Any shooting tips for a beginner?

[Pausedmenu]

So, I've been playing career mode on a pretty easy difficulty, and my shot is absolutely abysmal. I use up my entire ammo reserves on trying to down one plane.

Are there any tips can help me to help improve my aim?

[supercharge71]

Hey Pausedmenu! Welcome to IL2 glad to see you around. A major tip that I can give that I always try to do is imagine where the plane is going and take into account for how much of a bank turn or dive/climb the enemy is in and burst fire just a 1-2 second burst to see a couple of tracer rounds. Once you see a few you can "walk" your aim until you score a couple of hits on either the canopy or the engine/engines of the plane you're engaged with. Once you practice with leading targets it almost becomes second nature to how much you should lead. I recommend doing some quick missions versus ai at a low skill rating to get the hang of things then slowly up the skill as you get kills. Eventually you'll get it!

[Clyde]

Check out some of the video tutorials on youtube too, there's some great ones!!! Many are very good! Take a look at The Air Combat Tutorial Library there are many, try deflection shooting for starters. The ACTL has quite a few on deflection shooting, based on different aircraft and their gunsights, you could start here then look through them to find the plane and gunsight type you're using most. Here is a link for starters but there are many other great videos by others as well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZpS0SLZJVU&list=PLnyigzFtHeNpq6ozRQaIfU_fgOs9mBKH4

[Disarray]

I have found the best thing to do, at first, is to shoot. A lot. Get used to the way the guns handle. The why the bullets arch out from the guns, the speed of the bullets as they are fired. Get the feel for how a .50 MG differs from a 20 mm cannon and how that differs from a 30 mm cannon and so on; and also learn how the high velocity guns differ from their similar sized but lower velocity counterparts. Once you get the hang of how the guns handle learning how to lead a plane will be that much easier as you know how long it will take X bullet to cross Y distance. Also keep in mind that where the gun is located on your plane will affect the point of aim, even if you are using the same gun.

Using the lead marker in game can work for this as well but I have found that people tend to pay more attention to the lead indicator rather than the plane they are shooting at. This prevents you from seeing how you need to adjust your aim. The thing to look for is the tracers: If you see the tracer cross in front of your target you need more lead. If the tracers are hidden behind your target you are leading too much.

Once you get comfy with the guns learning how the gun sights are set up and what kind of information you can glean from them can be useful. But I'd say that is solidly in step two territory.

[cleopa9]

Deflection shot ... Just like Beurling did during the Battle of Malta... And like Hartmann, shoot from very close (under 200m, although 300-350m is fine in the game on easy settings) and never follow a prey endlessly; if you miss, don't get in a circle chase, look for the next target in sight. Fire all your weapons at the same time, cannon, mg, etc. just like Pokryshkin did (He had them all connected to the same button). It worked for them, should work for you !! it works for me, lol. I personally have my guns converging at 240m. when you have your target in sight, use short (3 sec max) bursts then adjust your positioning / angle of attack if you don't do any real damage. In theory, a short burst should be enough to shoot the enemy down or at least inflict significant damage.

[Otto]

I would not bother with the aim assist or unlimited ammo myself, as that makes you spray & pray in a rather trigger happy fashion.
Just fly many quick battles and as someone else said get in close 200m or less and learn to fire in front of the target if its turning (deflection), watch your tracers, and fire short bursts.
With practice you will know when to fire.
I find a straight and level target can be harder to hit than a turning one sometimes!
A thing I do is move the seat position as high as possible so the top of the reflex sight is gone.
I can then at least see the enemy when turning with it ,,and adjust my fire accordingly.
As I said, forget all the assists (cheats lol!) and practice....after all its just a virtual plane and pilot ..so crash as many times as it takes to hit the target...Good luck,we all had to learn once!

[Pausedmenu]

Thank you everyone! I am definitely going to save this thread for later. This is all really good advice.

Another question, my previous mission, I was intercepting bombers and I was tailing them and had a perfect shot lined up. I could only land 2 or 3 shots. The target was steady and basically a sitting duck. I should have had 3 or 4 kills that mission when I only got one. Why couldn't I land any shots?

(One of my wingmen did steal a kill from me, though which annoyed me lol )

[kalnaren]

Practise. Practise practise practise.

Remember, very SHORT bursts. Map your MG and your cannon to different buttons. Fire a real quick burst with the machine guns, and if the tracers hit home, open up with the cannon.

Like the other guy said, take a page from Hartmann's book and don't open fire until the plane fills your windscreen (or at least the gunsight!).

BE. PATIENT. You can be dogfighting with one plane for 10 minutes before you get into a good firing position.

Originally posted by Pausedmenu:

Another question, my previous mission, I was intercepting bombers and I was tailing them and had a perfect shot lined up. I could only land 2 or 3 shots. The target was steady and basically a sitting duck. I should have had 3 or 4 kills that mission when I only got one. Why couldn't I land any shots?

I'm guess you're jerking the stick when you pull the trigger, and/or you're not as stead on the target as you think you are. My money is on the former.

What kind of stick are you using?

[Otto]

Like I said ,I often find straight and level targets more difficult to hit than turning ones.
You have got a very small target to hit ,and you want to hit something vital,so it can be tricky.
I would practice more against fighters myself...that way once you start getting them often a bomber seems easier.
I have in my early days used un-limited ammo (not the aim assist though) ,and whilst it seems fun at first,you just dont learn which shots counted and when to fire.....thats why its very important to fire short bursts and really watch what hits and what does not...... the assists I find make this learning curve worse ( opinions vary though!!).
Just dont get fed up with lack of kills,its all about getting the feel for it...which time will give you.
A luxury real wartime pilots sometimes never had....makes you appreciate the bravery of those pilots....you will master it no doubt!

[Disarray]

Another explanation for the missed shots could be that you didn't miss. Unless you are shooting with .50 or larger rounds you don't get big, obvious, signs of a hit. Standard .30 round have no high-ex filler and thus don't pop on the target. So if you didn't hit something that will show damage, say a fuel tank or a radiator it can be hard to tell you hit them some times. It can even be hard to tell you landed shots with .50 rounds some times. I've shot planes down plenty of times that I wasn't sure I'd actually hit.

The thing to keep in mind when shooting at planes is there is a sizable amount of internal volume that is filled with nothing of particular importance. This goes double for bombers. So you should aim for important stuff. My target list is as follows: 1. Pilot/engine. The target won't work without either of them. In the case of fighters both are real close to one another so you might hit one or the other with the same point of aim. In the case of bombers I prefer to shoot the engines as they are easier to get to from most angles. 2. Fuel tanks. They are big and easy to set on fire. Once you spark up a fuel tank it is game over for the other guy. Most times they'll bail, other times the plane will explode. Either is good. 3. Radiators. Harder to hit due to size in most cases but will kill a plane just as dead given enough time. 4. Control surfaces and ammo magazines. In the case of the former it can make your target easier to fight as they lose control. In the case of the latter if you hit home and get lucky the plane will explode. They are both low on the list because control surfaces are mostly in places that if you miss the shot you won't hit anything else and magazines are small and thus hard to hit.

It might seem like a big ask to pick out a specific part of a plane to hit at first but the more you try the more you will find it is just a littler harder than hitting the plane in the first place. It is a simple matter of adjusting your point of aim just a small amount forward or back or left or right from center mass to hit the pilot. Start with big areas and work your way down to specific targets if that is what it takes. Say to your self, "I'm going to shoot the left wing on that guy" and take aim. Then go from left wing to left engine or left hand radiator or whatever you fancy shooting off him, and you'll get there in time. Quick mission with inf. ammo is good for this kind of training.

[Pausedmenu]

Originally posted by kalnaren:

Practise. Practise practise practise.

Remember, very SHORT bursts. Map your MG and your cannon to different buttons. Fire a real quick burst with the machine guns, and if the tracers hit home, open up with the cannon.

Like the other guy said, take a page from Hartmann's book and don't open fire until the plane fills your windscreen (or at least the gunsight!).

BE. PATIENT. You can be dogfighting with one plane for 10 minutes before you get into a good firing position.

Originally posted by Pausedmenu:

Another question, my previous mission, I was intercepting bombers and I was tailing them and had a perfect shot lined up. I could only land 2 or 3 shots. The target was steady and basically a sitting duck. I should have had 3 or 4 kills that mission when I only got one. Why couldn't I land any shots?

I'm guess you're jerking the stick when you pull the trigger, and/or you're not as stead on the target as you think you are. My money is on the former.

What kind of stick are you using?

I'm actually using a mouse. I'm in the process of moving and kinda at an awkward position right now so I can't get a stick.

[Pausedmenu]

I am starting to shoot a bit better, thanks to y'alls tips. I already downed two planes in quick mission mode. I think I was being a bit impatient which was part of the problem.

I've been waiting to get closer to the enemy (probably roughly 400 meters) and shooting in 2 second bursts.

Also, I've been disengaging from the turning battles, and trying to bait them into a bad spot.

[Pausedmenu]

Originally posted by Disarray:

Another explanation for the missed shots could be that you didn't miss. Unless you are shooting with .50 or larger rounds you don't get big, obvious, signs of a hit. Standard .30 round have no high-ex filler and thus don't pop on the target. So if you didn't hit something that will show damage, say a fuel tank or a radiator it can be hard to tell you hit them some times. It can even be hard to tell you landed shots with .50 rounds some times. I've shot planes down plenty of times that I wasn't sure I'd actually hit.

I think you're partially right too. I was on a guy's tail and I hit him several times and couldn't see. About a minute later, I got a notification that he went down. I didn't think that I actually did hit him.

[longcheck]

Good suggestions guys! But remember that Hartmann's first (IIRC) kill was an IL-2 that blew apart only a few yards in front of him, damaging his own plane and forcing him down behind enemy lines. Maintain a safe distance and move quickly. Erich escaped but you will be captured and, if the Soviets don't execute you on the spot, sent away and never heard from again.

[kalnaren]

Originally posted by longcheck:

Good suggestions guys! But remember that Hartmann's first (IIRC) kill was an IL-2 that blew apart only a few yards in front of him, damaging his own plane and forcing him down behind enemy lines. Maintain a safe distance and move quickly. Erich escaped but you will be captured and, if the Soviets don't execute you on the spot, sent away and never heard from again.

IIRC this happened to Hartmann multiple times.

[Clyde]

Getting damaged by pieces of enemy aircraft I'm shooting has happened to me numerous times as well, getting to close isnt always a good thing but it is always exciting!
Back in the old days when the game 1st came out I would get alot of pilot kills or "PK's" and during a competition was even accused of cheating, when at the time I was in my late 30s flying against much younger people often.
But I would get in close, and I often used the zoom key when shooting to better see where my hits landed. I would get slightly behind off to the left or right, left always seemed to be more natural to me for some reason, but then I would aim where the wing meets the plane, right below the canopy, and fire, while slightly pulling back on my joystick so the rounds would take up from the wing root through the canopy.
Worked like magic then.
Since I had quit flying for so long then starting again once I got into the VR scene, it has been easier said than done for me now as it's like starting all over again. But the more I fly the better my aim gets.
If I'm lined up directly behind a fighter or bomber, I usually try to either drop below it and aim up into the underside or I get off to a side, I'm usually very close when that happens. I have to be very careful not to over shoot my target! I got very lucky yesterday when a P39 caught me unaware as I was about to attack a ground target in my 109, he hit me so hard with those big cannons I thought I was dead! But he over shot me and I managed to get lucky in that I had enough power and control left to put him down.
Had he simply flown away to the side I probably never would of been able to do that. I managed to land it but my plane was wasted! Pure luck on my part and bad decision on where to go when over running an enemy fighter.