While all of what you say is true regarding wind, none of what you said negates that the difference in drift between normal 30 and 26 caliber cartridges is actually pretty damned small at distances where 95% of the shooting occurs. That cannot be argued. The ballistics don't lie.
Recoil, yes, less is always better so long as your bullet has enough energy to register a hit on steel.
There isn't a huge difference up closer but there is a difference. That might matter or it might not matter, it depends doesn't it.
None??? It's still percentages, they are just smaller percentages. Or more X's instead of 10's, or more hits on smaller steel. The percentages go more in favor of the cartridge with the least wind drift the farther the bullet gets away from the barrel.
95% of where the shooting occurs, that would be totally dependent on what the COF's are and how far out the distances are. The match I described earlier in this thread had a 300Y 4" wide popper as it's closest target, it was missed plenty on windy days, 1.08" per click at that distance, just two clicks worth misread in wind and your off the edge. In a 10mph wind my 6 load requires .3 mil correction, my friends 308 requires .5 mils wind. In this match some 4-500 steels were involved but most of the rest from 600Y to 900Y, a 1080Y, and one at 1450Y. Some steel was very small, some medium sized, some large. It was the fact that we were shooting off the edge of a steep rise and that we hardly ever had low winds. Also we had a 140 degree zone to work in, a steel could be way left and way right on the same stage. So in this case most of the targets/95%??? were more distant than some would expect but it was normal to us.
One day I watched that instructor that won the recent specialized match debate whether he should dial from 5-6 mils of wind, he then missed, the other 308 shooters missed, while I held off 1.8 mil and hit both shots, it was windier when he shot but his best guess was way harder than mine, the 308 dance occurred, aim right, miss left, compensate, then hit right, because a tiny bit of change of speed in wind can net a large difference in wind hold. That was on the 1080Y steel.
When I was at a F-class match and manning the pit I happened to be next to Lester B. He had just set a record (local only??? I'm unsure) with his 6mmPPC at a 300Y F-class match using his 100Y winning BR load with 68gr bullets. So yes, in this case, a national BR champion, good wind reading skills, and a rifle that shot in the .1's, did the deed for the day. Could he have set a record at 400Y, how about 500Y, with that same rifle and ammo, sure if it was perfectly calm out, doubtful otherwise.
Me, I need all the help I can get, I don't want anymore challenge than is already present shooting a 6mm, even closer in.
