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How to Understand Minute of Angle - for Long Range Shooting
Am Shooting Journal ^ | 5/14/2019 | S Coffman

Posted on 05/14/2019 4:45:59 AM PDT by w1n1

In the course of perfecting your shooting accuracy, you will hear the word MOA. If you don’t know what it is, then shooting on target will be the hardest thing to achieve. For those who know it, they realize that some calculations are crucial if you want to improve on accuracy.

Now, what are those calculations? Will they make shooting a rocket science subject? If you are asking such questions, the information below is for you. You will see how easy it is to understand Minute of Angle when we break it down into digestible chunks that will aid you in hitting the bull’s eye every time you aim.

MOA Meaning
What is MOA? It stands for Minute of Angle as explained in the title. Here, a minute refers to 1/60th of a degree. Think about the minutes in an hour. One minute is a 1/60th of an hour. When it comes to shooting, it refers to a tiny fraction of one angle.

Why Do We Need To Measure Shooting In Minutes?
I guessed right. That's your next question. If you look at how a bullet moves, it does so in an arc which is not a perfect one. As it travels further, the force of gravity becomes larger hence the decrease in velocity. That makes the arc’s slope steeper. You may notice that you are shooting dead on at closer targets like about 200 yards away. However, as you aim further than let’s say 600 yards, you note that you are hitting lower than the target point. The distance between where your bullet hits and the target is known as the bullet drop. It's measured in inches. Read the rest of how to understand minute of angle.


TOPICS: Hobbies; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: banglist; blogpimp; clickbait; eighthgrade; longrangeshooting; moa; momsbasement; readtheresthere
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To: Blueflag

the force of gravity is the same at the muzzle as at the impact point.

it is muzzle velocity, ballistic coefficient and time of flight the determines the drop.

also, do pull the trigger smoothly or jerk it!


21 posted on 05/14/2019 6:05:51 AM PDT by beebuster2000
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To: w1n1

“If you look at how a bullet moves, it does so in an arc which is not a perfect one. As it travels further, the force of gravity becomes larger hence the decrease in velocity. “

Laughable ignorance.

Gravity does not slow the bullet, and does not increase with distance.

Does nobody study Newton anymore?


22 posted on 05/14/2019 6:10:25 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Mariner

Kin we wait til this author makes it a movie?? LOL


23 posted on 05/14/2019 6:14:35 AM PDT by litehaus (A memory toooo long.............)
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To: M1903A1

I recently (about a year and a half ago) picked up from a widow a Krag Jorgensen Springfield full stocked carbine (Philippine constabulary 1902 cartouche). It shoots ‘ok’ but it looks immaculate. At the same time I got for my son a National Match Garand. The Garand is so darn accurate for a Garand as to be unbelievable. Because I spent all I was going to spend on guns that day I had to pass up a 1920’s O3, Pre A1 in immaculate condition. A gunsmith friend bought the rest of the collection of 18 or so long Guns for 1 fixed price. A tear came to my eye over missing the 03 because buying in bulk the average price was way less than I could have possibly, in good faith, offered her. She actually was happy as most of the other rifles were worth little. I got 2 of the 3 best.


24 posted on 05/14/2019 6:17:03 AM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: beebuster2000

“whether a bullet is dropped by hand or fired horizontally it will hit the ground at the same time.”

Correct.

Velocity being the determining factor in how far it traveled in that period of time.


25 posted on 05/14/2019 6:17:04 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: w1n1

This is a prefect example of ‘competency bias’.

People listening to the news talking heads, or reading an article, tend to think the author knows what he is talking about.

But when you read something in an area that you know about, you realize how little they know.

And this applies to everything you see reported!

This article is just plain stupid in the way it describes gravity.


26 posted on 05/14/2019 6:20:49 AM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself.)
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To: gundog
There’s also the matter of the gravitational pull that the bullet exerts on the Earth.

As the bullet gets closer to the surface of the earth, then the pull it exerts on the earth would also increase.

This is also a function of the speed of the bullet, as velocity increases, so does mass, and therefore gravitational force.

A bullet traveling very close to the speed of light could conceivably pull the earth out of its orbit.

27 posted on 05/14/2019 6:24:42 AM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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To: Fido969

Now I want a deer rifle that fires photon bullets.


28 posted on 05/14/2019 6:33:45 AM PDT by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: gundog
Now I want a deer rifle that fires photon bullets.

Kills and cooks your deer with one shot.

29 posted on 05/14/2019 6:38:55 AM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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To: gundog

30 posted on 05/14/2019 6:44:16 AM PDT by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them)
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To: BitWielder1
"As it travels further, the force of gravity becomes larger hence the decrease in velocity."

What?


31 posted on 05/14/2019 6:51:38 AM PDT by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them)
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To: Vaquero

Technically in a scenario where one drops a bullet and coincindentally fires a rifle that is aimed horizontally, the fired bullet will impact the ground a very tiny amount of time later than the time it takes for the dropped bullet to hit the ground. This is due to the curvature of the planet.


32 posted on 05/14/2019 7:12:07 AM PDT by ByteMercenary (Healthcare Insurance is *NOT* a Constitutional right.)
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To: beebuster2000

Oh I get it. It was just funny to read that.


33 posted on 05/14/2019 7:14:31 AM PDT by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur: non vehere est inermus)
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To: ByteMercenary

Correct. Only The other way round as shooting perpendicular to the force of gravity (not parallel as the earth is curved as you said) means you are shooting UP in regard to the curvature. So the dropped bullet hits an infinitesimally instant sooner.


34 posted on 05/14/2019 7:55:31 AM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: ByteMercenary

It could also be a function of terrain and topography.


35 posted on 05/14/2019 8:06:22 AM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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To: w1n1

“Am Shooting Journal” tends to be made up of illiterate “hold my beer” type rednecks. The writing is terrible, and the reasoning isn’t much better than you’d find in a bar around closing time.


36 posted on 05/14/2019 8:08:43 AM PDT by Fido969 (In!)
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To: Mariner
Laughable ignorance.

In other words, about average for 'Am Shooting Journal'.

37 posted on 05/14/2019 9:45:17 AM PDT by real saxophonist (One side has guns and training. Other side's primary concern is 'gender identity'. Who's gonna win?)
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To: real saxophonist

There is really no need to “understand” MOA. It’s built in to your optic!


38 posted on 05/14/2019 9:52:38 AM PDT by saleman
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To: Magnum44

You’re back, to use Ahnuld’s phrase. Tanned and fit, with Cryptogram in hand?


39 posted on 05/14/2019 11:16:14 AM PDT by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: gundog

Still jet lagged, but yes, I’m back. :)


40 posted on 05/14/2019 11:38:50 AM PDT by Magnum44 (My comprehensive terrorism plan: Hunt them down and kill them)
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