zeroing with reflective tape

I

igor

New member
Opinions please. My range faces north and its been hot here in Amarillo. So how much if any will the perceived image with reflective tape or any shiny object used to zero move from 9am to a hot 4pm? Would it be enough to move the poi 3/4 inch? I think so. I took a new thermal mounted on a tack driver to the range 6 out of 7 days last week and the group early in the morning was the only one 3/4 inch LEFT with the sun on the right. I'm probably overdoing this a little, forgive me lol. Maybe the suns got to me.
 
Igor, I use HVAC aluminum tape. I split a couple of pieces to tape a crosshair leaving the middle open. The tape doesn't show as hot but rather as cool. It works best if tilted slightly backward maybe 10 or 15 degrees. Since I hunt on white hot, the crosshair shows black but that gives a lot of image flair. I switch to black hot for sight in which makes the crosshair appear white and the white image doesn't show as much flair so it is easier to get a better image.

I have a range in my backyard so I never shoot thermal during the middle of the day. I always shoot late afternoon. Reason being, and more to your question, I too have noticed that my POI seems to tend toward being higher in bright sun. This is with a Pulsar Apex XQ50.
 
I bought one of those thermbright targets about a year ago, kinda pricy so I shot it a couple times and put it away. It came with the patches! That's why this forum is great. Never thought of using the patches as targets but will do just that today, thanks. I also mostly use HVAC tape and tilt it slightly. It's also just as likely that group 3/4 inch off was me except it was the only one out 6 using a splendid Savage heavy barrel that is my test unit for scopes. Thanks
 
Ice cream sandwiches?
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The Thermbright target patches are OK. They don't put off as much of a signature as I would like. You may need to use 2 or more. You have to be really careful what type of background to put them on. If I remember correctly, it didn't work well against a black background as I tried to put it on top of a TRUGLO target so I could see the hits better as I was sighting it in during the day.

Tinfoil or hvac tape still is a nice option. Just tilt back as DoubleUp said. I like to make 1/2 to 1" strips and make a large Cross with the center of the cross missing. It gives you an exact aim point and if you are having an issue seeing the target (blank spot), it is still easy to line up the 2 axis points and squeeze.
 
Actually I put 4 of the thermabright patches together and they worked great. But I like the idea of a cross. At the same time it has not been a problem cutting a square of hvac tape either. Probably shot several hundred squares of hvac tape in the last 4 years really lol. Still use a hand warmer some on a cloudy winter day. Appreciate the discussion. And I really hate to say it and jinks things but this new xq38 is performing great.
 
Thermo bright targets do NOT need sunlight to work. Only a clear view of the sky and the target at a 10 degree angle or more. I have used mine at night. I will agree that 1 1 inch square is probably a little too small, but 4 of them to make a 2 x 2 square works great for me . And a whole sheet of them will last a very long time.
 
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The key to any of these methods is to get as little bloom as possible and try to get as small of an aiming point as possible to get as accurate as a POI as possible.
 
amazingly they didn't shatter. I use the 2" hvac tape cut into 1" strips to make a crosshair to attach them to the backing board. Might not work for ever body but it did for me.
 
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