Dialing vs. Holdover For Long Range Hunting

As the range increases and the drop data takes me farther from the center of the reticle, my ability to find and hold on the right spot becomes less certain. Holding for wind, however, is pretty effective if the drift is less than 4 to 5 moa. I like to dial for range and hold for wind as long as I don't need to go too far to one side.


700 yards, wind 10mph /12.2moa up/3.6moa wind, both holding .


The variable nature of wind also makes holding a good technique, as you can increase or decrease very quickly as your spotter calls the latest dope. If wind drift is more than a few moa, I get uncomfortable straying too far from reticle center. For the same reason, I don't like holding very high for range. Ward Brien's excellent article on Milliradian measure and its use in rifle scopes goes into great detail on the technical reasons to stay near the center, and I encourage you to read it. For the following longer shot, let us agree to dial in the corrections for spin and Coriolis as needed, and now decide what to do about distance and wind: hold or dial?

1170 yards, wind 10mph /30moa up/7moa wind, both holding


I don't like working that far down from center, and 7 moa wide is getting to be a bit much for my taste laterally as well. I'd prefer to dial the elevation to eliminate one of the two potential errors with my eye.


Same shot, dialed up, holding wind.


For a long shot like this with more interesting wind I can choose to hold both elevation and wind:


1170 yards, wind from 2 o'clock at 22 mph, holding for both.


I don't like that very much. If the wind seems to be fairly constant let me dial for both.


Same shot, dialed up and over.