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From: purtilo@cs.umd.edu
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: amazing revelations
Message-ID: <35135@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 2 Jun 91 16:17:23 GMT
Sender: magnum@mimsy.umd.edu
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Approved: gun-control@cs.umd.edu


This note is in the "gee, maybe you all knew this, but I didn't so let me
share my surprize with you" category.  I shot a rifle match down at Quantico
yesterday:  one full NM match in the morning with my club team, then a leg
match in the afternoon.  While scoring for shooters on the relay after mine,
out on the 600 yard line, I was amazed to discover I could *see* the bullet
trajectory and call the shot without seeing the hole in the target.

It was a hot day --- 99F+ with high humidity (have care picking up your
magazine if you left it out in the sun!)  --- so there was plenty of mirage
effect.  With a good scope, and sitting just behind the shooter, I found the
bullet would create a `cut' through the heat ripple that was very clearly
defined, and, frankly, fasinating to watch.  I could trace the bullet arc,
observe the amount of drop, and once in a while see some wind effect (wind
doping became a very serious concern as a front made its way through later
in the day ...  kind of a rip off, we had the storm front's wind without any
relief from the heat).  I admit to being sheepish about bringing this up at
the match:  normally I schmooze a lot and try to learn lots of new things,
but, shooting between the army rifle team and weapons instructors for marine
scout school, my ego didn't let me admit that I was *too* naive about such
things.  Oh well.

Of course, there were other discoveries, like how you can drink 6 gallons of
water during the day and never need to pee even once ...