Heat Mirage

[truck driver]

Been looking everywhere for some info on this topic and haven't been able to find any here.
I have noticed when shooting some of my rifles at the range that with higher power scopes 14X and 12X I see a lot of heat mirage down at the target but I'm not sure if it's coming off the barrel of the rifle or not.
I have never noticed it with lower power scopes and was curious how much scope magnification amplifies it.
Also what are your thoughts on the difference between side focus and rear focus on scopes?

 

[Anonymous]

It could be coming off the barrel or the ground. However, 12x is pretty low power to see ground mirage unless it's just scorching hot in full sun.

 

[cloverleaf]

Watched the long range guys (600+) couple years a ago. They attached a 2 inch wide piece of very thin plastic to the top of the barrel with a couple little pieces of Velcro. That leaves a 1/8 inch gap between the barrel and the bottom of the plastic. The idea is (they tell me) is that it deflects the heat from the barrel away from your line of sight, reducing mirage from the barrel. Cheap, easy, thing to try, maybe. CL

 

[RL338]

http://southtexasshooting.org/multimedi ... irage.html Some good reading.

 

[MATT1911]

Best method is to back off on your clarity, that would be your side focus. :mrgreen:

 

[truck driver]

Best method is to back off on your clarity, that would be your side focus. :mrgreen:

The scope didn't have side focus that I was experience the mirage problems with but I was wondering which would work best, rear focus or side focus? I do have two scopes with side focus and find one seems to change focus between shots with a heavy recoiling rifle.