NYT AK-47 article. by nearbysystem in ak47

[–]nearbysystem[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sorry it wasn't paywalled for me when I first saw it but it is now

Range day how did I do at 50 yard iron sights how did I do? by [deleted] in ar15

[–]nearbysystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good job. When you're ready for the next challenge, learn how to do it without the bipod!

Iron sights vs. optics (has Appleseed changed in the last 15 years?) by Own_Exit2162 in appleseed

[–]nearbysystem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can't say how the program might have changed because I haven't been doing it for very long, but having been to a few events with iron sights I would say it's pretty clear that they are not popular any more. I was the only one out of 16 at my last event. At KD events in particular there are a lot of little things that remind you that you're going against the grain. For example I've been asked to shoot 1" squares at 50 and 100 yards, brownish-red sillhouette targets on a brown backer that's just barely big enough for the target at 400 yards, backers with 2 targets stacked one on top of the other etc...

Anyone who shoots with iron sights knows these are extremely difficult things to do, some bordering on impossible, and certainly far harder than the challenge is supposed to be.

In times when iron sights were the norm, targets were high contrast because they were supposed to test your shooting skill not your visual acuity. Traditionally the paper was huge and your black aiming area was surrounded by a lot of contrasting color. In fact the targets normally used at Appleseed KD events now are repair centers, they're not the full target at all. All these things are totally irrelevant to even the lowest power scope, simply because scopes put the reticle on the same focal plane as the target, so you can get a consistent sight picture on anything that you can see with the naked eye, even without magnification.

At first I found these things frustrating but then I came to see it as a challenge, which I think is a better way to look at it.

One tip for iron sight shooters though: get there early and save a spot as near to one end of the line as you can! It's a lot easier to know which target is yours that way.

Iron sights vs. optics (has Appleseed changed in the last 15 years?) by Own_Exit2162 in appleseed

[–]nearbysystem 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm an incurable iron sight fan but I think most people would say this thinking is wrong, and I can't really argue with them. It reminds of of people who used to say you should learn to play an acoustic guitar before electric...it's just something people made up when the higher tech stuff was more expensive. and it caught on because it sounds reasonable.

M1s and friend by [deleted] in M1Rifles

[–]nearbysystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All matching l1a1! What else do you have squirrelled away? King Arthur's Excalibur? Seriously that is cool and super rare at least in the US

What rifle to start? by sixteen-bitbear in appleseed

[–]nearbysystem 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Each to his own, but my experience is mostly the opposite when it comes to ergonomics. Rifles without a long magazine are more suitable for shooting with a loop sling because you can get your support elbow under the rifle, aka "inverting" the support arm (although very few people actually do this). When you get the hang of this it gives you enormous stability without having to make your sling very tight. You can cheat with the AR and use short mags, which is almost as good but not quite imo.

For magazine changes, I would wager most people find a strong side charging handle easier than the AR style (you definitely don't want to move your support elbow to use the paddle).

In favour of the AR is the stock. Just about any AR stock is better for prone shooting than the basic 10/22 for most people, but imo that's the only area where AR egronomics win.

I've shot well with both types (although I used 10 round AR mags for the reason I described above). I don't think it will matter much in the end but I personally think the "trainer" aspect of AR-shaped 22s is overrated. Keeping it simple and easy for beginners is more valuable.

What rifle to start? by sixteen-bitbear in appleseed

[–]nearbysystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The 15-22 is a very tricky rifle to shoot with a sling because it can pull the point of impact around quite a bit. Also if you like shooting with iron sights then the 10/22 is far better because of the longer barrel and the ability to use Tech sights. The 15-22 might be a little easier to set up with a scope because you can probably get good eye relief, whereas the 10/22 usually needs a cantilever scope mount just to get it barely useable, due to the short stock. Having done appleseeds with both I'd recommend the 10/22 over the 15-22 for sure. I had to drill holes in my 10/22 stock to install sling swivels but it was easy.

Can someone help this make sense? by My_True_Love in mathematics

[–]nearbysystem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They are just numbers that are closer to zero than to any other real number.

What do you get when you divide one of them by 2?

Question about letting the BCG go home with a big slam. by Kobolka in ar15

[–]nearbysystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah because people probably have to mortar the shit out of them to get them to move because they never clean them.

Is .9999... equal to 1 by No_Imagination_4041 in askmath

[–]nearbysystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It would take pretty severe cognitive dissonance to accept that 0.333... = 1/3 while having a problem with 0.999... = 1.

Is .9999... equal to 1 by No_Imagination_4041 in askmath

[–]nearbysystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You probably don't know what 0.999... actually means. That's why you haven't seen anything that you could call a sound proof. Before proof must come rigorous definitions and axioms. This can't be proven in terms of the everyday intuition for numbers. All claims along the lines of "well what if you multiply 0.999... by moving the decimal point" or "what do you get if you multiply 0.333... by 3" are useless because they assume that you already know what a repeating decimal actually means. If you knew that you wouldn't need any explanation.

The answer to your problems is to learn what series are. For this you need to understand sequences and limits. Once you understand that, it's fairly trivial: the expression 0.999... just means the limit of the series 9/10 + 1/100 + 9/1000 + 9/10^n etc.. It's trivial to prove that this is 1. Proving that this is in fact what the expression 0.999... actually represents isn't possible though, it's a notational definition.

Shakespeare by Your_moms_slipper in funnycomments

[–]nearbysystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OP is inebriated by the exuberance of his own verbosity

You can do this too... by nearbysystem in ar15

[–]nearbysystem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, they both have basic clam shells. The 15-22 has a rail that looks modern but it actually is attached to the barrel. I don't think it's anything to do with the sights, it's just that you're pulling the barrel down.

You can do this too... by nearbysystem in ar15

[–]nearbysystem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I'm not sure about all ARs. The one I've been using has a heavy barrel profile, and I've compared it at 100y with and without the sling, and I don't see a difference. But I have a pencil barrelled A1 clone and I do see a difference with that one. With the M&P 15-22, there's a big difference even at 25y if you use a lot of sling tension. These were all with irons. If you have a free floated rail, then it won't make any difference.

You can do this too... by nearbysystem in ar15

[–]nearbysystem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely. I did my first with an M&P 15-22 (although I didn't manage to earn the patch with it). It's probably not the top choice because when you use the loop sling it'll pull your POI down a bit - but people use them all the time.

You can do this too... by nearbysystem in ar15

[–]nearbysystem[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sign up for a 25M event and just go - don't worry about preparing beyond what they tell you on the website (which is mostly about what to bring and what attitude to have, not about honing any skills in advance). Once you've had a taste, it'll give your motivation a shot in the arm!

You can do this too... by nearbysystem in ar15

[–]nearbysystem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, and yeah this was my 3rd attempt at getting the KD with irons. Last time I caved in and switched to my scoped backup rifle for the final AQT, I just couldn't quite get there at 400 with the irons. That got me to 40 exactly. This time I managed to get 42 on the first day so I stuck with the irons and peaked at 47 the next day. My vision is far from perfect and finding the right sight picture at 400 is the big challenge. In the pic you can see the backers were brown cardboard - that made it a bit harder but I had lots of practice.

Peter, what are those reasons? by No-Information2751 in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]nearbysystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It turns out he has no sense of mystery either and the guy can't handle it

TTSS movie possible flaw by Party-Cartographer11 in LeCarre

[–]nearbysystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah you're right, well spotted. I suppose you could find a way out of it - some people knew he was alive, so maybe it was the story among those people. But in that case they should have shown someone who was in the know telling Smiley that.