RE: sight height and calculations
I think stubblejumper and I have come to the correct conclusion. Scope height does not change the arc path of your bullet. Think about it...how could a scope change the way your bullet flies?
What actually happens is a change in perspective. When your scope height changes, the angle of your line of sight changes. So, with different scope heights, your LOS intersects bullet arc at different points in space. I used this example in a different thread:
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"I am visualizing a line of sight (which is straight) and a bullet path (which is an arc). For simplicity, lets say the arc crosses the line of sight at 50 and 150 yds. And it reaches the peak at 100 yds...3 in. above line of sight. And it reaches 3 in. below line of sight at 200 yds. That means the Max Point Blank Range is 200 yds with the scope zeroed at 50 and 150.
Ok, so now we raise the scope higher and angle it down, forcing the same 50 yd intersection of LOS and bullet arc. The second intersection would be beyond the original 150 yds...lets say its at 175. But in this case, the peak of the arc would be more than 3 inches above LOS. So, I can see now that you can't just say, "if I am zeroed at 50 then i am 3 inches high at 100" (for this example)...because your scope height may or may not allow for the correct LOS angle to make that true. But scope height will not infact change the MPBR. The LOS angledoes not affect actual arc path/shape.
So, scope height will affect POI, but it will not affect MPBR. Right?
So, the next question is...knowing the arc path of the bullet, how do you figure out proper scope height to get the most out of thearc? In other words how do I know where my LOS shouldbe in order to make the arc's peak 3 inches above it? "
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Anyways, your actual bullet arc does not change with scope height, but your LOS angle does change, which affects point of impact, and perceived bullet path. Ultimately at ranges under 300 yds, it probably makes very little difference.