got the shot / but can't get the kill

[phentop]

I've been practicing offline and online flying, and reading the posts on getting into an advantage position. I've started to be able to get to that spot - through rolling - 0g dive - flaps etc.
BUT when I get to that spot Im not hitting anything ......
normally within 500 - 1.2 and have to unload to maybe get one shot then have to run.. and try to land and re-load...

Do I need to reset my gun distance? lock fire all guns at once
and do bursts??  Guns are set at the max ---is this bad ??

[DblTrubl]

Get closer. 500 is a long shot unless the target is flying straight and level or you are closing fast. Try holding your fire until you get to 300 or less and see if that helps any.  Oh, and set your convergence closer as well.  300-400 works well for most guns. The exception to that is nose mounted gun packages. Some say that setting conv for nose guns has no effect and a squaddie of mine says that he gets rubber bullets sometimes if they're not set to 150 or 650. I set em at 650, just cause.

[Tyro48]

Check out Andy Bush's article on gunnery at Simhq.com, click on combat corner at the top left, there you will begin to see what you need to do as far as lead goes and angle off.

[Doberman]

As DblTrbl said, even your lowest distance of 500 is fairly long range for a target that's maneuvering strongly.  

I hadn't flown online in a while before I got back into AH, so my stats reflect the retraining of my skills at the moment.  But when I flew WB, my convergence was set at 225 and I never took a shot expecting a kill at ranges much more than that.   I'd throw up a bit of lead to unnerve the bad guys or get them to go defensive, but killing shots were always in way close.  Kept my gunnery average high and helped to ensure that I got the kill and not just an assist.  

YMMV, of course, as there are guys who set their convergence out to astronomical numbers and do great with it.  But they're few & far between.

You've gotten 'em in this close.  Train your ACM a bit more and get 'em in even closer.

D

[Sandman]

In addition to reducing your convergence range, you might consider turning off the tracers. I've found that my target doesn't squirm as much if he doesn't see tracers zipping by him.

[Eagler]

lower range, get closer under 400 and fire everthying you got in very short bursts

alternate tracers on and off, helps ur aim and in the end you'll probably leave them off

gl

[Apache]

Turn off tracers. Huge help. You can look at my stats and see when I did that. Tour 15. I ended tour 14 with a 1.7 k/d I believe. The tours previous to that were about the same give or take. The next tour, 15, I ended it with a 3.6. I've ended some tours in the 5+ but average in the high 3's. It really helped me. It seems that instead of relying on a visual cue (tracers), which you do whether you know it or not, you must rely on sighting the target without tracers.

[humble]

Couple of questions....

1) are you closing to 500 or thru 500...as mentioned the real Kill zone is from 300 in....Ideally you'll fire in the 150-250 range.


2) are you hitting the target....your not going to get clean kills at that range but you can get results with tracking shots. A 500 yd "snap shot" is like rolling boxcars or snakeyes...just doesnt happen often.

I agree with the comments on turning tracers off....also I'd say refrain from "snap shots" for a bit....learn to fly your plane to the bogies 6. Dont shoot at all till your inside 250 and "saddled up"

[Blue Mako]

phentop,

glad to hear you are practising offline too, it does help.

Try this:  Use the target function offline to test how your guns work.  Type .target 1200 into the text buffer then turn to the North and shoot at the suspended target.

Do it again with .target 400.

Notice the difference.  At 1200 you are lucky to even hit near the centre of the target.  When your bullets do arrive from 1200 yards away they dont have enough energy to do any real damage so unless you are flying cannon armed planes forget it.

My advice is to hold your fire until you are within 500yds.  300 yards is good, 200 even better.  Practice doing this offline with the drones an experiment with convergence settings in the 400 - 200 yd range.  Find a setting you like and stick to it for a while.

What this all means is that you need to be able to get your aircraft to "whites of the eyes" range before you open fire.  This will take some pratice but when you start getting there you will find it very rewarding.  Suddenly Victory # 5 messages are not just for other people

Good luck.  Stick with it and enjoy.

[Andy Bush]

phentop

Choose a gunsight that allows you to use it to estimate range. That will help you avoid firing too far out.

Set your convergence for a short range ~ 200 yards is good. Then choose a sight display that lets you use its markings to recognize that range. The markings should also help you judge deflection when needed.

Andy

[phentop]

Thnx for all the advice..... After adjusting several things suggested
and waiting till that 150 - 300 yrd range I had my first 8 kill mssg.
BUT then as the old saying goes _ theirs always someone better than you out their -  You have bailed successfully .....