Milling targets

[KurtM]

Not to sling much more S, but the mil slide rule is not much bigger than a 3x5 card, and when I was playing mil I found it much faster than doing the math in my head, and certainly faster than using a calculator and about the same time as looking at a card I had crap written on. It was more versatile as it had size of target, and size in mils, line both up and viola a range, and a mil hold if you didn't want to dial. It's nice to know the formula, but it does take a lot of head space and easy to make a math mistake under pressure.
Note, I do understand mils very well from my days working with artillery, but when it came to scopes it was play and I never used it for work.

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

Once you have figured out the formula, you can get a given factor that is ALWAYS the same for a known target size.

Formula:
RANGE = Known TGT Size in (INCHES x 25.4) ÷ TGT Size measured in mils

24" target milled at 1.7 mils, you get this: The given factor for a 24" target is 609. No matter what, it is 609, and will always be 609. 609 WILL always be the number that is divided by a mil measurement if the target is 24".

24 x 25.4 = 609
609 ÷ 1.7 = 358
range is 358 meters

Common sizes seen:

40"/1 meter (human torso from beltline to top of head) factor is 1016/990
18"/.5 (19.5) meter (human shoulder width) factor is 457/495
24" cow elk shoulder to brisket (est) factor is 609
12" Human head (trapezius to top of head) factor is 304
10" width of human head factor is 254
36" truck tires; avg window width factor is 914

You can make those into a card, and divide them by the mil measurement to get the range. Or whatever common known size you have around you. Regardless, if you are milling a target for a range, you have to know the size no matter what.
So your card taped to you rifle or in your hat would look something like this:

40" - 1016
36" - 914
24" - 609
18" - 457
12" - 304
10" - 254

You can then use this to make a range card(s) for various sized targets.

I get it!
The card info is what drove this home for me. Took me a little bit but I get it now.

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

This could be because you're still trying to figure out why .0254 is there and why you're converting inches to meters.
Rehash on the formula:

Range = METERS (actual target size) x 1000 ÷ mils (size of target measured with mil reticle)

ONE INCH is .0254 METERS. That is why the .0254 number is there. So you can convert inches to meters. You have to convert inches to meters so you can finish the formula and get a range to a target. If you can't do the formula, you will never be able to use a mil reticle effectively, at least for ranging.
So 10 INCHES = .254 METERs. 28 INCHES would be .711 METERS. All done on your calculator (or long math or whatever).

I was gonna hold off on this, but it's the same formula, just kinda removes one step.

Range = METERS (actual target size) x 1000 ÷ mils (size of target measured with mil reticle)

AGAIN:
Once the formula is understood, you just need to know the size of things.
So write like this:
Removing the .0254 and the 1000, and multiplying TGT size by 25.4

RANGE = Known TGT Size in (INCHES x 25.4) ÷ TGT Size measured in mils

24" target

You milled at 1.7 mils

24 x 25.4 = 609
609 ÷ 1.7 = 358
range is 358 meters

Once the formula is understood, you just need to know the size of things.
you just need to know the size of things.
you just need to know the size of things.
you just need to know the size of things.

If you don't know the approximate size of the target, whatever it is, you won't be able to range it. So you need to find something that you know the size of.

Another example:

All Ford Raptors have 35" tires stock. They are also 20 feet + long and 6 feet ish tall. but at angles and such, it won't be accurate. So use the tire.

You're sitting in your stand, you see a raptor far off, and you want to see how far away it is. You mil the tires several times and you get .8 mils

35 x 25.4 = 889
889 ÷ .8 = 1111
The Raptor is 1,111 meters away

I am posting these in a specific order so you can learn them/understand. You can mil all day long and it'll mean nothing unless you know how to find the range. Actual milling a target takes practice too.

I’m a slow when learning it helps to over explain things to me.

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

Milling a target
Pic demonstrates using a milgrid reticle to mil a 12" target. Use a 1 mil start (in this case at the top) and read the opposite edge. In this example, the T3 reticle has a section of .1 mil increments to get a more precise measurement. If yours doesn't have refined subtensions, like .1 mil or .2 mil, you split it or estimate.

View attachment 6506

Got it,
I have to admit when looking at these mils my brain keeps trying to think moa.
Makes sense tho

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

Now that you read everything from the beginning (except the S-posting) and understand the formula and the progression to get a simple solution, you can now make a simple range card based on a given size of target and mil measurements.




3.5mil – 130m
3mil – 152m
2.5mil – 182m
2mil – 228m
1.5mil – 304m
1mil – 457m
.9mil – 507m
.8 – 571m
.7 – 652m
.6 – 761m
.5mil – 914m

Now that you have the range how do you transfer that over to the optic?
Meaning for each of the above how many clicks/turns on turret?

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

Not to sling much more S, but the mil slide rule is not much bigger than a 3x5 card, and when I was playing mil I found it much faster than doing the math in my head, and certainly faster than using a calculator and about the same time as looking at a card I had crap written on. It was more versatile as it had size of target, and size in mils, line both up and viola a range, and a mil hold if you didn't want to dial. It's nice to know the formula, but it does take a lot of head space and easy to make a math mistake under pressure.
Note, I do understand mils very well from my days working with artillery, but when it came to scopes it was play and I never used it for work.

This tool looks confusing to me. I would have to learn how to it. It all blurs together with the lines and number

 

[JEVapa]

This tool looks confusing to me. I would have to learn how to it. It all blurs together with the lines and number

A mil slide rule or mildot master or similar is a tool that you can use to mimic or recreate the “mil” of a target. You then adjust it and it will show the range. You still have to know the actual size of the target. So understanding everything in this thread, you can now use a slide rule and understand what it means/doing. It’s just an additional tool in your belt, but now you have some basics to fall back on.

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

A mil slide rule or mildot master or similar is tool that you can use to mimic or recreate the “mil” of a target. You then adjust it and it will show the range. You still have to know the actual size of the target. So understanding everything in this thread, you can now use a slide rule and understand what it means/doing. It’s just an additional tool in your belt, but now you have some basics to fall back on.

I didn’t try to try understand it. I want to learn the manual way first. If that makes any sense

 

[adamsredlines]

Yay for range finders

 

[adamsredlines]

Now for not shit posting...


I get the concept...but one of the big things is "it's easy to deal with factors of 10 (metric) instead of the goofy inch/yard that are arbitrary increments "

I agree with that principal, until you introduce converting to inches in there. Seems the system works best if you just stick to and have a concept of metric sizes and leave the whole SAE conversion out of it?

And while on the subject....wtf is with MOA reticles and MIL turrets?

 

[KurtM]

That's easy, it is a way to sell something that no one needs to a whole group of people who don't know what they want

 

[JEVapa]

Now for not shit posting...


I get the concept...but one of the big things is "it's easy to deal with factors of 10 (metric) instead of the goofy inch/yard that are arbitrary increments "

Only maybe three people in the US use mm, cm, dm to describe anything with a meter. So until there is a multigenerational change, we'll always convert inches to meters.

I agree with that principal, until you introduce converting to inches in there. Seems the system works best if you just stick to and have a concept of metric sizes and leave the whole SAE conversion out of it?

See above. The only Imperial measurement used is inches and it is easily converted. It's not even complicated. Even diehard Imperial measurement users know that 25.4mm and 2.54cm equal an inch. There is no SAE conversion going on.

And while on the subject....wtf is with MOA reticles and MIL turrets?

I have never seen that. I have seen MOA turrets with Mil reticles. All of the old-ish scopes and almost all Leupold Mark 4s are a mildot/TMR reticle, with an MOA turret that has a ballistic solution for a standardized cartridge burned in it.

Our first scopes like the M3A and the first Mark 4 M3s, the ballistic marks were in yards. So we had to do a yard formula which is incredibly stupid. The they made them meters and it made them easier. They eventually went all mil (the Mark4 6-20x) being one of the first. I'll add that when meters turrets showed up, we'd do meters calcs and just started doing only meters and add a click if we had a yards turret.

BTW, the Yard ranging formula is worse than meters. Even the Marines went to meters.

 

[Beautiful Mulberry]

BTW, the Yard ranging formula is worse than meters. Even the Marines went to meters.

Are you talking about using a moa based optic ranging the yards like what you described above?

 

[JEVapa]

Are you talking about using a moa based optic ranging the yards like what you described above?

Both.