Gusting wind, use lower magnification for longer shots!

[Mr. Hill]

I had an interesting experience last week at the range. There was a high, gusty wind, 20-30 mph. It was blowing pretty hard!

I'd taken a couple of shots standing and kneeling, magnification set at 6x. I then placed the rifle in the rest for a 200 yard practice, during which I normally use 9x or 10x magnification. But the wind was blowing hard enough that it distracted me and I forgot to reset my scope higher, so I took the shots at 6x. The results were pretty good! I then reset the scope to 10x, and the results weren't nearly as good; the higher magnification resulted in much more perceived crosshair wobble from that gusty wind. I think I learned something by accident!

 

[jmr40]

I'm going with coincidence.

Here is my philosophy on variable power scopes. Even the best of them will change point of impact slightly as the magnification is changed. On most of them the difference isn't enough for most shooters to notice. With others the difference can be dramatic.

I zero my scopes at the highest magnification then check point of impact on the lowest setting at 50 and 100 yards. While hunting the scope stays on the lowest magnification setting 95% of the time, usually 3X. But with some scopes 2X or even 1X. I've taken deer out to 200 yards with the scope set on 3X. At closer ranges any minor differences in POI will not be enough to result in a miss and I don't have time to mess with the scope for quick shots. Nothing worse than having to take a snap shot at 20 yards when you have the scope set on 9X.

At longer ranges where I have time to adjust the scope I always go straight to the highest magnification, the one that I know the rifle is zeroed for. I never, ever, use anything in between. It reduces the chances for errors.

 

[jeepnik]

Never heard that one before. I'll call the kid that went through Marine sniper school and ask tomorrow. I thought I had taught him how to shoot. Well I did sort of. The Marines taught him how hit what he was shooting at.

 

[stringnut]

When I shot archery competition I often used lower power when it was very windy. Reduced apparent cross hair movement ,as you mentioned , was the goal. If everything looked like it jumping around it was much harder to make a good shot.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I think the other thing you stumbled on is that more magnification does not automatically equal more accurate. I've tried to say it a few times, when you're aiming, what your sighting system provides is a fixed point of reference between your rifle and target. Scopes help us hit smaller apparent objects, and at longer ranges. They also help by reducing the number of planes we have to focus on to line up a shot. But having done it a time or 3, I can say you don't need a scope to shoot an MOA group, though I will say it does help.

And I always turn my scopes down when shooting offhand versus from a rest.

 

[sage5907]

I think the discussion is about two different items. First, if the rifle is moving or shaking during the sighting process the shooter sees less movement when the power is turned down. This can give the shooter more confidence and lead to a smaller group. Almost everyone has a different idea about what power to hunt with. I use variable scopes with a power range between 3 and 10 to hunt with and I always hunt and practice hunting with them on 6 power. Due to my quail hunting experiences in my early years of hunting I can still hit a running buck at 20 yards with the scope set on 6 power. I do shoot long range targets at the highest power setting when I am shooting for the smallest group. I think the best sight picture on a variable scope happens on a power setting in the center of the power range.

 

[z7]

I have always used low magnification from a less steady rest. the lower perceived wobble should result in more relaxed/repeatable breaking of the shot. if you see heavy wobble you may try to add a little extra muscle into the gun and trigger discipline may break down as you try to take the shot at the perfect moment as the crosshairs sweep the target.

if you use good technique in all aspects I guess it should not matter much, but I am not perfect so I dial back the magnification when I take a less steady shot.

 

[Sunray]

Higher or lower magnification will do nothing to change a high, gusty wind blowing your bullets off target.
"...higher magnification resulted in much more perceived crosshair wobble..." It does that anyway. The crosshair wobble has nothing to do with the wind either. If you're on a rest correctly, you can watch your heart beat.

 

[pintler]

I'm with Sunray. The lesson here isn't 'turn down the scope', it's 'learn to accept your wobble'.

It's a hard lesson to learn - I've sure turned a lot of 9 ring shots into 7 ring shots over the years learning it - but it has the advantage of working at every magnification from a 1x Bullseye red dot to a 36X rifle scope.

 

[jeepnik]

The expert tells me magnification used is determined by distance. Since I've seen what the kid can do I'll just have to go with that.
If the magnification indicates that your point of aim is moving all over the place, the bullet impact will move all over the place.

Follow good marksmanship practices, and realize that sometime atmospheric condition just will not allow you to reliably hit a far distant target.

 

[taliv]

do whatever makes you happy. just understand that if you dial up and see wobble, it's wobbling and if you dial down and don't see wobble, it's probably still wobbling and mechanically will result in exactly the same group size. any difference is mental. since shooting is an activity that requires a lot of mental discipline, if you want to get good at it, you should probably do as stated above and learn to manage your wobble. trigger control is key

 

[Varminterror]

Many shooters in the middle ground can better manage and therefore reduce their wobble IF THEY ARE AWARE OF IT. Effectively, alternatively then, think of how much better many shooters could shoot if they zoomed in enough to become aware of and learn to manage their wobble zone...

Aim small, miss small, as they say, and if you can't see small, you can't aim small.

 

[Mr. Hill]

Thanks for the insight! I'll work on the wobble skills. Now that I've found a good range nearby and an inexpensive brand of ammo my rifle likes, I can get to work on it.

 

[jmorris]

the higher magnification resulted in much more perceived crosshair wobble...

Sure, kind of like you can't see some things without a microscope. Just remember that they are still there though.

 

[coloradokevin]

I had an interesting experience last week at the range. There was a high, gusty wind, 20-30 mph. It was blowing pretty hard!

I'd taken a couple of shots standing and kneeling, magnification set at 6x. I then placed the rifle in the rest for a 200 yard practice, during which I normally use 9x or 10x magnification. But the wind was blowing hard enough that it distracted me and I forgot to reset my scope higher, so I took the shots at 6x. The results were pretty good! I then reset the scope to 10x, and the results weren't nearly as good; the higher magnification resulted in much more perceived crosshair wobble from that gusty wind. I think I learned something by accident!

Remember that you're talking about a perceived difference in crosshair wobble, not a real one. I still shoot at high magnification in windy conditions. The one time when I'll dial down for atmospherics is in heavy mirage conditions, when the world starts to look blurry at really high magnifications levels.