Incline Elevations - Long Range Shooting

Those of you who know me, know that one of my 'things' is long range shooting, ballistics and the mathematics behind it. One aspect of this is knowing how to correct your scope elevation for a particular range at different +/- inclines - for many applications (particularly at shorter ranges, ie <500 yards), the 'Riflemans Rule' or Cosine Rule is an acceptable approximation.

As an example of the Cosine Rule, consider the following: Range to Target: 500 yards; Incline: 30 degrees down; using typical ballistics for my M700 in .308" (Zero at 200 yards)

If I were shooting 'level', my elevation on the scope would be around about 8.5MOA for 500 yards. However, the inclination of -30 degrees requires an elevation correction; we will use the cosine rule to illustrate:

elevation range = linear range * cosine(inclination)

elevation range = 500 * cos (30)

elevation range = 500 * 0.866

elevation range = 433 yards

So, instead of 'dialing on' the elevation for 500 yards (8.5MOA), we 'dial on' the elevation for 433 yards - which is approx 5.5MOA. Now what does this really mean 'on target'? Well, remembering that at 500 yards, 1.0MOA is approx 5 inches and assuming that we didnt bother to correct for elevation, our 'point of impact' will be some 15 inches HIGHER than where our crosshairs are positioned! Now depending upon what you're shooting at, that is definately enough to cause a big miss!

However, the Cosine Rule is of course only an approximation (and there are better methods which will appeal to those of us who enjoy coding ballistics simulations) - the reason its only approximate is most simply summed up by saying that the Cosine Rule 'assumes' that bullet drop is perpendicular to the direct line of sight to target (ie, the 'line' on which the inclination is measured), where in fact bullet drop is always 'vertical' (ie, perpendicular to horizontal). So there are two issues here; i) the greater the inclination, the greater the error, and ii) the greater the range, the greater the error.

One a side note however, I will point out that as range increases the 'lower' your shots will drop, if you use the cosine rule - as an example, at 1000 yards and -25 deg, the Cosine Rule gives you a result of about 31MOA, where in reality your drop is in fact 34MOA (around 31 inches low!)...

So, where can we find more information on more 'precise methods'? Well luckily I have found a few interesting papers that I am currently working through, the best of these so far is this - Shooting On Slopes or, The Legend of Cosine-Range - well worth a read if this interests you.

Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles

Amongst the other movies, anime, series, etc, that I have been watching over the last 5 days, I've been chipping away at seasons 1 and 2 of Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Interestingly, season 1 is in 9 episodes, while season 2 is some 22 episodes - so considering I paid about $24 for each season, and season 2 is 920 minutes in length, its a pretty good deal! Plus, being a bit of a Terminator fan, it seemed like a good plan!

My main whinge about the entire Terminator series, is the 're-inventing' of people - like John Connor in particular. The series John Connor doesn't really look much like the John Connor's we see in the various movies (Edward Furlong, Nick Stahl, Christian Bale, etc) - and the series Sarah Connor doesn't have the same 'feel' as the Terminator 2 Sarah Connor (ie, Sarah is RIPPED in T2 - not in this tho!).

(and is it just me, or does Christian Bale look like a bad 1980's porn star in this photo? What is going on with that?)

Next issue - 'Cameron'... What happens to her personality? In the first episode, when she first meets John, she is basically 'normal'; there is no inkling of her later 'terminatoresque-social-awkwardness'. Plus, what is going on with that girl's eyes? The more you look at them, the weirder and creepier they get. Maybe thats why she got the part - she has messed up eyes that make her look 'not quite right'?

So, Season 1 - yeah, I dug it... Twas a bit short however. But what I want to know is, how is the T-888, different to the T-800? Is it simply a more 'human' chassis (remembering the T-800 is 'Arnie-sized')? And what model is Cameron? She isn't a T-X; according to Cromartie, she is an 'unknown cyborg'... OK, it doesnt impact at all on the story, but I just want to know; we see a T-600 infiltrator in season 2, we all know 'Arnie' is the classic T-800/-850 from the movies, 'Cromartie' is the first T-888 we see, the 'liquid metal' T-1000 from T2 and T-1001 in series 2, and finally the rather hot T-X from Rise of the Machines. Lets not forget the 'Infiltration Prototype' Sam Worthington thing from Salvation! Does he count tho?

As you'd expect, lots of gun-play, lots of Terminators fighting in the 'Terminators fighting' style - again, quite interesting how these super efficient killing machines have so much trouble killing a handful of under-armed humans with the last name Connor (and Reese), but everyone else doesnt stand a chance!

For me, stuff got more interesting with Season 2 - Shirley Manson shows up! Now I didn't know this was coming, and being a long time Garbage fan, this was cool! OK, Shirley is starting to show her age, but suits the part brilliantly! She's always had a slightly 'devious' streak...

Season 2 is, over all, a better story. We get to know Derek Reese better, see more about the future war and generally discover more about the whole 'Terminator Universe' - we see more and more glimpses of the 'Metal Resistance' (which personally, I wanted to see more of). And the season ends in a fairly unique way - John Connor and 'Shirley' jumping forward to a future where either John Connor has not yet become or never does become 'the legend' - and you get the impression 'Shirley' is a big part of the 'Metal Resistance' (remembering that even Skynet wasn't convinced that the T-1000 and subsequent T-1001 models were 'safe').

Oh and lets not forget, Danny Dyson (Miles Dyson's son, from T2) has been 'missing' for 3 months in the last few episodes - what has become of him and where will he pop up?

Alas, a quick bit of internet research suggests Season 3 was cancelled - so as usual I will not get answers to this stuff. The only hope seems to be a 'TV Movie'; maybe that will wrap a few of these things up.


So, Terminator - the Sarah Connor Chronicles; definately worth a look if you're a Terminator fan: I liked it!... For those who are not, I can't see you getting much out of it!

Suck - Vampires Rock

Well, several hours ago, I knew NOTHING about this flick - for the first time in almost 3 years (according to the girl at the counter) I was wondering through the local video store. Then I happened upon this little gem: Suck - Vampires Rock

So, whats the big deal, I hear you ask? The cast! Let's see: Alice Cooper (Bartender and 'Vampire Dream Spirit') - Malcom McDowell (Vampire Hunter) - Iggy Pop (Recording Engineer and 'Life Guide') - Henry Rollins (Radio Shock-Jock DJ... And Food!), and thats just the tip of the iceberg! And the next cool thing is, its actually quite good - one might suggest something like a Comedy where Singles meets Spinal Tap meets Rocky Horror; or something.

The deal is, shitty band, hot bass chick (chick bass-players are ALWAYS hot) who becomes a vampire and starts eating people... And the band starts to suck less! The more of the band that becomes vampire, the more they suck less - However, they're being stalked by a one-eyed vampire-hunter (Malcom McDowell - Van Hellsing!), who is afraid of the dark!

The negatives are, the thing kind of ends rather suddenly - still worth a watch though and the cast is golden! Plus, it fills in 85 odd minutes of your life and isn't a complete waste of mental energy! :)

High School of the Dead (anime)

I watched this series the other week, in two sittings (12 episodes)... What can I say except, awesome! It is hilarious, zombie smashing fun, in a perverted highschool girl way. that only anime/manga can get away with.

OK, so right there is better part of the description - ridiculously busty highschool girls, in short skirts and tight tops, kicking the asses of thousands of zombies. And it even has a decent semblance of a plot (lets face it, most zombie movies don't, so anything beyond the normal is a plus)!!!


Its got a Samurai girl, a Bimbo School-Doctor (who's boobs have sound effects) who lesbian girl friend is a sniper, a Seedy school teacher, a fat geeky kid with a gun fetish and the 'quiet honourable' young man (in typical Japanese style!)... It even has a bath tub scene, where the school grils and doctor get all 'steamy'... Utterly ridiculous, but lets face it, thats what you're normally after when you want Zombie Anime...

This is five star goodness!

The Hurt Locker

Just spent a bit over two hours watching the Hurt Locker - and honestly, it didn't really do that much for me!

OK, was well shot, directed, acted and etc, but after all the hype and Academy Awards, I was expecting a hell of a lot more! Not to mention the somewhat unrealistic procedures/practices employed by our featured E.O.D. team.

Gripe 1 - General and communications discipline - are these guys for real? Just ignoring comm's from their team mates; not telling their team mates what they're upto; arguing about mission-critical aspects at some very 'inopportune' times!

Gripe 2 - Combat operations - what sort of three man team, without seeking permission or even checking in with anyone, goes out on a search and destroy patrol, right after an IED blast? Not only is there a massive chance of Blue-on-Blue, but a three man team (armed only with their M4's and Berreta's doesn't exactly carry a big stick!

And then they go and split up in three singletons?!?! Utter rubbish!

Same with the warehouse clearance - a three man team, ALL BY THEMSELVES, with no obvious perimeter in place or heavy support, clear an entire warehouse in a few minutes. The bad guys left kettles were still warm and cigarettes still burning!

Gripe 3 - Sniping operations - where do I start! Well, our enemy sniper was ranged out at over 900 yards; the bad guy was using a Soviet SVD (7.62x54 Russian) which really isnt that accurate at >800 yards, but he was scoring first round kills with his first three shots; until our "hero's" popped their heads up.

Now the good guys had themselves a Barret M107 (.50 cal), shooting ball ammunition (which is a little unusual - you'd expect something harder hitting in that environment, like Mk211 Raufoss ammo) - that thing will reach well out over 2,000 yards. But what surpised me, was the fact the first round fired, struck 3metres low, and thjere was not a single correction on the scope! 3metres low at that range is approx 13MOA or 3.5Milliradians (depending on how your scope is scaled) - that is a HUGE correction, that should have required some degree of elevation change on the scope!

Not to mention, we have two EOD guys who are suddenly just 'able' to pair up and operate as a pretty effective sniper team? And then make a shot on a guy running right to left at >900yards! Pretty impressive... In their defence, being EOD guys, there is a chance they are trained on the M107 as it is used for detonating ordnance - which sounds like a world of fun to me!

Still, being Hollywood, we cant be too harsh on them...

But in conclusion, The Hurt Locker - it was just not as good as it should have been! It was kind of a nothing movie, very little 'plot'... It wont make my top 10!

Post Number 1

Judging by the title, quite obviously this is the first post - nothing much to report that really needs saying at this point in time. However, it maybe worthwhile to at least state the short term intentions of this (as simple as the initial thought was) - self entertainment and sharing the gamut of experience that I am living through... That includes a somewhat high percentage of time spent watching DVD's and spending too much money on eBay and other online retail outlets.

Exciting... In a boring kind of way!