120x enough to see 5.56 holes at 300m?

P

Pond James Pond

New member
I plan to go to the range to tomorrow to finally move from a 100m zero to a 300m zero and from there work out my CQ zero on the 50m range.

The biggest problem is being able to spot my hits.

I don't have a spotting scope and my rifle scope is a miserly 4x so that won't help.

Last time I spotted my .223 holes with my entry level astro-telescope: a Meade ETX 70. It has a focal length of 350mm, and with the 9mm objective that gave me about a 38x magnification as I understand the calculation.

I also have a 3X Barlow lense. That should push me up to 116X.
I.e. 3 x what I was able to see with at 100M.

Will I be able to see my hits at 300M?
What do you think?
 
I would sure hope so.

What kind of target are you shooting at? When shooting at 300 and beyond, I greatly prefer the "splatter target" stickers such as Shoot-N-See. At 300, the splatter is bright enough that I can see them clearly with a 16X scope that is on my 223 bolt gun.
 
Those are not easy to come by here and I haven't had time to make my own as yet.

This will be simply a large white sheet of paper with a 3" black circle on it.

My hits at 100m were not that easy to spot with the 9mm lens' 38x mag, but I managed if I looked carefully.

If the mag is 3 times higher, but at 3 times the distance, I'd hope to get similar results.

I really hope so.
I've been trying to get this scope set for ages, it seems.

What I really need is someone go stand in the target trench and look at the target from below and tell me where they are hitting on the target, using their phone, but I can't bring myself to leave someone in that cold, dank corridor for 30 mins!! Not a fun range trip for anyone!!
 
I would suggest you make the "Large Black Circle" a brighter color. This will also make it easier to spot your hits. I would use a bright Orange or Red. Your hits will show up as a dark grey color and be much easier to see due to the contrast in colors.
 
Clarity of the spotting scope will be much more important than magnification. I have a cheapo spotting scope that goes to 65x but it gets very blurry at max magnification so I have a better chance seeing .223 holes @ 300 yards having it set to 30x.

If your setup is clear at 116x you will have no issues at all seeing the holes. If blurry... perhaps not.

I always found holes in white easier to spot than holes in black. If you are able to create a contraption where you have screen of a contrasting color set up a few feet behind your target, it would help a lot since you could then see the contrasting color through the holes in the target.
 
Good idea, but let's be clear.

Right now I just want to be able to get hits on paper. The centre target will be a bonus. A big bonus!!
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Understood, but it's still easier to see hits on paper with contrasting colors. A neon or bright colored piece of posterboard with a black dot for an aiming point might be good...
 
Seeing shots at 300m may depend more on getting the shot holes to stand out. Placing a white paper or card at a 45degree angle behind the target, to act as a reflector, to brighten the shot hole. It then may allow lower power in the scope to see. The lower power will allow more light and better contrast. I regularly use this method with a 20x spotting scope. On some days the shot holes appear like LED christmas lights.
 
Clarity of the spotting scope will be much more important than magnification.
Click to expand...

On the plus side, this is the same scope that allowed me to see Saturn and its rings!! :cool:

I admit that that was a bright spec, with a tiny circle around it, but it still counts!!
 
A neon or bright colored piece of posterboard with a black dot for an aiming point might be good...
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True.

I'll see if I can swing by the craft shop tomorrow and buy some bright neon-orange A3 paper tomorrow, on the way to the range.
 
I like to use orange stick-on bullseyes the 3" ones might be okay at 300 yards.

Otherwise, you could make a 4" square on the paper with two widths of electrical tape, leaving the center white. You won't see the ones in the black, but the rest will show up.
 
Right now I just want to be able to get hits on paper.
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sight in at shorter distance, where you can spot your hits. Get "on target" at 100 or whatever and except for the small drop, you will be on target at 300.

not accounting for wind, of course.
 
Get "on target" at 100 or whatever and except for the small drop, you will be on target at 300.
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Done.
Not very tight groups between my trigger finger and the 4x scope but they all hit around he point of aim at 100m.

Now, I want to get on POA (more or less) at 300M, and then see where the zero is between 50m-15m. Once that is done, I am good to go for most rifle comps in my area as 5-300m is pretty much the range at which targets may be set.

I better be ready as I have my first rifle comp of the year next month. It's also my first ever with this gun!!
 
I like to use orange stick-on bullseyes the 3" ones might be okay at 300 yards.
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Bright orange is the easiest color for the human eye to see and gives excellent contrast to the crosshairs

The suggestion to "backlight" the target will help immensely.

The problem with a super high powered scope will be the relatively tiny field of view, and the amplification of any vibration.

If it has a zoom feature, or an "aiming scope" it will help

Now, I want to get on POA (more or less) at 300M, and then see where the zero is between 50m-15m.
Click to expand...

If you know all the numbers, any good ballistics program can calculate a "point blank range" chart for any size target spread

http://www.shooterscalculator.com/point-blank-range.php
 
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A Barlow is simply a magnifying glass, even if a fancy one. it will magnify everything 3X, including optical faults in the prime optic.

If the original scope couldn't resolve the image of the hole, even if tiny, the Barlow will simply make it 3X bigger & 3X fuzzier as well.

Telescope makers adore quoting magnification power, but that's only a small part of the story. Quality of glass & construction & objective lens diameter will be the real limiting factors. A quick calculation gives a MINIMUM front objective diameter of 11" to resolve 116X well.
 
If I were to get back into mid- and long range rifle shooting, I would give up on the search for a spotting scope that would pick out .22 holes at anything much over 100 yards.

I would get a target camera system. One like this:
https://www.bullseyecamera.com/

Probably not shipping to your area, though.
 
If you know all the numbers, any good ballistics program can calculate a "point blank range" chart for any size target spread
Click to expand...

That is one problem. I don't have all the numbers. I have no BC for a start. I have bullet weight and velocity (55gr and 2950fps).

I've used a generic BC of .2, whilst other measurements such as scope from bore etc I could measure myself. So my Strelok app can still only give me a ballpark figure.

I just don't want to have the same problem as last time: 20 shots dead centre then I had to traipse all the way to the target to find there was nothing on it... :rolleyes:

A quick calculation gives a MINIMUM front objective diameter of 11" to resolve 116X well.
Click to expand...

Ahh, well that makes me about 5" short. Where have I heard that before? :eek:

I would get a target camera system. One like this:
Click to expand...

Nice system, but an expense I can't afford, unfortunately. In addition all the backlighting techniques sound great but would mean climbing out of the target trench and into the hot-zone to get it all set up which, even if I am alone, will get me banned in short order: they have cameras too!!

I either need a set-up that will allow me to see the target from my shooting position, or I'll need to walk down there every 10 shots...

I'm praying the former works.
 
Can you shoot at steel?
A painted or whitewashed steel plate give the greatest visibility of bullet strikes that I know of.
You need GOOD steel, AR500 (Abrasion Resistant 500 Brinell hardness.) is the usual choice for rifles.
 
Can you shoot at steel?
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Nope... :o

It's a military range that the public can use so its all quite "regimented".

Paper is my target medium there and to check it I either have to use optics or walk there every dozen shots or so and that means packing the gun up too as I'm not leaving that around unattended for 15 min!!
 
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