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Know your target’s size but not the distance? Measure the target through your reticle in MIL or MOA, enter both values below, and this tool returns the range instantly in yards and meters. A core skill when you don’t have a laser rangefinder or need to confirm one.

Ranging Calculator

Find target distance from its known size and reticle reading.

Common targets: IPSC/USPSA full ~30 in tall • IPSC C-zone ~18 in• Man torso ~20 in

Distance 274yds
± — yds based on ±0.1 mil reading precision
Distance (meters) 250m
MIL: Distance(yd) = (size_in × 27.78) ÷ mils  |  MOA: Distance(yd) = (size_in × 95.5) ÷ MOA longrangescience.com

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Pick up to 5 target sizes — steel, big game, predator, or your own — and generate a personalized MIL/MOA lookup card you can save to your phone.

Steel / Target
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How to Use the Ranging Calculator

Enter the known size of your target (a steel plate's height, an IPSC silhouette, a fence post, or anything whose real dimension you know) and choose its unit. Then measure how large that same dimension appears in your reticle in MIL or MOA and enter that. The calculator returns the distance to the target.

The Math Behind It

Ranging works because angular size shrinks with distance in a fixed, predictable way. For MIL, one milliradian is exactly 1/1000th of the distance. So a target's size divided by its mil-reading (then converted to yards) gives range: Distance (yds) = Target Size (in) × 27.78 ÷ mils. For MOA, since 1 MOA = 1.047 inches per 100 yards: Distance (yds) = Target Size (in) × 95.5 ÷ MOA.

The accuracy of your range estimate depends entirely on the accuracy of your reticle measurement. A small error in the mil reading produces a proportionally larger error in distance. This is why a precise reticle hold and a known target size matter. New to these units? See our MOA vs MIL article.

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MOA ↔ MIL Converter

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