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What’s an example of a “crucial detail” from your line of work that outsiders might notice but wouldn’t consider significant unless an insider pointed out how/why it was crucial?
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Not my "line of work," but I've been trained. When bullets strike a smooth, hard surface, they don't "reflect" the way you learn in high school physics. They tend to skip like a stone on the surface of a lake. This has 2 vital consequences. /1
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Clarification: this applies to bullets that strike the surface at a shallow angle. First, avoid positioning yourself within 2 feet of a wall. Second, it can be feasible, esp. with practice, to hit targets not in your line of sight by skipping bullets off an adjacent surface. /2
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Another surprising detail from the gun world is a discovery that goes back to the 1500s and can be confirmed with simple geometry. When you fire at a target uphill *or* downhill from you, you aim low, that is, you aim below the target. /5
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