Pulling lead

[Crousader]

This is just one of my weaknesses but of all it's the most frustrating. I typically fly planes with nose mounted gun packages, I get well within range (inside D400) I get on the guys six , put him in the middle of my pipper and squeeze.

Then the shells fall behind, below, above, you name it. I tip him off (of course) and he breaks away leaving me feeling awful ..

What do I need to do to get better?

[The Fugitive]

Practice ! From a strait 6 shot you lead just above the plane at 400 to account for bullet drop. Closer less, farther away, more. The 6 shot is one of the hardest due to the plane profile being very small. Learn to set up your shots for when the enemy gives you a bigger profile, like in a turn. Throw a few rounds out there to let him know your there, then when he breaks giving you that nice big profile, let him have it !

[Dawger]

1. Turn your tracers off. They hide the hit sprites and let the enemy know you are shooting at him.

2. There are lots of techniques to help you get hits. In a true tracking shot you have a little time to move the bullet stream. You can start with the gunsight in lag(behind the bandit), press the trigger when the gunsight is on the target and continue your pull through the target until the bandit disappears below the bottom of the gunsight. You can do the reverse, start in lead and hold the trigger down as the bandit flies through the gunsight.

Snapshots are a matter of feel mostly but most of the time you are picking a point in space you think the bandit will fly through and putting rounds on that point in space.

I'll try to post a few short films showing what I am describing although 90% of my shots are lead to lag (the second method I described)

[Oldman731]

What do I need to do to get better?

Get inside 200.  Seriously.  Makes shooting much easier.

- oldman

[Dawger]

Oldman is correct, closer is always better.

Here are the films I promised, all from one sortie a few days ago.

When you start the films make sure Use Recorded views is UNCHECKED then us Page Up and Page Down and the Arrow keys to adjust the view until it looks like the screenshot below. That will replicate the view I use to shoot with (I have a button mapped to achieve this ...plus 2 more to adjust the zoom in or out. I only use those when sniping running mustangs     )



Film 1

Film 2

Film 3

Film 4

Also slowing down the film below 1x speed is helpful in seeing the shot.

These aren't necessarily the best examples, just the ones from a recent fight. And I'm far from the best shot in the game but I definitely ain't the worst.

[Dawger]

One more thing.....

I have two separate buttons for machine guns and cannons (I pretty much only fly P38). I only use cannon for low G, close in shooting. The cannon drop is such that under more than 2 G you can't see the target and hit it with cannon. You are basically guessing (which you can get good at....most Luftwaffe flyers get good at this). I use the 50 cals for most shots and the P38 package usually doesn't need the 20MM to get a quick kill. I doubt I used the cannon for any of the shots in the films but who knows.

[SlapShot]

This is just one of my weaknesses but of all it's the most frustrating. I typically fly planes with nose mounted gun packages, I get well within range (inside D400) I get on the guys six , put him in the middle of my pipper and squeeze.

Then the shells fall behind, below, above, you name it. I tip him off (of course) and he breaks away leaving me feeling awful ..

What do I need to do to get better?

Unless you are one someone's "dead six" and they are flying straight and level ... putting "him in the middle of my pipper" is not what you want to do.

"Pulling lead" means exactly that ... you must place/"pull" the pipper to where you think the plane will be ... not where the plane is at.

If you place your pipper on a maneuvering plane ... your bullets will go where he was at the second you fired the gun, and unless you are right on top of the bad guy, his plane will not be there when the bullets arrive (unless of course your bullets fly at the speed of light, then putting the pipper on the bad guy and shooting will most likely work).

"Pulling lead" and figuring out where the bad guy WILL be ... is something that is acquired over time with lots of practice (at least for me it was).

[ImADot]

"Pulling lead" and figuring out where the bad guy WILL be ... is something that is acquired over time with lots of practice (at least for me it was).

Exactly.  I remember hearing a WWII vet on an air combat TV show say something to the effect of "If I saw his nose pointed directly at me, I didn't worry...If I saw his nose pointed in front of me, I got real nervous."

[Dawger]

One would assume that the OP knows about the need to lead from the thread title.

I think he is looking for techniques to learn the lead required in different situations.

[Crousader]

Thanks everyone but I do know I need to pull lead and aim where the bandit *will* be but how do I do it especially in a turn fight when the bandit falls below my nose.

My problems are compounded by the sneaky shot at the bandits low 6 where I still miss and give away my attack

[Steve]

Thanks everyone but I do know I need to pull lead and aim where the bandit *will* be but how do I do it especially in a turn fight when the bandit falls below my nose.

My problems are compounded by the sneaky shot at the bandits low 6 where I still miss and give away my attack

Ahh that takes practice is all. Don't let it get too complicated for you, just keep doing it.  Dead six shots are actually more difficult than a lead/turning shot. I get many kills while pulling to blackout with the plane under my nose.  Honestly, there's not a special trick to it, it just takes practice. Even your latency comes into play.... just keep at it and you will see results. Be careful who you get advice from, some people who have posted in here have rather banal hit %'s and may not be giving you good info. Again... just keep at it.

[ImADot]

One thing that helps is to get close, pull more lead than you think you need, then relax the stick to unload your airframe.  Your bullets will travel less arced and more concentrated.  If you get hits, it will be more than just one or two pings like you'd get if you continued to pull g's.

Again, it's all practice and more practice until you get a feel for it and a good mental picture of where the plane is and where he will be.

[moot]

Keep your tracers on, film, and shoot where it seems most natural. Don't hold back, don't hesitate. Watch the film and see what adjustments you need to make.
Rinse, repeat...

[BnZs]

Honestly, there's not a special trick to it, it just takes practice.

Hasn't helped me so far...please prescribe a PED of some sort.

[Delirium]

Turn tracers off, go offline and work on the drones until you can 'one pass them' from every angle.

Practice makes perfect, there isn't a magic button to cause you to suddenly make easy kills.