[Brainz]

DaddyX,

Take your 10mph wind and give it a half value, 5mph. This will get you closer. I use Exbal by Nightforce for ballistic cards. As long as you put in good info, you'll get accurate results. There are other programs on the net but I can't remember the names of them. Some are free, but I don't know how accurate they are. I payed $30 for the Nightforce Exbal CD-ROM. They also sell a version for handheld PDA's.
By the way, wind is constantly changing. What its doing at the muzzle isn"t what it's doing at the target. Use your scope to check your suroundings all the way to your target. Mirage and movement of grass or dirt can tell you alot. If you have flags set up between you and the target, that's even better. Also keep in mind when your shooting 800yds and beyond your lobbing that round pretty high in the air. Wind blows a little harder the higher the round goes. Wind is a beast!

 

[beb0541]

Great explanation

 

[sanginreaper]

i know this is an old post but i figured i throw this in there, this is what they're teaching in marine corps sniper school for calculating windage adjustments as of 2013:
range (yards) x wind 1 + wind 2 + constant
range is simple- 100 yards is .1, 200 yards is .2, after 500 though, add .1, so 500 is .5, but 600 is .7 and 700 is .8 etc..
wind 1 is wind speed in multiples of 5 - 0-4mph is 0, 5-9=1, 10-14=2 and so on.. so round down to nearest multiple of 5 then 0=0, 5=1, 10=2, 15=3 etc..
wind 2 is wind NOT in multiples of 5, but whatever your multiple of 5 was from wind 1 plus .1 for every one more so: if wind speed is 6 then- wind 1=5 which 5=1, plus the .1 because 6 is one more than 5, so wind 2 would be .1, or if my wind speed was 13, it would be .3, or if it was 9, it would be .4
then the constant- the constant doesnt start until 400 yards, 400 =.1, 500=.2 and so on
so lets put it together, if i had a target at 700 yards with a wind speed of 19 mph (full value) then my equation would be: range x wind1 + wind2 +constant , so .8 x 3 +.4 +.4= 3.2 mils for my windage adjustment or if i had a target at 400 yards with 6mph winds at HALF value then it would be 400 yards with 3mph so- .4 x 0 + .3 + .1= .4 mil windage adjustment
i apologize if i wrote this out horribly, if its too difficult, let me know and i can provide a picture from my data book to explain it WAY easier.

also to elaborate on helping people understand what a mil is, think of mils like you do moa, 1 mil = 3.6 inches , 1 MOA is 1.047 inches @ 100 yards, so -- 1 mil = 3.438 MOA or 1 MOA is .29 mils

also not to confuse people but some marine corps mil-dot sights are completely different, im not going to elaborate because its too hard to explain without a picture but they make the spaces between the dots .6 mils and the dots .2 mils so its more accurate, so half dot is .1, a dot the space and another dot = 1 and so on, its just a way to make it more precise

again, sorry if i made it too complicated, let me know if anybody wants me to try to explain it a little better.

 

[codetonic]

What would a person use to measure milradians?

Scatch Maroo

I asked the very same question.
Turns out it's so much easier than the hype.
It's 1/1000 of whatever the distance is.
So if you're looking at 1000 yards, the mil-dot is 1 yard.
1/1000 of 100 meters is 100 millimeters or 3.937 inches.
If you're looking at an animal that is known to be 1 foot tall, like a prairie dog standing up,
and it is 2 mil-dots tall in the scope: the range is 500 feet.

Somebody check me on the numbers.

 

[Mikeinajeep]

I asked the very same question.
Turns out it's so much easier than the hype.
It's 1/1000 of whatever the distance is.
So if you're looking at 1000 yards, the mil-dot is 1 yard.
1/1000 of 100 meters is 100 millimeters or 3.937 inches.
If you're looking at an animal that is known to be 1 foot tall, like a prairie dog standing up,
and it is 2 mil-dots tall in the scope: the range is 500 feet.

Somebody check me on the numbers.

The numbers check out here.
May be the best way of explaining mils I've ever seen!

 

[Anerrygy]

Simply put, the Mil-Dot is a range estimating reticle that was developed for military applications. The space between the dot centers subtends one milliradian (Mil). One Mil subtends 3.6" at 100 yards, or 36" at 1,000 yards.

This reticle was developed in the late 1970s to help U.S. Marine snipers estimate distances, and is now standard for all military branches. The space between dot centers subtends one milliradian (mil) hence the name mil-dot. Contrary to popular belief it does not stand for "military dot". One mil subtends 3.6 inches at 100 yards or 36 inches at 1,000 yards. To use this system effectively you must know the size of the target. For instance most people are an average of 6 feet tall or 2 yards. The formula used for determining range to the target is (size of target x 1000 divided by number of mils the target covers).

Height of target (yards) X 1,000 = Range (yards)/
Height of target (mils)

 

[ScrapIron]

This site has a pretty good definition and links to other information about mildots.
Check it out here hunterspulse.com/best-hunting-scope-5-best-hunting-scopes/

 

[lathoto]

i know this is an old post but i figured i throw this in there, this is what they're teaching in marine corps sniper school for calculating windage adjustments as of 2013:
range (yards) x wind 1 + wind 2 + constant
range is simple- 100 yards is .1, 200 yards is .2, after 500 though, add .1, so 500 is .5, but 600 is .7 and 700 is .8 etc..
wind 1 is wind speed in multiples of 5 - 0-4mph is 0, 5-9=1, 10-14=2 and so on.. so round down to nearest multiple of 5 then 0=0, 5=1, 10=2, 15=3 etc..
wind 2 is wind NOT in multiples of 5, but whatever your multiple of 5 was from wind 1 plus .1 for every one more so: if wind speed is 6 then- wind 1=5 which 5=1, plus the .1 because 6 is one more than 5, so wind 2 would be .1, or if my wind speed was 13, it would be .3, or if it was 9, it would be .4
then the constant- the constant doesnt start until 400 yards, 400 =.1, 500=.2 and so on
so lets put it together, if i had a target at 700 yards with a wind speed of 19 mph (full value) then my equation would be: range x wind1 + wind2 +constant , so .8 x 3 +.4 +.4= 3.2 mils for my windage adjustment or if i had a target at 400 yards with 6mph winds at HALF value then it would be 400 yards with 3mph so- .4 x 0 + .3 + .1= .4 mil windage adjustment
i apologize if i wrote this out horribly, if its too difficult, let me know and i can provide a picture from my data book to explain it WAY easier.

also to elaborate on helping people understand what a mil is, think of mils like you do moa, 1 mil = 3.6 inches , 1 MOA is 1.047 inches @ 100 yards, so -- 1 mil = 3.438 MOA or 1 MOA is .29 mils

also not to confuse people but some marine corps mil-dot sights are completely different, im not going to elaborate because its too hard to explain without a picture but they make the spaces between the dots .6 mils and the dots .2 mils so its more accurate, so half dot is .1, a dot the space and another dot = 1 and so on, its just a way to make it more precise

again, sorry if i made it too complicated, let me know if anybody wants me to try to explain it a little better.

Roger that.

 

[Adkins]

MIL or MOA?

 

[blankopa]

I've searched the forum, but it seems everyone already knows what this is. :wink:

 

[alistair4213]

Mil-dot is an abbreviation for “milliradian” and “dot”, which is from the English word meaning, dot. A milliradian is 1/1000th of a radian. What's a radian? It's a measure of distance traveled around a circle.
Alistair

 

[scopeguy]

I use the mill dots on my scope or ranging things.

 

[Martino1]

MIL dots are the old school way to range and holdover, I've have and used both and I prefer the Christmas trees. It is hard to get the old hands to change over when they have a long history with Mil Dot. It's kind of a nostalgia thing and frankly if it works I understand not fixing it. If you are new, look at both. If you dont want to crank dope then a tree is a must especially if you are considering participation in PRS style competitions.