Quote:Knockemdown, I gotta ask then what are the "right tools?"
For one, an accurate rifle/load. Any accuracy or velocity inconsistencies with your load will become increasingly evident with further distance. As will any flaws in your shooting form. These are two controllable variables that you can minimize the effects of BEFORE the shot...
Two, a good laser range finder to give you an accurate distance to compensate for. NO guessing, or reticle ranging. Sure, it can be done, but why bother when a LRF is sooooo much faster, easier & more precise? I mean we're trying to kill a deer here, right? No offense to SS at all, as I've a TON of respect for him, but IMHO, save the reticle range interpolation for p-dogs & steel, NOT game animals! Reticle ranging in that capacity is FUN and challenging! But stick with a LRF & consistent turrets for the meat. An accurate distance to target is another controllable varible that you can measure & account for BEFORE the shot...
THREE, a quality, REPEATABLE scope with solid turrets. This cannot be overstated! You, as a shooter, need to KNOW that when you dial a correction with that turret, that is is dialing TRUE. Click value of of .25MOA, .25IPHY, or .1mrad, your preference, they are all fine enough to dial in tight on a game animal for quite a fair distance. A proven dope card, in conjunction with repeatable turrets and a LRF and viola!, you just accounted for another varible BEFORE the shot
A pocket weather meter is a handy tool for giving you atmospheric data that may effect your p.o.i. if not accounted for. This is another whole ball o' yarn that I won't get into, but suffice to say that bullet drop changes under different conditons & locations, and needs to be addressed before the shot...
Once you've got you range & atmospheric data, you can dial an elevation correction with a turret to effectively eliminate those variables out of the shot, for all intensive purposes. Then the shooter needs to focus on WIND, and rightfully so! That, again, is where a quality weather meter can help you...for wind doping. But there is still NO substitute for shooting that rifle in different windy conditions to see how you bullet reacts under them.
I liken it to having 'The FORCE', as Yoda would say. More art to it than science, IMHO. After while behind the rifle, you just kinda know how much wind to hold, after taking all of the available data into account. That being your wind meter reading at your shooting position, AND mirage, blowing grass, trees, rain, snow...etc.
WIND NEEDS TO BE CALLED AT THE SHOT. And it's YOUR call!
By then, EVERYTHING else has been accounted & compensated for, you just need to know your rifle and how it shoots in the wind.
Point being that there is NO reticle, turret, scope, rifle, or gadget that will make YOU a better shot without actually going out & shooting for yourself! That is the problem I have with 'gimmicky' type reticles, and my recommendation for using the 'right tools' & sound technique.
The 'right tools' and technique are not rifle/caliber specific, and be be employed regardless of them. Once you have this baseline knowledge and the proper gear, you can literally hop behind another rifle and drive away! No reticle to learn, no BDC circle jammies to cross reference drops for on the Internet, just do same/same as you would with your other stick that has the 'right tools' on it.
Make sense?