Mirage shields are useful for all shooters, not just hard-core competitors. A mirage shield helps you see your target better, without distortion caused by heat waves coming off your barrel. This isn’t rocket science — it’s a simple, inexpensive way to see better and shoot more accurately. We’ve advocated that varmint shooters give mirage bands a try on those hot summer groundhog and prairie dog expeditions. And we observed that practically every F-Class shooter at the recent Berger SW Nationals was using a mirage shield of some kind.

Make Your Own Mirage Shiels from Venetian Blind

Criterion Barrels shows how you can make your own mirage shield from an ordinary Venetion blind.

Make Your Own Mirage Shield from X-Ray Film

Forum member Fabian from Germany, whose Sako 6BR rifle was featured as a Gun of the Week, has devised a clever and inexpensive mirage band option. Fabian is a radiologist by trade. He notes that many X-ray machines require a daily test film for calibration. These are normally just discarded in the trash, so you can get them for free.

Fabian explains: “I’m a radiologist, so I handle medical x-ray films every day. Modern X-ray machines use laser-based printers and they need to print a test-film every day. One x-ray film is about 43×35 cm (16.9″ x 13.7″). Made from polyester, the films are very stable and only 0.007″ inches thick. They are light-weight, semi-transparent, and very stable. Using normal scissors, you can easily cut four mirage shields from a single sheet of film. Then glue on some velcro to attach to your barrel. Try it, you will not be disappointed.”

High-Tech Carbon Fiber Mirage Shield
If you’re not into making your own mirage shield, aka “mirage band” or “mirage shade”, you can also purchase a cool carbon fiber mirage shield from Accurateshooter Forum member Mark Nagel. These custom Carbon-Fiber Mirage Shields start at $20.00. GET More INFO HERE.

Carbon Fiber Mirage Shield

Make a Mirage Shield from Discarded X-Ray Film
Forum member Fabian from Germany, whose Sako 6BR was featured as a Gun of the Week, has devised a clever and inexpensive mirage band option. Fabian is a radiologist by trade. He notes that many X-ray machines require a daily test film for calibration. These are normally just discarded in the trash, so you can get them for free.

Fabian explains: “I’m a radiologist, so I handle medical x-ray films every day. Modern X-ray machines use laser-based printers and they need to print a test-film every day. One x-ray film is about 43×35 cm (16.9″ x 13.7″). Made from polyester, the films are very stable and only 0.007″ inches thick. They are light-weight, semi-transparent, and very stable. Using normal scissors, you can easily cut four mirage shields from a single sheet of film. Then glue on some velcro to attach to your barrel. Try it, you will not be disappointed.”

More Do-It-Yourself Ideas
Other forum members have made mirage shields out of common, inexpensive materials such as old venetian blinds, thin plastic edging strips, and even cardboard reinforced with strapping tape. There’s no “magic material”. However many shooters have found that wider shields (extending well past the barrel sides) work better than narrow shields, particularly in hot weather.

Mirage Shields with Printed Designs
If you prefer to purchase a mirage shield, Shotmaster 10X offers a wide variety of shields starting at just $5.00 for a plain white 18″ shield. Patterned shields (including camo designs) are priced by length: $8.50 (18″), $9.50 (20″), $11.00 (24″). All Shotmaster shields come with two (2) velcro patches with self-stick adhesive.