I must respectfully disagree with some of you on one point, and that is that .25" sd is too much allowable error. My argument is in purely practical terms. Let's consider this. If the wind is not blowing or blowing consistently, you have a great rifle and load, and you are a top level shooter, that .25" sd costs you nothing in terms of score. You will be in the middle of the target. So, it's a moot point. If there is a 10mph crosswind with pickups and letoffs at 1k yds and you have 5-6 moa of wind on your sights (for a F Open or Any Rifle), it could potentially turn a 10 into a 9, BUT that .25" sd represents much less than 1 click of wind on your sights. Is there someone on this planet that can call wind within 1 click or 1/4 minute? That 1/4 minute is 2.5" at 1k. The points I am trying to make are:
1. that the people winning most of the matches will still be winning most of the matches because they consistently make better wind calls and/or have a better strategy.
2. If you are within the sd range out wide in the 10 ring, you made a bad wind call anyway and not by just 1 click.
3. There is a little luck involved in this sport already. I would say a lot more already than this issue represents. In your next match, count the number of times you get caught unaware on a wind change. Who here has never broken a shot dead center, felt good about it, and then watched the target come up as a 8 or 9 and wondered "where in the hell did that come from?" Did that .25" sd really hurt you?