The meticulous record keeping has helped you to be able to operate at peak proficiency at all times. I know folks who are decent marksmen yet only rely on the wet finger in the air method for detecting wind direction and speed....aka, they rely on a lot of luck. A vast world of difference.
I like that you hone your skills in order to get quick, clean kill shots (among other reasons, of course). Undue suffering is mostly preventable and compassion definitely has a place in hunting, even though there's a life to be taken. If ever I were to wind up in your sights, I would be grateful for that attention to detail!
p.s. pls don't shoot me
It's just how it is really, to do what I do one has to be dedicated to the data. Of course, ballistic calculators are available and I use one, but the data still has to go in initially and bad in will mean bad out, and the tech doesn't take away the human element.
I mentioned feeling the wind on my face, it's that constant gathering of information that makes a successful shot, watching leaves moving, grass and things. You know, at the ranges I shoot, the wind can be moving in two or three different directions depending on terrain and there's anither factor. There really is a lot to it which is why posts like this get long.
Anyway, it's been a lot of years now and I still learn. Being good at this has made some difference, meant something, and so I want to remain good, but get better too.
The two or three different directions of the wind is what would make it difficult over such long distances I would think. I have no doubt you have 'remained good' and I also do not doubt that you will get better too. To get that good at anything takes dedication and you have that in abundance.
The three way wind thing can be tricky but by adjusting for the wind (mostly) closer to the target where the bullet is most effected by it (losing speed) one can account for it. I also bracket the target which maximizes the hit probability in conditions like that, but I'll not go into that now.
Thanks for commenting, most don't find posts like this at all interesting, or understand them, so don't comment much or with substance like you have.
It really is interesting to me and I don't pretend to know a lot about it, but I will now and forever be studying and learning about a great many subjects, including this one. I think it's the physics of it that gets my mind going.
It's to your credit that things that may not have been on your radar previously have found their way onto it.
With long range shooting it's physics, chemistry (I make my own ammunition), aerodynamics, environmental, physical/self-mastery/discipline, and other such things that culminate to arc a bullet a mile and more onto a target with a high hit-probabikity and repeatability. It's actually quite fascinating and rewarding...and I'm just a scrubber who knows just a thing or two after 35+ years.
There's many books available, I have studied using most of them, but the one below is good. Having said that, it assumes a certain level of understanding so might be a bit much for someone not quite there yet.
"Applied Ballistics for Long Range Shooting" Bryan Litz
For 'just a scrubber who knows just a thing or two' you are a treasure trove of information. I imagine you've spent thousands of hours studying and perfecting your craft and have sent many, many thousands of rounds down range.
When you said you make your own ammunition, it reminded me of watching my dad at his reloading bench. I was small at the time and it seems to me it was shotgun shells he was working on. Sadly, I didn't pay much attention after that...one of the many things I regret not pursuing from my folks.
I think it's a good skill to have and, at worst, a good thing to know at least something about. Most people go through their lives pretty clueless about doing things for themselves other than checking their likes on Facebook, taking selfies, buying things on line and other such things...automation has really dumbed people down. Not all, just most people. Knowing how to do stuff is important to me and so I work at it...I'm also really good at some of those things. :)