Posted: 4/26/2016 11:35:05 PM EDT
|
I need some help. I shot my first F/TR match about a month ago. This first match was drizzly but the wind was almost dead calm. My scores were 184, 187, and 190 with a few Xs each time. I was really pleased with those results. This weekend I shot 2 more matches: a 3x1000 and a Palma course (800, 900, 1000). This time I was not happy with the results at all. Both days the wind was pretty stiff. On Saturday it was all over, not a constant in either direction or speed. There was one relay where the flag at 700 or 800 was pointing right at me, 600 was straight out to the right, 300 was pointing almost directly at the target berm and the berm flags were pointing almost left. All of them straight out or slightly pointing up. Both days the wind was over 10mph and shifty a lot of the time, but no the whole time. I've got my elevation dope pretty well spot on. According to the ballistic programs out there, my full value wind age is 8.4 minutes at 1000, which puts me off the target frame. I screwed up badly both days, with scores in the mid hundreds and even a 97 on one relay. I got frustrated, bad. The guys I shot with (a super bunch) had given me some advice I tried to follow, which I think did eventually help. For those of you with some more experience, I've got a few more questions now that I've had some time to think about it. How do you keep track of your wind age zero on your scope? I've got a Nightforce NXS with a zero stop, so elevation is easy. Wind age not so much. I zeroed out the knob when I sighted it in, but I think when I started Sunday morning I cranked it back to where I thought was zero for my sighters and missed. While the wind was completely different from the day before I think I cranked it a revolution left from zero to start with. I eventually found the paper and once I got an X slighter I left it there and tried to hold off for wind changes. This was a failure. It sounds stupid, and maybe that's what I am, but how do you know where your windage zero is? I also suck at reading the wind. I'm not new to competition, but my previous experience is reduced course ATC, mostly at 200 and 300, so even a windy day didn't blow me off that far. I'm surprised at how light of a breeze it takes to move that little bullet. I need some help reading the wind, both flags and other signs. I also could use a little guidance on which flags are more "important" than others, and what else to look for. I know what I really need is more practice, and I'm working on that. I'm going to try to sign up for all of the MR and LR matches I can get to this year. I've also got a couple of 22 target rifles that I can shoot out to 125 yds in my back yard, any practice drills that you would like to share that might help? I thought I was on my way to having an initial classification of expert, but I blew the shit out of that chance. I'd like to redeem myself a bit, and would appreciate any guidance you can offer that'll help me do that. |