Speed or Wind?

[usmc45]

So was just playing around with some numbers and started to think, with a high bc bullet is speed that big of a deal? If you have a wind difference of half a tenth at a 1000 yards is it really a big deal if you have to dial another full mil in elevation? For my pirticular round there is a significant jump in recoil. If the speed really is worth it, so be it, but if not i'd always go with less recoil. Just thinking out loud and wondering where you guys stand on it. Thanks.

Happy shooting.

 

[pshell]

Maybe it depends on what you're doing. I think people shooting comps like to keep the math simple, IE: how many yards is my gun a six mph gun? Run your bullets faster, and you increase that distance.
The reality of things is very few people are doing the math in their heads, so it doesn't matter. I suspect most people make mini-range cards at every stage and use their preferred app for wind holds. That's how I've done it. No need for math on the fly, so it doesn't matter how long you've got a six MPH (or whatever MPH) gun for.
If you're hunting and taking shots at significant range, you probably have the time to figure out the wind hold.
Plenty of us likes to push the limits and see how fast we can send our bullets without adverse effects. In my experience, we'll usually find all the performance we need at 80% of our cartridge's limits. Less recoil and barrel wear let us shoot longer and more often.
Chase the limits if you like the chase. I like being able to follow up on my misses, so lower recoil would be my vote.

 

[usmc45]

I have always chassed speed but guess i could never tell what it did for me other then more recoil. This would be for comps as i'll keep pushing speed for hunting purposes. Think i'll give the 80% as you say a try for a while and see how it serves me. Thanks for the info and insight.

 

[stanley_white]

So was just playing around with some numbers and started to think, with a high bc bullet is speed that big of a deal? If you have a wind difference of half a tenth at a 1000 yards is it really a big deal if you have to dial another full mil in elevation? For my pirticular round there is a significant jump in recoil. If the speed really is worth it, so be it, but if not i'd always go with less recoil. Just thinking out loud and wondering where you guys stand on it. Thanks.

Happy shooting.

Dialing another full MRAD in elevation may not be a big deal if there is plenty of time to do so and your scope supports it.

Having an additional jump in recoil may not be a big deal if someone else is spotting your shots.

Context is key.

-Stan

 

[todd]

FWIW, I had been shooting 105's at 3010 with 33.66 grains of Varget. They shot very flat. Then I wanted to see trace, and give my eyes a teeny bit more time to spot and process impacts and misses. 105's at 3000+ is a little difficult. Now I'm playing with 115 DTAC at 2725 with 31.0 grains of Varget. JBM says that the DTACs at that speed will give me literally the exact same wind drift as the 105 at 3010, and a little bit more time to spot trace and impacts - like under a 10th of a second at 500+ yards difference, truly not much at all different, but every bit helps. There is a noticeable reduction in recoil, which also helps the reticle to settle a touch faster after recoil too, so I can process where on the plate I hit or measure misses better. In answer to your original question, I'm with you - I'd go with reduced recoil.