Well... let me share Todd. You know my experience at Worlds in Italy in 2022. The lesson of my life. I had my rifle set at 780. In the morning of the first day, it was shooing stable. It was dead nuts stable for weeks (months) leading up to the big event. Tested it three times in the morning of that day's event. Shot the entire match, on the last lane for me was the chrono. Temps were well over 100s, blazing sun, all, day, long. Blew 1 meter per second over. barely into the 800s. Got DQd. Here is what I learned... Sh!t happens. But then after that...
My strongest recommendation is to service your O-rings yearly, or sooner if you leave your gun out in the AZ heat. Next, find suitable cover for your rifle out of the heat or direct sunlight. And third.. to finally answer your original question, set your baseline anywhere from 750 to 780 (w 8.4s in wftf). It's a multi prong approach... heat mitigation, maintenance, and fudge factor. Like folks have said, AAFTA rules you have 2%... WFTF World rules you've got ZERO %. let me say that again .... ZERO tolerance. Don't put yourself in a situation that can potentially get you in trouble. I've asked myself if i was at 750, would i have passed, with that jump? maybe. Give yourself the room. Minimize the variables you can control. Maintain your sh!t like it's a religious shrine, or a Ferrari going through the mountains on a rainy night with your kid in the passenger seat.
Cheers.
