Have you heard of Simo Häyhä? I bet you have. This book, "The Hobbyist Sniper", is an introduction to sniping as a hobby. It is written in Finnish, so if you want to learn our secrets, learn the language first.

• Written by Juha Jormanainen
• Hardcover print, 215 Pages
• In Finnish
• Published by Metsäkustannus Oy
• ISBN 978-952-338-017-2

The Sniper's formula

While this book is unintelligible to you, here's a little treat: If you have a proper optic with a reticle with milliradian subtensions, and it is in the first focal plane (FFP), or in the second focal plane (SFP) with the correct magnification value, and you know the actual size of the viewed object, you can measure the object's distance with reasonable accuracy.

The formula goes: The actual size of the object in millimeters divided by the measured size of the object in milliradians equals the object's distance in meters.

Example: There is a target just below a traffic sign. You know this particular traffic sign is actually 640 millimeters in size. Your optic's reticle says the traffic sign is exactly 2.0 milliradians in size. Therefore: 640 / 2.0 = 320. The distance to the traffic sign – and the target – is 320 meters. If your information and measurements are correct, that is.