Thursday, September 11, 2008

MOA rule of thumb, odds and ends

So I found a rule of thumb for the sights on my Garand and M1A. (I guess it would work with other .308 ball mislurp type ammo shooters with about as long a barrel. A Minute of Angle is a Minute of Angle. And here is something I didn't know: In humans, 20/20 vision is the ability to resolve a spatial pattern separated by a visual angle of one minute of arc.)

First, zero for 100 yards. In the case of Garands or M1A this is generally 8-12 clicks up from bottom. Shoot at things at 100 yards or less at this setting.

Then, 2 clicks for up to 200 yd (+2 clicks from 100 yd zero)

3 clicks up from 200 to 300 yd (+5 clicks from 100 yd zero)

12 clicks up from 300 to 600 yd (+17 clicks from 100 yd zero)

Or 2 for 200, 3 for 300, 12 for 600.

Not the best rules of thumb if you want get the forehead of a Zombie, but it will get center of mass for a Goblin Brigand.

Which bring me to the problem I had with World War Z and the SIR, or Standard Infantry Rifle.

I need to double check, but army units were equipped with a .223 firing rifle, with iron sights, based on the Kalashnikov design, and making head shots at 300 yards from the kneeling position with nearly every shot. For hours and hours and hours. It just doesn't seem right. At 300 yards the period at the end of this sentence is about the size of a zombie head. Even with LOTS of training thats difficult.

Sorta ruined the whole book for me...

KIDDING!


And here is a source of online military manuals in pdf form.

And a source for ordering targets, including AQT targets. You can also get them from Appleseed's Fred, but during the shooting season there might be some minor shipping delays.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had that self-same issue! It didn't kill my enjoyment, but Mr. Brooks probably has minimal hands-on experience with firearms of any nature, and frankly, isn't much of an armchair gun-wiz either...

My biggest problem was the Marine Corps Lobo... so the book establishes that there are no more static positions, hence making things like trenches a thing of the past... and then gives a "wunder"weapon, which is a double-edged axe/entrenching tool combo? I scoff, Mr. Brooks. I scoff mightily.

Good blog, btw. Long time lurker, first time commenter. Thanks!

-W

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

I don't know. You need a shovel to dig pits to bury dead zombies. you certainly would find no use for fighting holes, but a trench around your position might slow down strays zeds. so the majority of the troops can sleep while the night watch can dispatch them quietly before they can scramble over the berm.

But you're right, otherwise. No utilty for a large weapon the size of a rifle, when a trooper can carry a rifle.