Telescopes on guns are half an inch above barrel, does this mean shooter must aim half an inch higher?

Question

Sometimes I see snipers having its tactical scope even an inch above barrel. Example, if they aim on a golf ball, why does the golf ball still burst into pieces when shot even if the barrel is an inch lower than the telescope. Shouldn't the bullet miss by an inch lower?

Answer 1

If the scope's line of sight is exactly parallel with the barrel, and it is mounted so that the scope's center and the barrel's center are a half inch apart, then YES, the shooter must aim half an inch higher than the target.

But only if the shooter and the target are drifting together in deep space.

Here on Earth, things are a bit different. We have to account for gravity.

When a bullet is fired (down here), it does not travel in a straight line. It travels in an arc. When a scope is placed on a rifle, the barrel is aimed slightly upward, into the line of sight of the scope. This means that when you shoot, the bullet:

1) Starts its flight below the line of sight.
2) Then rises as it travels forward, eventually crossing the line of sight at a certain distance. This is where we might "zero" the scope, for close range shooting.
3) The bullet continues to rise above the line of sight, until it loses it's upward energy, and gravity starts pulling it back down.
4) On its way back down, the bullet crosses the line of sight again. This is another distance at which we might zero the scope, but for longer range shooting this time.
5) The bullet continues to drop as it travels forward, eventually hitting dirt, if it hasn't been stopped by anything else already.

When you see a sniper hit a golf ball, it's because the sniper knows how far the golf ball is, and if necessary, adjusts his aim higher or lower to compensate. The more impressive shots are calculated in the far range, where the bullet is dropping. The shot in the link below is pretty impressive--a sniper in Iraq shot an insurgent from about 4100 feet. In order to compensate for the bullet's drop, the sniper aimed about 12 feet higher than the point of impact on the bad guy's chest.

http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2006/01/longest_confirmed_ki.html

Also, here's a ballistics calculator that will graph the trajectory of a bullet, based on variables that you provide.

http://www.gmdr.com/rcbs/rcbstext5.htm

It's not actually a live calculator--Just an overview of the software, which you could buy. But the pictures show the arc of a bullet's path, which might help you understand it better.

Incidentally, the difference between line of sight and the bullet's trajectory is NOT called "parallax." Parallax is the apparent motion of two stationary objects, caused by the motion of the viewer. It has less to do with the difference between the line of sight and the bullet's trajectory, and more to do with the way a scope superimposes the reticle on a distant target. Explanation here: http://www.6mmbr.com/parallax.html

Answer 2

First off they are not "Telescopes" they are "Rifle scopes".
As part of the sighting in process the scope adjustments for wind age and elevation, as well as the height the scope is, when mounted on a rifle are all compensated for, thru these adjustments. The simple explanation is the scope is mounted parallel to the barrel in a flat plane despite what height it is mounted.
Most scopes are mounted between 1/2" to 1" above the barrel to allow the objective ends of the scopes to sit a above the barrel (Objective end is the scope end furthest away from you as you look thru the opposite end) The scope is normally mounted slightly higher so the shock of the rifle being discharged does not carry thru to the scope.
There are some extreme cases as in the Russian Mosin Nagant Sniper Rifles of WWII that were actually mounted up to 3" above the rifle barrel. ALL of the scope height or mounting adjustments were compensated for by the adjustments on the scopes themselves. Holding over to hit a target at extended ranges however, was another separate situation all together. The adjustments on the scope will result in the golf ball being hit directly and not miss by shooting underneath an inch.

Answer 3

No, bullets have fligth paths that climb and then fall, like a thrown baseball, but not near as dramatic. A scope is set to a certain yardage that the shooter wants and they know where exactly the bullet will hit at a given distance. And its a scope, not a telescope, thats on a stand and you use it too look far away, its not mounted to a rifle.

Answer 4

everyone has put in some excellent advice and input just one thing i have found is the more accuracy you desire the closer to the barrel the scope should be. I think this is mostly do to the "weld" or where your face meets the rifle stock. Seems like you "look" for the reticle ( cross hairs ) and move the rifle more if you have the scope higher

Answer 5

A telescope can be any reasonable height above the barrel. One sights it in to match the bullet's trajectory at a certain point, so it does not matter about the height. I have sighted my .300 Winchester Magnum in with 150 grain bulllets at 300 yards, but I sight my .460 Weatherby with 500 grain bullets in at 50 yards and use no scope on it.

Answer 6

The micro-metric screw located atop all rifle-scopes are dedicated to this problem and to this of the bullet's trajectory which follow a curve, owing to gravity force.

In the case of this problem you are making allusion to, it is named "parallax." The parallax has to be corrected as well thanks to this screw which turn click by click, either left or right, depending whether the rifle-scope crosshair must move up or down.

Usually, on most rifles-copes, one click equals a quarter of inch of correction at 100 yards. The same rule applies to the micro-metric screw located on the right side of the rifle-scope, which operate lateral corrections (a quarter of inch by click at 100 yards to the left, or to the right).

Answer 7

nopers. the scope is aligned so it passes the bullet's path at a specific given range. If it's sighted in at 100 yards, the bullet will hit exactly where the scope crosshair hits at that same range. if you're shooting closer than the scope is sighted, you actually aim low through the scope. if you're shooting farther than it's sighted, you aim high. that's called "holdover" etc.

what you're describing is a form of parallax. parallax is when the sight changes due to range or attitude of view etc....but not like the holdover mentioned. in this case, if you held your head sideways above the weapon and sighted down the inside of the barrel with your right eye to the target....and at the same time looked at the target with your left eye 2" above the barrel, both eyes will sight directly on the golfball. your eyes are actually seeing in a long, sharp angle so they both focus on the same spot at the same time. does that make any sense?

Answer 8

no you want to angle your scope down so that the bullseye crosses the bullets path at a certain distance but if you shoot from a farther or shorter distance u have to aim a little bit lower if it is far away and lhigher if it is closer to you

Answer 9

Nope..the scope is set (adjusted) so the bullet hits the "bulls eye"

Answer 10

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