I shot a local match this past weekend with odd results. Well, I had odd results on one stage.
The stage was set up shooting a target rack at 500 yards, and a circle target at 400 yards. The shooting prop for the stage was the hood of a car. The hood has a depression in the center that makes the whole surface more of a shallow bowl than a flat or domed surface. The black car had been baking in the central Texas sun all day and was scorching hot. Our squad threw down a light weight shooting mat over the hood to prevent the worst of the contact blisters.
Ok, that's the general stage setup. Now the odd results. My dope says 4mil of elevation to hit a 500 yard target. No problem, dial the elevation and let her fly. But, to get my 1 hit on this stage I was holding under almost 2 mil. And, it was not just me. I was spotting for the rest of the group and everyone was high. Moreover, I cleaned the PRS barricade stage which was also at 500, using the same dope- so I don't think it was a zero issue (which I also confirmed before the match- but t not after).
Now the question. What in that setup would allow a lack of execution of the fundamentals create a repeatable shift of almost 2 mils? How do I know it was repeatable? I watched my trace and splash, and corrected until I connected. Of course, I was holding off in the "negative space" of the reticle which made fine adjustment more difficult.
Oh well, if this game were easy it wouldn't be fun.
The stage was set up shooting a target rack at 500 yards, and a circle target at 400 yards. The shooting prop for the stage was the hood of a car. The hood has a depression in the center that makes the whole surface more of a shallow bowl than a flat or domed surface. The black car had been baking in the central Texas sun all day and was scorching hot. Our squad threw down a light weight shooting mat over the hood to prevent the worst of the contact blisters.
Ok, that's the general stage setup. Now the odd results. My dope says 4mil of elevation to hit a 500 yard target. No problem, dial the elevation and let her fly. But, to get my 1 hit on this stage I was holding under almost 2 mil. And, it was not just me. I was spotting for the rest of the group and everyone was high. Moreover, I cleaned the PRS barricade stage which was also at 500, using the same dope- so I don't think it was a zero issue (which I also confirmed before the match- but t not after).
Now the question. What in that setup would allow a lack of execution of the fundamentals create a repeatable shift of almost 2 mils? How do I know it was repeatable? I watched my trace and splash, and corrected until I connected. Of course, I was holding off in the "negative space" of the reticle which made fine adjustment more difficult.
Oh well, if this game were easy it wouldn't be fun.
