FAQ

Among other things, the computed sight pictures help rifle shooters visualize the holdover and wind corrections needed for shots taken beyond 200 to 300 yards or at shorter ranges for pistol and air rifle shooters.

The idea of using reticles superimposed on target illustrations crystallized after years of looking at ballistics tables to optimize trajectories. Using numbers alone was an abstract exercise and the implications were frequently hard to visualize. On a few occasions, computer-supported cartoons helped see what was happening. Examples of these visualizations are in the articles on the 6.5 Grendel™ shown elsewhere on this web site. The rest of the website grows from this core utility.

This feature is the core of the sight picture computation software in Shooter’s Notes. The changes allow the shooter to better visualize the sight picture needed to reliably anchor the target for the variety of ranges and shooting conditions likely to be encountered.

Shooter’s Notes uses a consistent scale factor throughout the computations of sight pictures. Keeping the scale factor constant helps the shooter understand how small the 10-inch vital zone becomes at the longer ranges. This consistency should be helpful as the shooter works out personal maximum ranges for taking shots at game. The standardization should also help when comparing different reticles and scope magnifications prior to purchasing a new scope.

Yes – up to a point. Let’s look at the duplex sight as an example: the point where the thin section changes to thick gives an excellent reference as long as a reliably repeatable feature of the target is near where the junction needs to be placed. A more subtle reference is the space between the crosshair and the start of the thick section. The reference, in this case can be a larger portion of the target. For example, the whole chest can be placed between the crosshair and the start of the thick section provided the trajectory and sight-in would cause the bullet to center on the vital zone at that range and sight picture.

The mil-dot, and other reticles with multiple features allow a much richer collection of references and range estimation opportunities.

New targets are added to the database as time permits. Your comments heavily influence how quickly particular target images are brought in. So don’t hesitate to use the “Contact Us” or comment buttons to make a request. The “Contact Us” keeps your request private. The comments usually get seen by everyone. Use good judgment in your requests — Requests for human or household pets, etc. as target images will not be considered — Webmaster

As with the targets, we add new items from time to time. Vote for which ones get soonest by sending a comment in the box at the bottom of this page or sending an email!

The loads currently available examples to illustrate the effects of different trajectories on the sight picture.

You can do this by entering the range, drop, and windage data for your own trajectory in the ‘QuickPix’ module.