Shooting uphill or downhill ?

[Carlos Cabeza]

Hi all,

I'm trying to remember when shooting on an incline do you aim high or low ?

Uphill or downhill such as a deer in a ravine or on top of a hill relative to shooter position......


Thanks

Carl

 

[HOOfan_1]

shooting downhill causes most people to overshoot, and vice versa


Edit: Actually just looked it up and found that shooting uphill causes most people to shoot high as well, I thought it was the opposite

http://www.firearmssite.com/shoot_uphill.htm

 

[kis2]

hoofans got it:

always aim low

 

[Carlos Cabeza]

Thanks Shooters,

My brother was just telling me about the six pointer that he missed twice on this morning. Was trying to explain AIM LOW when shooting on an incline.

Thanks for the prompt reply, Try again in the morning !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jim Watson]

It takes a terribly steep slope and a fairly long range for it to matter.
What counts is the horizontal distance.
If you are shooting up (or down) hill at a 45 degree angle; a 100 yard line of sight gives you a 70.7 yard horizontal. Now, how low do you have to hold at 70 yards with a 100 yard zero? Or even at 140 yards with a 200 yard zero? Not far.
Shoot on a 60 degree mountain and the horizontal range is half the direct line of sight. How low do you have to hold at 100 yards with a 200 yard zero? Not far.

Such things are often overthought.
The key is to not get excited and hold over.

 

[kis2]

oh no! stinks to learn that by missing such a trophy.

just curious, what kind of incline was it, degree-wise? It's been a while since I've looked, but the actual compensation needed was pretty small (like a minute). but that's only IIRC, and for a .308.

go get him!

edit to add: plus one for mr. watson's advice

 

[Sport45]

When you sight a gun in the sight line is usually horizontal and the barrel axis is tilted up. The bullet crosses the sight line at 25-50 yards on its way up and then falls back through the sight line at your zero distance.

Changing the sight line up(hill) or down(hill) without changing the angle between bore axis and sight line changes the range where the bullet falls back through the line of sight. It's further in both cases so you always aim low.

Taken to extremes consider firing with the sight line vertical. The bullet will cross the line of sight 25 yards or so in front of the muzzle and just keep moving up (relative to the line of sight) and eventually fall to the ground somewhere way behind you.