Those are all very good cards Ed. I need to try 40y again, but most attempts are in mid-high 180’s; and even in 170’s at times, which is discouraging. Might have to say goodbye to the 190’s at 30y for a while. I try and cherry pick light wind days for 40y, which is very rare at my open range. If I get a 1-2 mph with wind still at times, I normally will try 40.
Otherwise, it’s almost a waste of time. My wind reading is easier at 30Y.
Well Tommy, I’ll share some thoughts regarding 40 yards and our crazy small target… hopefully to benefit everyone here…
I have shot 40 yards this year far more than 30. I’m not sure why, but I’ve noticed that I’ve gotten better at it.
Yesterday shooting the 1st two 40-Challenge cards, the wind was shifting L-R and R-L. I could “feel” the wind shift - almost before glancing at my flags. I’m constantly adjusting my holds between targets. I also adjust and aim slightly lower when the flags show a slight wind towards the target. I definitely did not have this kind of feel for it last year - so I’ve improved.
Since we pushed out to 40, I didn’t no what a “good score” at 40 was. So, don’t focus on our 40 leaderboards. I looked at a 187 40-yard card I shot the other day and said to myself, “damn, that’s a good card”. It was breezy and the card was mostly all 9s and the vertical was good.
Yes, I think your wide open field rifle range is going to present a tougher wind challenge than most backyard shooters face. Look at it as an opportunity - to get better at wind reading than the backyard shooters. All real competitions are held on ranges like the one you shoot at - so you are posting scores from a competition type environment.
I shot a 190+ 40-yard card recently using 24x on a Midas Tac. However, to properly hold off for wind, I’d highly recommend 36x or 45x magnification.
My best rifles/results at 40 yards are all with 18.13g .22 pellets. Recently, I discovered my Taipan is definitely 190+ at 40 using 25.39 MRDs. I’ve also had some excellent results with RTI Prophet V1 using the new 20.83g at 40 yards. Using 15.89g .22 or .177 at 40 - I haven’t been able to score as high.
Check out my Left-Right “battle” on the 1st two cards I shot yesterday. It never stopped, but that is the “fun”.
Yep, you will likely need a very light wind day to put a 195 type card up on our 40 leaderboards - but I get just as much satisfaction out of “beating the wind” by scoring 180+ on a breezy day.
We don’t call them the 30 and 40 yard “Challenge” for nuthin’…
Now get some lead downrange !