Field slang for taking a quick instrument reading. Density techs shoot the mat with a nuclear gauge after roller passes, and inspectors shoot truck beds and the mat with an infrared thermometer. Shoot it again after a low reading usually means moving the gauge a few inches and taking another count.
Shoot it after the third pass and again after the fifth, I want to know where it quits gaining.
The same verb covers the distributor: crews shoot tack, so context tells you whether somebody means a gauge or a spray bar.
Also heard as
- shooting
- shoot density
Related terms
Nuclear gauge
A portable instrument with a radioactive source that estimates asphalt density in about a minute without cutting a core.
Density
How tightly a compacted asphalt layer is packed, reported as a percentage of its maximum theoretical density.
Control strip
A short test section paved at the start of a job to set the rolling pattern and density target.