Prone shot miss because of the ground?! has this happened to you?

[Ho Lee Schitt]

I had a level 4 bull elk in my sights at like 125 yards. Broadsided. Literally no way to miss because he was at a need zone. I was prone on a rock formation. Squeezed a round off and the game registered a no hit.
Seriously? I had the bull elk in full view. He wasn't behind anything, or near anything other than other elk.

[Andi]

Well yeah... Happens not only while prone. Sometimes the game just decides to put some blanks in the mix so a clear hit won't be registered.
Specially frustrating if it happens on a max weight you put so much effort on to get a 100% save shot. :/

[VictoriaHuntress]

yes. It can happen with the crossbow as well.

I (and others) have seen this happen in the following circumstances
- prone on a boulder, fallen logs, or other flat surfaces ( like a roof), if you are too far back from the edge: fix - move forward so you are well clear of the edge.
- prone on the ground, when there are rocks or other hard objects close to the projected trajectory of the bullet: fix - crouch, or find a better spot free of obstructions.
- from inside a permanent hunting stand, when you are trying to shoot something that is so close to the tower that you have to aim at a very steep down-angle; in this case the bullet or bolt can hit the wood below the window. fix - get as close to the window as you can, or just pass on those steep down angle shots.
The reason that these can happen with a scoped firearm is that the line of sight through the scope is *above* the barrel's longitudinal axis, so the barrel may be pointing at an obstacle that is below the FOV of the scope, and you won't see it in your sight picture. This is just basic shooting with a scope 101. Presumably this is deliberately designed into the aiming software - whether by design or error, it happens and you need to be aware of it.

The game also introduces a bit of random error in the trajectory (presumably correlated with the accuracy parameter of the weapon?), so sometimes, especially at very long ranges, the shot just misses by bad luck.

I've also seen cases where, because of rendering delays and just bad luck in the timing of your shot, where you miss because the animal is in the process of moving, but appears to instantly 'jump' away from your intended trajectory, rather than the usual smooth motion. It doesn't happen too often (but is possible in multithreaded programming, or if you happen to have other software running that is competing for CPU or GPU resources).

And,, as Andi said (although I can't confirm this myself), sometimes a blank round might be fired.

You can probably avoid 90% of these unfortunate missed shots simply by remembering that the barrel ( or crossbow bolt channel) is below the scope's line of sight.

[Findus]

It happens when being too close to something at either side, too, some say more to the right. It might be as simple as collision meshes being slightly bigger than what we see on screen. In many games, shots originate from the middle of the screen, i.e. from between the eyes of the player. Could maybe be checked in multiplayer by standing in front of a wall and both the shooter and a friend check where the gun is aimed at and where the shot lands on the wall from their respective perpective.
And if it's true that shots are blocked more to the right, then that would indicate that we aim from between the eyes, but do shoot from the gun, with the consequences outlined above by Victoria.

[dbond1]

Yeah, it's as if going prone lays the rifle on the ground, instead of supported a few inches above it. Early on I was hunting the lake in the southwest corner of Layton Lakes. Is it Roonachie, or however it is spelled. I went prone on one shore, to shoot a moose on the opposite shore. No obvious obstructions, flat, featureless shoreline. Dead center chest shot at maybe 200 yards. No result, shot missed.

Tried the same thing later and same result. Since then I don't shoot prone. But if you do, make sure there's a drop-off under your barrel, like from atop a boulder. Prone doesn't seem to affect the ridiculous weapon sway, so I don't miss it.

[Woodyplank]

It's an invisible barrier due to a graphics thing. This barrier can extend approx 6" or more above or around a tree trunk or limb, a boulder, the ground, roadway, trail, even the planks on a wooden walkway. It doesn't take long in this game to discover that you can walk or crawl through some logs, bushes/shrubs/limbs etc... and some you are forced to detour around. That's the invisible barrier at work and it's a sure fire bullet stopper, If you cannot walk through it don't try to shoot through it.

On boulders/stone it's best to either stand/raise up before you shoot or (if prone) move forward until you are about to fall off the surface/boulder or move to a place where the ground slopes downward from you before you shoot.

With trees and man made structures be wary of what is to your right. That tree trunk or window edge can have that graphical limitation barrier and block your shot. Best to step over to your left a pace or two if things are to your immediate right.

Do not stand in the middle and try to shoot out a window or doorway. Get right up against the window sill/doorway before you shoot. If you do don't get right up against it you are setting yourself up to have your shot blocked. Don't even think about trying to shoot out the back window of a tent or blind.

Practice these maneuvers and in time you'll find yourself adapting to this barrier without even thinking about it. Oh, almost forgot...the barrier can stop your bullet if it's anywhere between yourself and the target so those Y shaped openings between tree branches or boulder/tree trunk between you and the target or next to the target can stop your bullet as well.

I've never had an object stop my bullet when it is to my immediate left. I auto move to the right side of them as I approach my shooting or observation point. So should you.

[DopaTrain]

It's called muzzle clearance. Remember your sight is above your barrel. Just because there's nothing in front of your sight doesn't mean there's nothing In front of your Barrel.

[Findus]

So I did a quick test in single player. Walked right up to the weapon locker and fired at it with and without scope. Looked down to check my position and the gun would have to stick into the locker at this distance, so I assume it's drawn in a separate pass or layer. The impact was right where I aimed, so going by that, I'd say the shot is fired from the middle of the camera, practically out of the scope.

Tried to test left vs. right and it was mostly inconclusive, perhaps with a slight bias like Woody described. In hindsight, I should have tried more irregular forms, though, as I shot at stuff like the flag pole or outpost parts and a few pretty straight trees that probably have relatively tight collision meshes. Here, the overlap was minimal, at least when using the iron sights. With the scope, it's easy to overestimate how close you are to the object. the margins were so tight that they maybe even could be explained with the diameter of the bullet, although that's probably not what happens. And I'm pretty sure I've had shots blocked at a far greater distance from the visible meshes before, too.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Findus:

So I did a quick test in single player. Walked right up to the weapon locker and fired at it with and without scope. Looked down to check my position and the gun would have to stick into the locker at this distance, so I assume it's drawn in a separate pass or layer. The impact was right where I aimed, so going by that, I'd say the shot is fired from the middle of the camera, practically out of the scope.

Tried to test left vs. right and it was mostly inconclusive, perhaps with a slight bias like Woody described. In hindsight, I should have tried more irregular forms, though, as I shot at stuff like the flag pole or outpost parts and a few pretty straight trees that probably have relatively tight collision meshes. Here, the overlap was minimal, at least when using the iron sights. With the scope, it's easy to overestimate how close you are to the object. the margins were so tight that they maybe even could be explained with the diameter of the bullet, although that's probably not what happens. And I'm pretty sure I've had shots blocked at a far greater distance from the visible meshes before, too.

Good question regarding the shapes of items Findus.

One suggestion was to make sure you get your gun barrel right over the edge, but not all hitboxes will be square enough to be able to guarantee avoidance. In many cases those hitboxes could extend beyond a rock's edge by a triangular point, which means reaching out further than the rest of the hitbox's perimeter around the rock.

A couple of years ago the Devs experimented with hitbox parameters, and they aren't as much of a problem as they used to be, but that effort was involving animals' collisions with ground elements and glitching on terrain. So I don't know if the Devs considered the trajectory collisions in that particular change.

At present I don't really notice alot of problems shooting between trees and around rocks because I just make sure it's part of the calculation of my aim. And I just don't shoot prone anymore period. I spend alot of time in prone position getting within range, or to concealment, but I always get up to take the shot. And it is true that does cause other nearby animals to spook harder than if I had not made myself visible.

[Ho Lee Schitt]

Originally posted by DopaTrain:

It's called muzzle clearance. Remember your sight is above your barrel. Just because there's nothing in front of your sight doesn't mean there's nothing In front of your Barrel.

I get muzzle clearance. The problem was i was on top of a rock pile. not behind one, or trying to crawl over one or a little below the top. I was literally on top of the whole pile.

[sneakybass]

I have had it happen with my bow while shooting among rocks a few times, closer inspection I realized It was my fault rocks in front of me were a little too high hitting the top edge of the rock...........IT does not happen to often dam near a non issue , I think i have clipped trees more often when trying to thread a arrow by a tree.BUT I have learned to not take those chances.

[yogisgoat]

This will happen if you're prone on a rock because of the over sized hit boxes in this game. To be sure of the shot you have to crawl forward until you are in danger of falling.

The hit boxes in this game have been wonky since the start.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1371873968

[sneakybass]

Originally posted by yogisgoat:

This will happen if you're prone on a rock because of the over sized hit boxes in this game. To be sure of the shot you have to crawl forward until you are in danger of falling.

The hit boxes in this game have been wonky since the start.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1371873968

Yep seen that a time or two Its just best till they clear the tree just a little bit more.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by sneakybass:

I have had it happen with my bow while shooting among rocks a few times, closer inspection I realized It was my fault rocks in front of me were a little too high hitting the top edge of the rock...........IT does not happen to often dam near a non issue , I think i have clipped trees more often when trying to thread a arrow by a tree.

Understand that what you visually see as a plane of rocks, is really more of a plane of many geometric shapes and sizes surrounding each and every set of rocks, with points and angles sticking out above/beyond what you perceive as it's portrayal.

What you're actually trying to shoot through/over is not just that rock as you see it, but rather the hitbox surrounding it which could have triangular points jutting out further than the rock itself. And in the case of a floor of rocks, or a flat rockscape, it would be hundreds of such points and extensions.

So you can understand how difficult it would be to make a shot that wouldn't be obstructed by such an obstacle course. In such circumstance, it's just not worth the risk. It's better to get upright to actually take the shot, and learn how to time it with the animals' approach, while not always having a good view to accomplish that timing.

[Humpenstilzchen]

Originally posted by DopaTrain:

It's called muzzle clearance. Remember your sight is above your barrel. Just because there's nothing in front of your sight doesn't mean there's nothing In front of your Barrel.

No this is not the issue. The issue is that the terrain mesh doesn´t always align with it´s colliders/hitboxes.

[Tigershark1968]

I just kneel or stand. I found so many missed shots in prone due to obstacles or the ground in front of me that I stopped it about a day into playing this game and have not looked back.