Airsoft Sniper Forum banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

BB Flight Path Through a Scope - How should it look like?

Jump to Latest
1 - 19 of 19 Posts

Zerosliver

· Registered
Joined
·
731 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
So I've been having issues in the past zeroing my scopes. I'm hoping it's mainly due to the wind, as I've yet to try it indoors.

Somehow when my hop-up setting seems perfect before mounting/looking through the scope, through the scope it looks like it's going upwards. I'm using r-hops btw. On my SVD it's even a bigger nightmare as shots are inconsistent (see my other topic).

So hence I ask the question: how does your BB flight path look like in your scope in your perfectly set up gun? Should you see it dropping at the end?
 
#2 ·
don't zero the scope perfectly at a particular range because the bb path is not specific, i always zero the scope straight and then kentucky windage it from there because I understand how my gun shoots, it makes it more predictable but requires more skill.

visual aid of bb path:

 
#3 ·
Airsoft guns and real guns are slightly different and scopes are designed for real guns. Airsoft guns have hopup. With hopup, BBs can leave the barrel and because of the backspin can travel upwards slightly and then eventually drop off. This is quiet normal. As they travel upwards they can move out of view from the scope. So to fix this you just need to put about 5 layers of electrical tape on the front scope mount. This will raise the front of the scope. After doing this you should see the bb all the way and then it will finally drop.
 
#4 ·
I've got the elevation screw on my scope turned all the way down and it's just about perfect there. The BB goes slightly up after it leaves the barrel, like 1tonne said it's not a straight path. TDS's diagram explains it pretty well but the BB doesn't travel completely straight as seen from the barrel, it goes slightly up, so the scope should also be looking up ;)
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
I'm well aware of how a hop-up works, but I found it strange considering the r-hop makes my bb flight path straighter.

I'll try 1tonne's suggestion to see if it's just how it's mounted. For now I checked my zero at roughly 5 meters (yes I know, that's not a range at all) but it seems my scope was severely misaligned in the first place. Had to adjust the elevation by more than 200 clicks. Maybe that means I had some kind of problem close to TSD's diagram.

I'm hoping to zero it in at a longer range indoors soon.
 
#6 ·
Let me know if it works for you as I am guessing many people have the same issue. I may even write it into my "Sniper Hints" at the end of my VSR upgrade thread.
 
#8 ·
I sight my stuff for 75 yards at 25 I'm a bit high very high at 50 and right on at 75 and hold over past that. Works for me just like shooting a regular rifle if the hopup is set properly other than the speed that the bb changes height is much faster rather than a smooth arc.
 
#9 ·
Zerosliver said:
I'm well aware of how a hop-up works, but I found it strange considering the r-hop makes my bb flight path straighter.

I'll try 1tonne's suggestion to see if it's just how it's mounted. For now I checked my zero at roughly 5 meters (yes I know, that's not a range at all) but it seems my scope was severely misaligned in the first place. Had to adjust the elevation by more than 200 clicks. Maybe that means I had some kind of problem close to TSD's diagram.

I'm hoping to zero it in at a longer range indoors soon.
Click to expand...
Your problem is you zeroed the scope to a particular point in its trajectory, for my rifle, it fires flat until near max range, then it sort of floats up and back down, I centered my scope at roughly the top of that "float" and I know about my max range, so I can accurately (within a few inches) tell where the shot will land through the entire trajectory. An idea is to measure the distance from barrel center to scope center, mark that distance above a bullseye and then boresight your gun to the bullseye, zero the scope to the mark.

if you zero your scope to the actual point of impact, when you are at closer range than your zero point you will have to aim high, when you are farther you will have to aim low, with variations for every distance inbetween, its just not as good if you want to hit on the first shot since you dont know for sure exactly how far the person is away and then figure out the ratio to/from your zero point and then figure out point of impact, aim to that, and shoot, the game is too fast for that.

people also seem to gravitate to really, realy high power scopes for the ranges we're engaging at, I use a 1.5-2x mag scope at best, I see a lot of pictures with massive 50mm lense 3-9+x scopes that just are too powerful for the ranges we're typically shooting. the only reason I use a scope at all is my eyes aren't as great as they were 10 years ago.

you lose the "no thought" zero the crosshairs on your target and shoot at a very specific range but you'll be more effective at all ranges.
 
#10 ·
I use a 3-9x40 scope and I generally have it on 6x. Works fine for most distances in between 50 and 100 yards. In between 25 and 50 yards is a bit trickier but still works fine for me on 6x. Closer than 25 I'm using my sidearm anyway so yeah :hehe:

Especially if you're behind enemy lines and need to identify your targets at up to 100 yards the higher magnification helps in my experience.

But it's also personal preference, I reckon :)
 
#11 ·
Yeah that just seems terrible to me, I don't really need to identify who a person, just that there are people out there and anything more than a 2x has always led to a sedimentary playstyle rather than "i'm faster than you, quiet and engage at total random" which is usually what I do, and then fall back to hunting particular targets if the other team is starting to get frustrated.
 
#12 ·
But what if you don't know whether the guys on that hill are friend or foe? The only comms you have are with your team's commanding officer or possibly squad leader, they can't tell you whether those helmets sticking out are on your side or not. They don't see you, so it's a matter of waiting till you get a glimpse of their armband's colour. High power magnification definitely helps with that ;)

Also, the magnification allows you to see the bb's flight path more clearly at the end which helps aiming in my experience.

Of course, everyone has their own preference and I can see your point, but for my playstyle I wouldn't want anything less than 4x and preferably have zoom up to at least 6x :hehe:
 
#13 ·
I think part of magnification also is eyesight. I'm a recent return to airsoft and I've realized something my eye's now 10 years later are significantly worse than they were back then. As a result I can't track a white BB with my naked eye past around 70 yards, with a dark BB I can't get 30 yards. That said some of the younger guys who I play with who apparently have much better vision can track dark BB's out nearly 70 yards. I've found myself that without magnification I have a heck of a time hitting 75 yards without magnification. Generally I run my 3-9 at 3x magnification since that's sufficient and I like the wider field of view. That said if I start shooting closer to 100 yards I tend to go in a little further. My rule of magnification is that I want to be able to see the BB within the scope for the whole flight, if I'm too far in I loose it from the top or bottom depending on where it is in flight. But I do need the extra magnification to be able to track the BB effectively.

When it comes to target identification more magnification does help as well. I have a harder time picking up small details at distance and depending on the game and what the team identifiers are it's nice to have the option especially when really stretching the range. If your playing where one team is tan and the other is green it's reasonably easy to tell who is who even at a distance. If it's armbands(which I've never cared for), then of course you need to see the band. We typically play small enough games where there aren't enough people on either team to forget who your playing with that round, but I'll admit once in a while since I'm new to the group I forget who's on who's team. And in those cases I typically shoot first and ask for forgiveness afterwards;)

I think optics are a personal choice though, depending on your eyesight etc that will effect what you choose. I mean I agree we're under 100 yards we're firmly in iron sight territory and we don't need a scope. But it's convenient and makes things a little easier for most of us. I use a 3-9 scope on my 10-22 for plinking red squirrels as well, typically I'm well under 100 yards, but it makes seeing them among branches in leaves a little easier as well I'm more accurate with my shooting likely because I can better see the movement of the crosshair through magnification than I can the twitch of iron sights which is less pronounced. I'm faster with iron sights, but less accurate.

Luke
 
Discussion starter · #14 ·
tds said:
Post by tds
Click to expand...
If I set up my hop correctly, the bb should fly fairly straight untill it reaches my maximum effective range. So I guess it won't be that much of a problem.
I get what you are trying to say, but I don't even have a boresight so point of impact will always be my reference point.

I also get annoyed when I see guys with huge (and often china cheap) scopes on their (usually inaccurate) rifles. Waste of money and useless weight on your gun. I usually use my scope at 4-6x zoom. My eyesight isn't great at range (-2 on left eye, -1.15 or os on my right eye) so a scope really helps. If I set my stuff up correctly, I should be able to pull off more precise shots than I would with ironsights.
 
#15 ·
One thing to note that I'm sure people disagree on is how the hopup is setup as well. I was always of the opinion to try and get as flat of trajectory as possible. I'm now of the opinion that you can gain a fair amount of maximum range by overhopping just slightly. That said that's with an rhop as well which seems to make the overhop much more gradual compared to a traditional bucking in my experience. But I like to get a little upswing along the whole trajectory when possible which makes it more akin to a regular rifle trajectory. If it's flying high at the end I'm not happy with that but I still tend to have a higher flight through the middle of the flight then what I used to use. But doing it that way I've found I can tack a pretty significant maximum range onto my shooting without having to hold miles over the target and feeling like I've firing artillery rather than shooting.

Just my 2 cents.

Take care!

Luke
 
#16 ·
luke213 said:
One thing to note that I'm sure people disagree on is how the hopup is setup as well. I was always of the opinion to try and get as flat of trajectory as possible. I'm now of the opinion that you can gain a fair amount of maximum range by overhopping just slightly. That said that's with an rhop as well which seems to make the overhop much more gradual compared to a traditional bucking in my experience. But I like to get a little upswing along the whole trajectory when possible which makes it more akin to a regular rifle trajectory. If it's flying high at the end I'm not happy with that but I still tend to have a higher flight through the middle of the flight then what I used to use. But doing it that way I've found I can tack a pretty significant maximum range onto my shooting without having to hold miles over the target and feeling like I've firing artillery rather than shooting.
Click to expand...
Yeah, by accepting you are shooting a bb gun and not a real one you can get pretty significant range gains, I leave my kar98 irons on one tic above zero because I know the round takes an upwards trajectory, with a final hump at max range.

With higher mag scopes it really feels like you're aiming a lot higher than you are because the target is too big which might be part of why I dont like them, when I'm winging a potshot at a squad from really excessive range I still like to be able to see the target :)
 
#17 ·
That's something else to note, when you go to higher magnification hold over by feel changes. That's one reason I almost always shoot at the same magnification makes it much easier to make quick shots estimating hold over for me. When I'm zoomed in further it's much more difficult for me to adjust for hold over since it's a different perspective basically.

I always have a hard time teaching myself to shoot airsoft unlike a regular rifle but I'm coming to accept that it's different and I'm going to have to live with it if I want to reach as far as possible. Much like canting the rifle to counter wind, I hate the idea of it, but it really works well and once you get used to reading the wind and how much to rotate the rifle to counter it, it works quite well even with a pretty stiff crosswind. Much better in my experience than just Kentucky windage like I would use on a normal rifle;)
 
#18 ·
I use a 3-9x40 magnification but only have it set on 3 x magnification.
I normally sight my rifle in to 70m's as most of my engagements are between 60-80 meters. I find it easy to estimate distance and so I can easily raise or lower the gun instantly to get my target.
Also as Luke213 said, I rotate the rifle to towards the direction of the wind counteract it. Once you have done this for a little while you get really good at it and your bb will fly straight even in a reasonably strong wind. So you do not have to aim to the left or right but on target with a tilted gun.
 
#19 ·
Tilting the gun is a great way to deal with wind yeah. You could aim left or right but if you let the hop compensate for the wind it's a lot easier Imho.

Sure, you lose a bit of upwards hop because it's partially going sideways, but if you already have a slight bit of overhop this isn't really an issue.

I set my hop to have the bb flying as straight as possible and then give it just a little more so it looks like it has a small bump on the end. That way you get the maximum range while you're still able to predict where the bb is going to land well enough to hit a man sized target at up to 100 yards :)

As for aiming, yeah, you could shoot with iron sights under 100 yards just fine. But with a scope it's easier and it's definitely easier to see the bb's. 3x is enough I reckon, I just want to see every little detail so I use 6x :hehe:
 
1 - 19 of 19 Posts
About this Discussion
18 Replies
6 Participants
Last post:
Reliku
Airsoft Sniper Forum
posts
245K
members
25K
Since
2006
A forum community dedicated to Airsoft Sniper firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about optics, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Sniper Talk VSR Rifles The Lounge New Member Introductions & Tips Others