Chris,
Let me take a stab at this if I may. Over the years I’ve had many a student have problems understanding the relationship between MOA and inches. If you try and constantly go back and forth between them at first, it will make you crazy. MOA is an angular unit of measurement that travels in a 360 deg. circle. There are 21,600 MOA in a 360 deg. circle. I tell you this because we are dealing with small portions of that circle when we make vertical or horizontal adjustments.
Now, here where a lot of people get confused. On your scope, you have already said that each click is = to ¼ inch. That dimension is established at 100 yards. Therefore 4 clicks should move the bullet impact 1” at 100 yards. When dealing with MOA everything stays dimensionally relative to the distance. So, at 200 yards, since the distance is now doubled, so is the amount that the “click” moved the bullet impact. To build on the previous post by Lynn and in answer to your question, the number “4” is the number of clicks that equal 1 MOA. A hopefully ease example will follow:
4 - ¼ moa clicks at 100 yards moves the bullet 1 inch
4 - ¼ moa clicks at 200 yards moves the bullet 2 inches
4 - ¼ moa clicks at 300 yards moves the bullet 3 inches
Are you starting to see a pattern here? Now, how does all this apply to our game?
On the targets that we shoot on in HP or LR they are dimensionally consistent to the distance that we shoot at them. So instead of trying to determine how many inches I need to move the bullet, (since they frown upon me walking to the target to measure it during a match), It’s easier to work in MOA. I know distance to the target, and I know that the target used for 600 yd. shooting is dimensionally the same as the target used for 1,000 yard shooting, (they look the same at their respective distances) Therefore amount of clicks that I need to use to center the next shot is the same regardless of distance and in the absence of wind.
Here is a scenario for you:
Regardless of the distance, (assuming you know it, and you do) you fire your 1st sighter shot and it hits the very edge of the 10 ring at 6 O’clock. You already know that the 10 ring is 2 MOA across, (unless you are shooting F class, then they are ½ that size). You know that you had a good hold and trigger squeeze and the shot should have been a center “X”. There is no wind to account for, so the question is; How many clicks, and in what direction do you more your scope to shoot a center “X” on your next shot, all things remaining equal between shots?
If you want to PM me with your answer, or have additional questions feel free to contact me. I hope this helps,
Lloyd