11-15-2011, 04:33 AM
In my gun with a 20 inch barrel I've seen an increase of less than 10 fps with new brass compared to fired brass, so it shouldn't be much of a factor. The calculator says going from 2600 to 2610, it will shoot less than an inch high and drift only about 0.1 inch less at 600 yards in a 10mph wind.
Shooting in those kinds of wind conditions is going to be a challenge for just about any caliber.
Usually the guys you see winning are the guys that have been doing it the longest. They just build up the experience base to shoot under all kinds of conditions.
Do you keep a log book when shooting? It really helps if you can flip back through your book and find when you last shot under similar wind, range, temperature, humidity, altitude conditions etc, etc.
You can see what dope worked before, even if it was just practice. Get a good load and stick with it so you can get the feel of what the bullet is going to do under all circumstances.
LR's comments about having a strategy is a good one.
If you can't see where your hits are going, one technique is to sacrifice a shot and aim very low so that you know you are going to impact the ground in front of the target. Your chances of spotting the splash are much greater then, and at least you'll have a data point.
You might think that will make you look really bad but don't worry about what the other guys are doing. If you learn something and get a data point under those conditions, that's something you can take home. Write it down in your book.
I think most of us let fear of what other shooters think of us get in the way of learning sometimes. On a day like that, they are going to be a lot more concerned about where they are hitting, than where you are.
If the rules let you use a compensator that will help you self spot. Otherwise, zooming the scope out to give you a wider field of view may let you observe the splash better.
You'll have to accept that there is going to be a learning curve for that type of shooting and you won't be competitive for awhile.
What's more important is that you learn from each match or practice session, and get better with each. That way, your skill level will eventually move you up into the competitive level if you stick with it.
In bad conditions that you've never shot in before you might be better off to shoot to educate yourself rather than to win. Otherwise you end up losing anyway and don't learn anything that will help the next time.
Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know.
I bet you'll do better next time. Good luck.
RR
Shooting in those kinds of wind conditions is going to be a challenge for just about any caliber.
Usually the guys you see winning are the guys that have been doing it the longest. They just build up the experience base to shoot under all kinds of conditions.
Do you keep a log book when shooting? It really helps if you can flip back through your book and find when you last shot under similar wind, range, temperature, humidity, altitude conditions etc, etc.
You can see what dope worked before, even if it was just practice. Get a good load and stick with it so you can get the feel of what the bullet is going to do under all circumstances.
LR's comments about having a strategy is a good one.
If you can't see where your hits are going, one technique is to sacrifice a shot and aim very low so that you know you are going to impact the ground in front of the target. Your chances of spotting the splash are much greater then, and at least you'll have a data point.
You might think that will make you look really bad but don't worry about what the other guys are doing. If you learn something and get a data point under those conditions, that's something you can take home. Write it down in your book.
I think most of us let fear of what other shooters think of us get in the way of learning sometimes. On a day like that, they are going to be a lot more concerned about where they are hitting, than where you are.
If the rules let you use a compensator that will help you self spot. Otherwise, zooming the scope out to give you a wider field of view may let you observe the splash better.
You'll have to accept that there is going to be a learning curve for that type of shooting and you won't be competitive for awhile.
What's more important is that you learn from each match or practice session, and get better with each. That way, your skill level will eventually move you up into the competitive level if you stick with it.
In bad conditions that you've never shot in before you might be better off to shoot to educate yourself rather than to win. Otherwise you end up losing anyway and don't learn anything that will help the next time.
Sorry if I'm telling you stuff you already know.
I bet you'll do better next time. Good luck.
RR