When I play FPS games, I notice that the sniper scope is usually a few inches above the barrel, for obvious reasons, but I wonder how it’s possible for the sniper to retain accuracy at such large distances, given that those few inches would make a huge difference.
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they are accurate because someone “zeroed” it in, or made it accurate. it is important to understand that that is only done at a specific range. for example, a rifle could be zeroed at one hundred yards, so if you want to hit something at that range, you would put the crosshair directly on it. if you want to hit something beyond that, you would need to use the stadia marks underneath the crosshair to aim above the impact point you want.
In real life, the scope *doesn’t* line up perfectly. You “zero” a scope so that the bullet will hit on the crosshair at a certain distance, and at every other distance you adjust.
A real sniper will determine the range to the target, adjust for wind and other factors, and aim for a point some distance above and to the side of a target to account for the factors that will result in the bullet hitting away from the crosshair.
For example, you’re shooting at a target 500m away. You know that at that distance your bullet will hit 3m below the target, and the wind will push the bullet .5m to the right in that time. So you aim 3m up and .5m to the left of where you want to the bullet to land.
In real life, the scope *doesn’t* line up perfectly. You “zero” a scope so that the bullet will hit on the crosshair at a certain distance, and at every other distance you adjust.
A real sniper will determine the range to the target, adjust for wind and other factors, and aim for a point some distance above and to the side of a target to account for the factors that will result in the bullet hitting away from the crosshair.
For example, you’re shooting at a target 500m away. You know that at that distance your bullet will hit 3m below the target, and the wind will push the bullet .5m to the right in that time. So you aim 3m up and .5m to the left of where you want to the bullet to land.
In real life, the scope *doesn’t* line up perfectly. You “zero” a scope so that the bullet will hit on the crosshair at a certain distance, and at every other distance you adjust.
A real sniper will determine the range to the target, adjust for wind and other factors, and aim for a point some distance above and to the side of a target to account for the factors that will result in the bullet hitting away from the crosshair.
For example, you’re shooting at a target 500m away. You know that at that distance your bullet will hit 3m below the target, and the wind will push the bullet .5m to the right in that time. So you aim 3m up and .5m to the left of where you want to the bullet to land.
A more complicated, related example is how WW2 fighter aircraft machine guns were aimed.
There might be, for example, four guns on each wing. The aiming reticle is in the cockpit, between them. The whole shebang is adjusted so that the bullets from each side converge (for example) one hundred meters ahead of the plane, and the aiming reticle points at that spot. This adjustment has to account for the angles from left and right, as well as the bullet drop, and air drag at a particular airspeed.
Like with the rifle scope, the pilot’s aiming reticle has extra marks on it to allow aiming at other distances, and especially for leading a moving target.
A more complicated, related example is how WW2 fighter aircraft machine guns were aimed.
There might be, for example, four guns on each wing. The aiming reticle is in the cockpit, between them. The whole shebang is adjusted so that the bullets from each side converge (for example) one hundred meters ahead of the plane, and the aiming reticle points at that spot. This adjustment has to account for the angles from left and right, as well as the bullet drop, and air drag at a particular airspeed.
Like with the rifle scope, the pilot’s aiming reticle has extra marks on it to allow aiming at other distances, and especially for leading a moving target.
A more complicated, related example is how WW2 fighter aircraft machine guns were aimed.
There might be, for example, four guns on each wing. The aiming reticle is in the cockpit, between them. The whole shebang is adjusted so that the bullets from each side converge (for example) one hundred meters ahead of the plane, and the aiming reticle points at that spot. This adjustment has to account for the angles from left and right, as well as the bullet drop, and air drag at a particular airspeed.
Like with the rifle scope, the pilot’s aiming reticle has extra marks on it to allow aiming at other distances, and especially for leading a moving target.
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