And yet, while MV helps with wind, generally folks that talk what I call mid range shots, are always worried about drop,
which can be covered, but never mention wind,
Just for the record. Personally it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
I have very L O N G deer seasons and have had for years.... so
I don't and don't have to hunt in hi wind, problem solved.
I rarely have had any shooting opportunities past 400 yds but 400 is a common ' opportunity'.
I'm prepared for those w/o turrets, knobs, or dots. I'm not knocking those, I just don't need them -- with velocity and flat trajectory.
Jerry
And that is pretty much my position as well. I have never had the luxery of hunting the number of days jwall speaks of. My hunting was always primarily to fill the freezer. We always shot the first legal game we encountered.
I also am one who has never hunted in appreciable wind. Over fifty years, if the weather was that bad, we just waited for a better day. And typically in this part of Idaho, there are very few days of crappy weather during our deer and elk seasons.
I carried an '06 loaded with 165 gr boat tails over 60 gr H4831 for over twenty years. When I got a chrony, I discovered the actual mv was 2620 fps.
The rifle was zeroed at an actual 300 yds by shooting at 300 yds. And i never had a bit of trouble hitting anything I aimed at inside 400 yds using an old Weaver 2-7x32 with a typical duplex reticle.
Today, I choose higher velocity cartridges such as the 264 Win mag or STW not because I think they are necessary for the hunting I do. But they make it easier, and give me more assurance of a lethal hit at the ranges I hunt.
Killing a 600 pound bull, and killing it quickly so it does not run a mile into some schitt hole before it dies is a far different matter than killing a 100 lb deer.
I have killed and watched others kill elk with loads like the 30-06 I previously mentioned. The elk die eventually, and are usually recovered. But I was never impressed with the situation.
That is specifically why I bought the Ruger #1 in 7mm STW. And I have been quite satisfied with the results on elk due to the difference in impact velocity.
For comparison, the aforementioned 30-06 load w/ 165 gr bullet is down to 1920 fps at 400 yds. While my chosen STW load with a 160 gr bullet impacts at over 2500 fps at the same range.
The difference in reaction of elk hit has been obvious to me. If I could handle the recoil and shoot it effectively, I would choose an 8mm mag with a 220, or a 340 Wea with a 250 gr bullet. But I can not.
