub 0.5 moa groups?
- Thread starter OR4NGE
- Start date
Personally I think 20 to 24 X is plenty, even if the glass is not the best...
But to shoot sub MOA you need to know at least these 2 things...
1) How to dial out parallax... for real... not just until the image is clear.
2) Refraction... Temperature and humidity changes create mirage that does not just blur the target image, it also repositions the image, so that from the firing position where you see the target is not necessarily where the target actually is.
So the easiest way to shoot small groups is when mirage and refraction have the least effect... such as dawn or dusk...
Another way is to recognize it is there and take the leap of faith and shoot where you think the target actually is.
*** Another way yet... is to set up a second high power scope that you will use as a spotting scope... dial out parallax and you cannot move it throughout the string. Always shoot where the spotting scope reticle is aiming... regardless of where the target appears to move.
And one more advanced method is to set up a video camera on a real solid tripod with image stabilization turned off and feed the video to a computer monitor on the bench... Use 2 rubber bands horizontal and vertical on the monitor to replicate a reticle. Always aim where the rubber bands indicate, no matter where the target appears to move.
But to shoot sub MOA you need to know at least these 2 things...
1) How to dial out parallax... for real... not just until the image is clear.
2) Refraction... Temperature and humidity changes create mirage that does not just blur the target image, it also repositions the image, so that from the firing position where you see the target is not necessarily where the target actually is.
So the easiest way to shoot small groups is when mirage and refraction have the least effect... such as dawn or dusk...
Another way is to recognize it is there and take the leap of faith and shoot where you think the target actually is.
*** Another way yet... is to set up a second high power scope that you will use as a spotting scope... dial out parallax and you cannot move it throughout the string. Always shoot where the spotting scope reticle is aiming... regardless of where the target appears to move.
And one more advanced method is to set up a video camera on a real solid tripod with image stabilization turned off and feed the video to a computer monitor on the bench... Use 2 rubber bands horizontal and vertical on the monitor to replicate a reticle. Always aim where the rubber bands indicate, no matter where the target appears to move.
You may have maxed out your results with your methods. If you aren't going to try a rear bag or handloads, more magnification probably isn't going to help.
That's not to say that shooting off a bipod with no rear bag doesn't have merit; its a useful skill to have. It also has its limits. Factory loads that shoot are one of those little marvels that happen now and then.
That's not to say that shooting off a bipod with no rear bag doesn't have merit; its a useful skill to have. It also has its limits. Factory loads that shoot are one of those little marvels that happen now and then.
