Turbulent Turtle
F-TR competitor
I’m usually a hold-off kind of guy, but at this past weekend’s TSRA LR Championship, I did something different.
During the first match, I elected to hold off as I usually (always) do and found myself holding between the edge of the black and the edge of the target for all the shots. I had some elevation issues some, of which I attribute to not holding the rifle perfectly level across the target. I collected a few 9s just below the 10-ring. I also had a difficult time gauging the exact aiming point on the target because the area between black and target edge is mainly featureless. I dropped eight shots in the 9-ring for a 192.
At the next string, I elected to send my first sighter aiming right at the X in the X-ring. The result was a 6 at 9 o’clock, perfect waterline. The impact was just outside the black and that signaled to me that the conditions had not changed even 2 hours later. In fact, I gauged the conditions to be the same throughout the day, with build-ups and let-offs but always from the same direction.
So, at that point I hesitated for several seconds and decided I did not want to hold at the long end of a reticle, aiming into the featureless area between black and edge. So, I dialed in 2 full minutes right and show a second sighter. I got a 10, I shot another one and then a third one and decided I needed to pay attention to one specific flag and aimed my spotting scope at that flag. My preferred condition was the flag straight out, aiming between 2 lines or 3 lines right. If the flag drooped a little, I would hold 1 or 2 lines. If the flag went up, I would hold because I could not gauge the amount needed when the flag goes up.
My first shot for record was an 8 at 2 o’clock. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot were words that danced in my head. I could see no reason for that shot. So, I took aim at the exact same spot and shot again. An X came back up. I dropped 3 more points for the rest of the string and ended with a 195-6X. The three 9s were all due to wind and all very close to the 10-ring. No more elevation issues after that starting 8.
The third string was more of the same as the others and by this time I was a believer in the 2MOA dialed in and just played between 1-3 lines right. I didn’t do quite as well as the second string and got a 193-something, but again, no elevation issues due to trying to hold the waterline 2 feet from the X-ring. It’s very doable but your rifle must be perfectly level.
At this point, I am a believer in actually dialing in a correction for a string, but as I said, it was critical to me that the conditions held steady at least with rspect to the direction of the wind.
During the first match, I elected to hold off as I usually (always) do and found myself holding between the edge of the black and the edge of the target for all the shots. I had some elevation issues some, of which I attribute to not holding the rifle perfectly level across the target. I collected a few 9s just below the 10-ring. I also had a difficult time gauging the exact aiming point on the target because the area between black and target edge is mainly featureless. I dropped eight shots in the 9-ring for a 192.
At the next string, I elected to send my first sighter aiming right at the X in the X-ring. The result was a 6 at 9 o’clock, perfect waterline. The impact was just outside the black and that signaled to me that the conditions had not changed even 2 hours later. In fact, I gauged the conditions to be the same throughout the day, with build-ups and let-offs but always from the same direction.
So, at that point I hesitated for several seconds and decided I did not want to hold at the long end of a reticle, aiming into the featureless area between black and edge. So, I dialed in 2 full minutes right and show a second sighter. I got a 10, I shot another one and then a third one and decided I needed to pay attention to one specific flag and aimed my spotting scope at that flag. My preferred condition was the flag straight out, aiming between 2 lines or 3 lines right. If the flag drooped a little, I would hold 1 or 2 lines. If the flag went up, I would hold because I could not gauge the amount needed when the flag goes up.
My first shot for record was an 8 at 2 o’clock. To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot were words that danced in my head. I could see no reason for that shot. So, I took aim at the exact same spot and shot again. An X came back up. I dropped 3 more points for the rest of the string and ended with a 195-6X. The three 9s were all due to wind and all very close to the 10-ring. No more elevation issues after that starting 8.
The third string was more of the same as the others and by this time I was a believer in the 2MOA dialed in and just played between 1-3 lines right. I didn’t do quite as well as the second string and got a 193-something, but again, no elevation issues due to trying to hold the waterline 2 feet from the X-ring. It’s very doable but your rifle must be perfectly level.
At this point, I am a believer in actually dialing in a correction for a string, but as I said, it was critical to me that the conditions held steady at least with rspect to the direction of the wind.
Second, on some of the fancier 'hash' reticles I've heard (and done it myself) of folks miscounting which hash mark they're using when getting back on target. Various commentary followed... 
