Spotting muzzle flash

[atiff]

Hi all,

A gaming question on which I have no practical experience. At what kinds of range could someone expect to see a muzzle flash from a standard weapon (M16, AK, etc - ) in daylight?

E.g., if people are taking pot-shots at you from concealment, at what range are you able to pinpoint the source of fire?

Thanks, Andrew

[dragoon500ly]

Hard one to answer since a lot of it depends on weather conditions sooooo

Assault Rifle muzzle flash can generally by spotted at around 150-200 meters if you are looking in the right direction, what mostly catches your eye is the effect of the muzzle blast, bush or branch shaking against the wind, dirt kicked up, etc. IMO, it rather looks like a small penlight strobe flickering.

Machineguns have a much more noticeable signature, of course.

If someone is fearing from concealment, unless you are looking right at them, you will most likely never see the flash. The report of the round would tend to give you a direction to look in and such things as the interval between the bullet strike and the report can give you a very rough idea of the distance.

Hope this helps

[rcaf_777]

what mostly catches your eye is the effect of the muzzle blast, bush or branch shaking against the wind, dirt kicked up, etc.

I had fire control orders given with the term watch my splash - the splash being the drit being kicked up from round impact

I think based on my time in that it's easy to see at night, and tracer even in the day make it evey easier, but general overall conditons that determine if you can see the flash are

Terrian
Weather
Concelment
Weapon being used

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Just to add to what the other guys have mentioned...

Another factor is Tactics, as in the tactics being used by the shooter (e.g. do they stay in one spot and repeatedly fire, do they fire single rounds or bursts, do they move locations between shots, is there more than one shooter taking alternate shots, did they wet down the ground in front of them to reduce dust, are they firing from a position where the sun is in your eyes and so on).

Not every semi-auto/single shot generates a noticeable muzzle flash either. Sometimes it's literally a "blink and you miss it" event because many modern powders are designed to reduce the amount of muzzle flash that's produced (along with the various flash suppressors/muzzle breaks on military smallarms). You may just get the after image in your eye because the flash has occurred faster than you can recognize it for what it is.

[dragoon500ly]

don't forget that flash suppressors/muzzle brakes on military weapons are designed to protect the shooter. A side effect is that from the muzzle end, the flash is not as noticeable. During daylight, you have to be looking at the right spot at the right moment in order to spot a shooter.

Another good indicator is the firing of supporting weapons. The squad automatic is easier to spot, and allows you to "guesstimate" the positions of the rest of the squad. At the very least, it will nail down the position of 2-3 members of the enemy.