You can use .target to see (and learn to visualize) where your bullets are going, especially at different distances. Below is a short burst (about 1 second) hitting at a convergence of 325 yards in a Corsair. The target is set to 325 to show the TIGHTEST bullet concentration you will get with 6 50-cals. This shot was actually taken ON THE GROUND, which means NO G-load or nose-bounce affecting the bullet pattern. Notice that the bullet pattern is actually about 10 FEET in diameter. That is about the tightest concentration you can expect. The photo below that shows the 41' wingspan (two target circles wide) of a corsair for comparison to how big the bullet concentration is.
If you practice this while flying, you can try firing at different aim points on the target while maneuvering. Start by firing at the middle "bullseye". Then maneuver to fire at the outside ring at the 12-o'clock, 3-o'clock, 6-o'clock and then 9-o'clock positions as quickly as you can. You should be able to complete all 5 shots with 2-second burst to each in about 20 seconds or so. I call this exercise "shooting around the clock". You might notice that your bullet patterns are wider or look more like "slashes" than circles, meaning you have some nose bounce, yaw or aren't "G unloaded" when firing.
I have new squadmates do this exercise to see if their bullet concentrations are good and help them to diagnose problems with stick scaling (especially rudder). Here is a decent example from a squaddy's screenshot doing this exercise with some good hits (a bit low on the 3-o'clock) and I think he shot the center twice.
Another very important point here about bullet streams is that aircraft with wing-mounted guns can be thought of to actually have TWO bullet streams (one from each wing) that only pass through gunsight pipper right at convergence. So, as you get further inside and outside of convergence, the more you have TWO separate bullet streams.
There was some mention above about how hard it is to hit at dead six in close. This is one of the reasons. Your aiming point actually changes dramatically based on the range, even in close. I see a lot of people struggle with close in dead six shots because they are actually aiming TOO LOW. The next two shots illustrate the TWO separate bullet streams at HALF convergence (in this case half of 325 yards).
Note how different the 3 bullet patterns are all BELOW the horizontal line, even though I was aiming exactly on the horizontal line. Each plane has a different bullet stream level though, even though they are all firing 6 50-cals. Remember, the bullet streams are RISING from the wing level to the eye level (pipper point) of the pilot. So at a firing distance
inside convergence your bullets haven't risen to the pipper yet. This means if you have the pipper on your target in close, you are likely shooting slightly UNDER the target. I see a lot of new players frustrated by what appears to be "bullets passing through without hitting." This is probably what they are seeing. In close, the bullets go UNDER the target and continue to rise after they pass
appearing to pass right through the target, but really going UNDER him.
As you can see, the Jug has the flattest bullet stream, but is still a few feet below the aim point at half convergence. Due to it's wing design, the Corsair's bullet stream has a full 7 feet to rise to the pipper, so at half convergence, the bullets are about 3.5 feet too low yet. If you know this, you can
AIM SLIGHTLY ABOVE YOUR TARGET at close range.
Corsair bullet streams at HALF convergence (target at 162.5 yards):
The same holds true for ranges BEYOND convergence. At 650 yards, for example, the two bullet streams have crossed (at convergence) and are now headed AWAY from each other and become 2 wide bullet patterns. (Sorry, I don't have a screenshot of this, but test it yourself and you'll see what I mean.) Set the target at 650 and fire at the middle. Note the bullet spread.
Once you understand the above, it can really help you with sight picture as well. (More to follow on that...)
<S>
Ryno
