Gunnery

[mtnman]

Hogwash, for the most part...

I have no clue what my hit percentage is ( and I honestly don't care).

Then how do you even know whether you're qualified to help/teach/guide someone?  All of your info is irrelevant if it's not "proven".  How foolish would it look if you came in and gave advice to someone asking for gunnery help, only to find he's an equal or better shot compared to you? 

The OP isn't asking how to get more kills, he's asking how to improve his gunnery.

The only important gunnery measurement is the number of kills.

LOL!  You've got to be kidding...  Number of kills is not a (reliable, anyway) measure of gunnery proficiency.  I get kills without even shooting!  I get kills even on a "off" night, when my gunnery is in the trash!  I sometimes fail to get kills when my gunnery is outstanding!

Hit percentage, on the other hand is a much more reliable indicator of proficiency.  Not 100% reliable, but drastically better than "number of kills".  It can be skewed a bit up or down depending on several factors, but also, once those factors are identified it's not difficult to remove them from the equation, either, if you want the info to be even more reliable.

Hit percentage matters in other aspects too.  A higher hit percentage leads to shorter fights, quicker kills, less use of ammo, and less loss of SA.  If your hitting 1/2 as often as I am, it's likely going to take you longer to finish the fight (you'll miss shots that I would be twice as likely to make).  This is going to cost you more E, more ammo, and more SA, to name a few...  When you do get a shot you can make, it'll likely take twice as long to land enough hits for the kill, again at more expense...  Those shots are probably going to be spread out more, too, requiring more ammo...  And even if the hits I make are inconsequential damage-wise, the effect on the other pilot can be telling.

One possible area of difference is wing mounted versus nose mounted guns. I fly the P38 mainly and the tracers hide the target from me because they are right in front of me. Wing mounted guns don't do that as much so tracers on might work better in wing mounts.

Yes, the P38 has some pretty easy guns to master.  It's a very forgiving set-up.  I fly the F4U, which with the wing-mounted guns throws a whole lot more complications into the mix.  Then again, the F4U has .50's, which are again, pretty simple to master.  Of course, the P38 has those too...  The tracers will only hide the target if you're firing in long bursts, in my experience.  Even in long bursts, I can't remember a single incidence of the tracers making me unable to see my target.

Also your shooting style makes a difference. I'm used to flying a hard hitting guns package and killing with a single short burst. Tracers are of little use in that situation.

Unless you miss...  Tracers aren't supposed to do anything except give you a very good idea where your rounds go when you miss.  When you hit (which accounts for a small percentage of the rounds you fire) you have no need of tracers (or any other input as far as where the rounds you fired went.

The short burst idea is definitely a winner.  I'm sure anyone with a decent proficiency in gunnery is using the same tactic.  Long bursts would generally drive your hit percentage down, because statistically, you're more likely to miss than you are to hit (some exceptions, of course).

But I still believe if tracers are useful, you are firing too far away. At 200 yards and closer tracers are unnecessary. No tracers requires the discipline to drive in very close before pulling the trigger.

Turning tracers off does not force you to get in close.  It doesn't force more discipline.  It forces you to do one thing, and one thing only...  It forces you to guess.  And guess again, and guess again.  And again.  And again.  they force you to guess, because you have no way to know.  You have nothing but a guess as to where the majority of the rounds you fire go.  A small percentage hit the target, sure, but where did the rest go?

Say you fire at a target (without tracers), and you miss.  Where did your shots go?  High, low, behind, in front?  How do you know?  You don't...  You think they might have gone low?  So aim higher...  Ooops, still missing!  Where do you aim now?  Lower?  What if you were low, but when you aimed higher you didn't aim high enough?

With tracers, if I shoot and miss, I know where my shots went.  If I don't know exactly, I still have a very good estimation.  If my bullets miss low, my tracers aren't going to go over my target.  If I don't lead enough, my tracers won't pass in front of the plane I'm shooting at.  I don't "watch" my tracers, I just see them peripherally.  However, when I need some factual input, they're right there.

Honestly, having tried both ways, I'd say that without a doubt, the tracers are more important than your sights are.  If you want to get rid of one, get rid of your sights, and leave the tracers on.  For the vast majority of your shots, the sights aren't much help anyway.  Often, they're just plain misleading.  Not so with the tracers...

Tracers also shouldn't be a real issue when it comes to "warning" the other pilot.  Unless of course, you're missing, or shooting from too far away.  Even then, all the tracers in the world shouldn't matter if the other pilot has any SA at all.  He should know you're there LONG before tracers would play any role.  If he doesn't, you really shouldn't be missing, either.  Personally, I've lived through FAR more engagements due to the other pilot having his tracers off, than due to any warning tracers have given me.  Actually, my confidence level goes up drastically as soon as I realize my opponent has his tracers off.

[edge12674]

How is this done? I never knew that you could do this.............Learn something new everyday 

In offline mode go to "Options" then "Arena settings" then "Offline drones".  You will see the various employees of HiTech and the vehicles they are assigned.  You can change the aircraft type and even make them all GV's if you need ground pounding practice.

Don't feel bad, this thread taught me about the ".target" command and the lead computing gunsight.  Never too old or experienced to learn! 

[CAP1]

Great stuff Dawger! 

I've been trying to do a little practice shooting the drones offline, but I really like the idea of getting a training partner to help practice this.  I have been trying not to use the lead computing sight aid too much, because I was worried that I'd become too dependent on it... but maybe I should turn it back on.

i think his point with the lead computer on in the ta was this.

 you'll need it for a bit to see the right "picture" to shoot at. you'll start to see this picture over and over, as you shoot, until one day, you realize you're shooting at the picture, rather than by the coaching of the leqad computer.

[CAP1]

It is a learning tool so use it like one. You don't even have to shoot with it on. Just pay attention to where it is in various situations. What will happen is that knowledge will transfer to the arena when the crosshair is not available.

And do the training as a cycle. Practice offline a few minutes, then TA with lead computer on, then duel a bit one shot one kill style. What you are trying to do is build skill AND change attitude.

I was working with a guy the other day. His complaint was gunnery. So I said shoot at me. His gunnery was good, he was just shooting too far away. He was firing at 800 yards in a wing mounted guns aircraft with his convergence set at 350.

Over the next hour I got him to turn tracers off and not fire until under 400 yards. In an hour or so he went from thinking his gunnery was terrible to being excited about his gunnery. I didn't teach him gunnery skill in an hour. He could already shoot. He just needed to ditch the distraction of tracers and concentrate on firing at or near his convergence setting.

And close is not really that close. 400 yards is a long way to shoot something accurately. We lose sight of that fact online. 400 seems like a small number. Its 1200 feet.

The Empire State building is 1200 feet tall. It is a long way.

Drive in close and its much easier to hit stuff. You should be close enough to be able to aim at a specific part of the airplane. Aim for propellor spinner and you will get more pilot kills. that is the best way to end the fight, kill the pilot.

In fact, I personally consider it a miss if I don't kill the pilot. The pilot should be your target, not his plane. Aim to kill him and the rest is gravy.

if ya want a good idea of what 400 yards looks like in real life, use your gps. it'll call out 400 yards to the next turn, then 350, etc.

 and yes.....400 yards is nearly a quarter of a mile.